DRUG AWARENESS

On May 11th. at the Griffiths -Scott School in Millet there will be a Drug
Awareness Session for the general public. The sessions speaker will be a
Member of the RCMP's "K" Division. The forum is free of charge and should
be attended by everyone who has children or grandchildren or just anyone
who is struggling to understand our ever growing drug problem.

Anyone who has young pre-teen and teenaged children have a vested interest
in obtaining the kind of information that will be dealt with in this very
frank look at what is facing our youth today and the pressures they face
from every direction to become part of this subculture of drugs, depression
and crime.

You may say, "My child would never be part of anything like that", but be
very aware, even your child can become entangled in this web without your
even suspecting till it is too late.

Most of us live in the dark when it comes to drugs and what the signs are
that a parent or grandparent should be watching out for. The best defense
is education, not only on the part of the parent, but also on the part of
the child.

As a parent, if you need to work out of the home, you are at an instant
disadvantage, the more time you are able to spend with your children, the
more secure the bond will be.

All children go through a period in their lives where rebellion in the
norm. This is the point where parents are about as dumb as they could
possible be. As a matter of fact, in their eyes we have absolutely no idea
about being a teenager. Then as they get older, we seem to get smarter and
smarter.

You need to realize that every child is vulnerable to drugs, yours, mine
and the neighbour's. Beware of the signs of possible drug use. The user
becomes withdrawn, appetite goes down and they lose interest in the things
they used to be involved in. School grades start to drop and they begin to
hang around with new and usually unsavory friends. They tend to sleep more
than usual and tend not to eat regularly.

Once a child becomes entangled in this mess, it is very difficult to turn
them about. You can only hope that you have given them the best possible
defense to help them overcome addiction, and that is love, education and
the knowledge that if and when they are ready to make the needed changes in
their lives, you will still love them and will be there for them in any way
possible.

Some never recover, don't let that one be yours.

The forum goes at the Griffiths-Scott School on May 11th. at 7pm.

If you need further information you may contact Sheryl at 780-387-5864