KISS OF DEATH VIDEO PULLS FEW PUNCHES IN TELLING TALES OF DESTRUCTION

Chelsea Norris' story is among the more positive tales featured on
Kiss of Death, a 15-minute documentary on the dangers of crystal meth
use.

It's a project of Peace Arch Community Services' Addiction Services.

"It will definitely be graphic. It will likely have a dead body,"
PACS' addictions manager Kevin Letourneau said of the script.

The subject matter comes straight from the street-from the mouths of
teens and adults whose lives have been impacted by crystal meth.

"The things they say are pretty disturbing. One (interviewee) said you
can wake up (from a meth crash) with some naked man on top of you.

"One prostitute we interviewed said, 'It's way better to be curious
about a drug and never try the drug, than to try the drug and end up
in a little box you can never get out of.'

"There's nothing positive about this drug."

Inspired by producer Michael Neitzel's Wrath of the Dragon, a
12-minute video depicting devastation caused by heroin, Kiss of Death
includes interviews with Peace Arch Hospital's Dr. Kerry Yoshitomi,
RCMP drug expert Scott Rintoul, and Dr. Bill MacEwan, clinical
director of Fraser South Early Psychosis Initiative, based at PAH.

Letourneau has worked on the idea for a year. Last month, he won a
$25,000 grant from Fraser Health Authority to hire Neitzel.

Letourneau said the hard-hitting approach has greater impact with
youth. Many teens who saw Wrath of the Dragon swore they'd never try
heroin because of it, he said.

Crystal meth use is spreading. In the last five years, it's become the
leading cause of youth admissions to treatment centres. It's cropping
up more and more on the Peninsula, notably among young girls. Average
age for first-time use is 11 years.

Experts say it's popular because it's cheap-costing as little as $3
per 'point'-with a high that lasts up to 12 hours. It's an appetite
suppressant and sexual stimulant.

Kiss of Death will be available in late March.