AN UGLY TRUTH MADE CRYSTAL CLEAR

Parents' Account Of Meth User's Nightmare

"Forewarned is forearmed."

Mark and Ruth McLaughlin, founders of Crystal Meth Society of British
Colombia, want Labrador West residents to start the war on crystal
meth before the drug infiltrates too far in the community.

The couple came to the area last week to spread the message on the
hazards of highly addictive stimulant drug and hope their story, as
well as some hard core facts, will make an imprint on the town.

"Our younger daughter got involved with crystal meth," Ruth explained
their motive to spread the word. "She started getting in trouble at 14
years old and within a few months she was downtown on the streets."

She ran away from home, was kicked out of school, and for the next few
months, the McLaughlins lived what they describe as every parent's
nightmare.

"We never expected this to happen and when you're walking the streets
every night to see if your kid is alive or dead, what else can you
do?" Mark questioned.

Ruth said they started meeting other parents in the same situation,
started a parental network, began learning more about crystal meth and
decided to take up a fight on the drug that claimed too many children.

"We founded a society, built a very informative website, started
assembling public meetings and within three months we launched a
community task force with more than 120 volunteers using a three-tier
strategy: education, enforcement and treatment," Mark explained. "We
had multiple committees working on the problem, and we had a police
officer and fire commissioner working with us."

Crystal meth use was a problem no one really talked about in Victoria,
BC, but when the McLaughlins started working on the issue, they
received wide-spread community support.

He noted drugs are a community problem that demands a community
response.

"You can't shove it off unto the next person and hope for help," he
stated emphatically. "Police alone can't solve it. We need more
communities to get more knowledgeable."

The McLaughlins said over their three-day stay in Labrador West they
learned the drug is present in the community and they'd like to see
residents get more proactive.

They said the Crystal Meth Society of BC, made up entirely of
volunteers, only began 20 months ago and already it has many success
stories.

In addition to providing meth info shows all over BC and throughout
central and now eastern Canada, the group partnered with community
groups and government agencies to effect bylaw changes and help open
The Beacon of Hope House on Vancouver Island.

The long-term six bed residential building is a resource for meth
addicted youth and the McLaughlins hope to receive funding from the
provincial government for a 40-bed long term meth facility as well.

Crystal meth affects everyone, according to the parents, and everyone
has a responsibility to do their part to combat it.

"A lot of meth users are going to prison," Ruth noted. "That's using
taxpayers' money."

"Insurance rates reflect car thefts, accidents -- meth users are known
to steal cars, so that affects everyone," Mark added. "We want to
raise community knowledge and profile it."

The McLaughlins offered a number of different presentations while in
Labrador West including four presentations at J.R. Smallwood and
Menihek High School, as well as two public showings for the rest of
the community at the Arts and Culture Centre.

"The presentations were great," Mark stated enthusiastically. "We get
a really great response to our show.We have a very strong show with a
contentious topic and graphic content, but it gets rave reviews."

Mark and Ruth believe their presentation deters young people from
starting crystal meth, while educating parents on what to signs to
look for in their children.

They say people are typically strongly affected by their presentation
because after seeing addicts talk about their own experiences, they
understand the gravity of using crystal meth.

"It grabs people emotionally," Mark stressed. "Parents realize that
could be their kid on that screen and that really brings it home."

The parents say they wish someone would have educated them when their
own children were younger -- maybe it would have kept their daughter
from going down the hard, long road of crystal meth recovery.

They noted their daughter is doing great -- she's 17, back in school
and working a part-time job -- so there is hope, but Mark noted he'd
prefer to keep people off the drug altogether.

Ruth and Mark hope Labrador West will take their shows to heart and do
everything within their power to ensure crystal meth doesn't take over
the twin communities and its children.

SIDEBAR

The Risks of Crystal Meth

Crystal meth can be snorted, smoked injected or eaten. It can cause
serious health problems, brain damage and possibly death as well as:

- - rapid and extreme weight loss and malnutrition

- - intense paranoia

- - hallucinations

- - rages and violent behaviors

- - death due to brain hemorrhage of cardiovascular shock

Signs of using

- - insomnia or falling to sleep for several days or
longer

- - decreased appetite and weight loss

- - increased or extreme energy

- - excessive sweating

- - rapid, non-stop speech

- - sudden violent outbursts or aggression

- - obsessive picking on the face or other parts of the body

- - increased sexuality

- - depression or suicidal tendencies

High risk groups

- - people between 14 and 19

- - people with self-esteem issues or high risk behaviours

- - people wanting to control weight

- - athletes or super achievers

- - gay males