DRUG ACTION COMMITTEE SHARES STORY

Hinton's Drug Action Committee (HPAC) recently took its message on the road.

The committee was invited to speak at the Community Action Against
Crystal Meth conference in Saskatchewan Nov. 29-30 and members Tasha
Allen Symon, Corporal Glenn Alford and town councillor Mike Jodoin
made the trek.

Allen Symon, who is the area supervisor for the Alberta Alcohol and
drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), made the presentation, on behalf of
HDAC, to the more than 500 attendees at the conference. She also
offered private seminars during the conference.

During the presentation, Allen Symon offered an overall profile of
Hinton -- the community's strengths and challenges -- and also went
through the history of the drug action committee, how it started and
who is involved.

"In the case of Saskatchewan they're just getting going and
encouraging communities to start drug action committees," she said.

"Our process has been probably the best in community
development."

Jodoin said some of the information was review for the Hinton
contingent at the conference, but there was also some new information
shared.

"A lot of the information was shocking," he said.

For example, Jodoin said he heard that there are 42 million crystal
meth addicts around the world -- which is more than cocaine and
heroine combined.

Jodoin said he also heard that between five and 15 per cent of crystal
meth addicts never recover.

"There was encouraging news coming out of the U.S.," he said,
referring to a presentation by a doctor from the University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

It has been said that crystal meth addicts are never able to fully
recover and that their brains are permanently damaged by the drug.

However, researchers at UCLA have found that it can take between four
and six months for the average user to recover, but some addicts
brains never do return to normal.

As well, Jodoin said, the committee heard that addicts fair better in
recovery if they are in close proximity to the detox centre -- which
adds ammunition to the town's argument that Hinton and the surrounding
area needs a rural detox centre.

On the homefront, the Hinton Drug Action Committee has scheduled a
meeting for Dec. 9 to set its direction for the next year.

"We're going to kind of go through and see what's left from our
strategic plan," Allen Symon said, and decide what direction the
committee wants to take over the coming months.

As well, HDAC is welcoming back co-ordinator Lisa Land, who has been
rehired to help organize and guide the group.

Land worked with the committee during its first year.

"She's going to provide some focus for the group," Jodoin
said.

For more information on the Hinton Drug Action Committee visit
www.methhurts.com or call the local AADAC office at 865-8263.