LOCAL REHAB PROGRAM ENJOYING NATIONAL EXPOSURE

A made-in-Kamloops drug treatment program gets national attention
tonight on The Fifth Estate.

The CBC program will air a segment on Meth Kickers, developed for the
Phoenix Centre's Raven Program to deal with the rising use of crystal
methamphetamine in Kamloops.

Raven program director Patrick McDonald said since the program was
developed last year, there has been tremendous interest in from across
the country.

"It is somewhat revolutionary. It's a drug program geared toward one
particular substance," he said.

Crystal meth has such a devastating impact on those who use it, it had
to be dealt with differently from other drugs, McDonald added.

Meth Kickers is currently in its second intake, but already, he said,
addictions counsellors are seeing improvement.