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News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Before The Damage Done
Title:CN BC: Before The Damage Done
Published On:2005-07-10
Source:Kamloops This Week (CN BC)
Fetched On:2008-01-16 00:23:04
BEFORE THE DAMAGE DONE

It takes years for alcohol to cause permanent liver damage, years for
nicotine to spawn disease.

Yet it takes only a few weeks of crystal meth addiction before
suffering permanent consequences, said Rob De Clark, Phoenix Centre
adolescent addictions outreach worker.

De Clark is heading up the community's first Crystal Methamphetamine
Information Centre, located in the lower level of Thompson Park Mall
in downtown Kamloops.

Part of the reason for the centre is the sense of urgency associated
with crystal meth addiction.

We've seen permanent brain damage in people after four months (on
crystal meth)," he said.

It looks like schizophrenia - it's organic brain damage, memory loss
that doesn't come back."

Since an episode featuring the Phoenix Centre's Meth Kickers program
aired on CBC's Fifth Estate earlier this year, the centre has had a
bevy of phone calls from concerned parents.

In the past six weeks, De Clark said, there's been a significant
increase in the number of referrals to the program.

It's a fast ride, probably one of the fastest rides to the bottom
we've ever seen."

And it's proving not to be an urban drug.

Since it's easy to come by - and cheap - crystal meth is wreaking
havoc on rural communities.

The purpose of the centre is to get accurate information on the
streets, out to users and families, and it's an effort to reach out
to the addicts before it's too late.

We can no longer sit up at the Phoenix Centre and say, 'When they're
ready, they'll come to us.'

Unfortunately, with this drug, by the time they get here, often the
damage is done."

The walk-in centre runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each Tuesday and
Thursday to July 26.
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