LOCAL STUDENTS SHOCKED BY METH CONSEQUENCES

It can only take $5 to ruin a life.

Education Minister Shirley Bond made that statement at a Feb. 2 forum
on crystal meth that high school students from Fort St. James attended.

Five dollars is the price of a point -- the smallest dose of crystal
meth in the Northern B.C. drug market -- and the high can last up over
10 hours.

Fifteen students from Fort St. James Secondary School (FSJSS) went to
Prince George to listen to politicians, drug experts and former drug
users speak about crystal meth, also known as methamphetamine.

Angela Marshall, a drug and alcohol counsellor from the Lower
Mainland, made a strong impression on the students with photos of meth
users.

Images of a woman aging 30 years in the space of three years shocked
the students. Open sores, wrinkles and drastic weight loss are common
side effects of using crystal meth, Marshall said.

After the forum, the photos stayed with Aaron Millard, 16. "That was
pretty crazy, those before and after shots."

Reanne Colthorp, another student who went to the forum, was equally
disgusted by seeing what the drug does to users. Asked what stuck in
her head after the talk: "The sick looking pictures. They were gross."

"Meth is more of a poison than it is a drug," Marshall explained.

Common ingredients include, iodine, drain cleaner, bleach, battery
acid, she said. As those toxins work their way out of the body "it
eats you from the inside out."

After the talks -- which included Bond, Prince George Mayor Colin
Kinsley, and Solicitor General John Les -- the floor was opened up to
speakers from the audience.

One woman, Eva, shared her personal experience with the drug. "It took
me 30 years to get two years clean," she told the audience.

Nancy Colthorp was one of the parents who went with the students to
the forum. After the talk she said the students learned the most by
seeing the photos of what the drug does to you and then seeing people
like Eva, who lived through the experience.

Each of the speakers said teaching young people about about crystal
meth is one of the biggest challenges facing society.

Dave Decoine, a worker at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre,
said the youth facing the threats of crystal meth weren't at the forum
and they have to be reached using more savvy methods like using hip
hop.

Decoine's sentiment rang true with Rae Anne Marchal, another FSJSS
student.

"It was kind of sad," the 15-year-old student said. "The kids that
really need to be there (at the forum) weren't."

Sharilyn Erickson, 16, felt the same way. Once the forum was finished
she asked Education Minister Bond about how to reach youth at risk.

"You don't see crystal meth students in public schools," Erickson
said, recalling her talk with the minister. "They're intoxicated
somewhere else."

Erickson said Bond agreed that was a good question and that she didn't
know what the answer is.

Marshall also said spreading information about crystal meth is
important.

"Knowledge is the most powerful part of stopping this drug," she said.