A FORMER ADDICT GETS STRAIGHT WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
TO HELP THEM STAY OFF DRUGS

A local man is on a mission to stop teenagers from making the same mistakes
he did with drugs and alcohol. Fort Erie resident Paul Christie is
traveling to different high schools in the Niagara area to tell the
students how addiction ruined his life.

He hopes that by sharing his story with teenagers, he can keep them from
going down the same road that led him to jail, and got him shot and
stabbed. "Anybody who tells you this stuff is a good - they're a liar," Mr.
Christie told Stamford Collegiate's grade nine and 10 students on Tuesday.
"It sucks."

He started drinking and smoking marijuana when he was 14 years old and a
year later he had moved on to harder drugs, including cocaine. By the time
he was 17 years old, he was arrested for burning down two houses while he
was drunk.

He told the students that after he served two years in the Guelph
reformatory for the arson, he was angry at the world. "I had a big chip on
my shoulder," he said. After being an addict for 20 years, he finally got
clean five years ago.

He told the teenagers some hard truths about drugs - that one of 10 people
who experiments will become addicted, and of those addicts, only one of 100
will beat the addiction.

Mr. Christie sees those statistics as the reason he has to share his story.
If he was lucky enough to be that one per cent of addicts who get clean,
than he has a duty to help others stop before it's too late.

But the battle isn't over, and never will be. "I wake up every morning
still a drug addict," he said, "still an alcoholic."

He told the students that he knows he's only ever one drink away from
destroying his life again. "If I go out and have a drink today, I'll be in
jail within a couple of days. My home will be gone, my son will be gone."

He told them that experimentation isn't worth the risk of losing
everything. "When you're addicted to drugs, you've got nothing at all," he
said. "You're a loser."

He talked about how addiction ruined his life - how he missed Christmas
with his son because he was stoned, how he was in and out of jail for 20
years. But one story really struck a chord with the grade nine students.

The students gasped when he told them that he stole a ring from his mother
- - the only thing that her mother had left her when she died. "I stole that
ring and traded it for a little bag of weed," he said.

He passed out business cards with his e-mail address and encouraged
students to contact him. He also handed out hats with his logo "Be Real."
The t-shirts and hats are so popular that he has run out of all his stock.

After his presentation, several students stayed behind to talk to him
privately, which, according to his business partner Al Fournia, happens
after each of Mr. Christie's presentations.

By Wednesday, he had received 39 e-mails from students at Stamford asking
for help. He said he is working with the school nurse and the health
department to make sure the students get the support they need.

Mr. Christie started going to schools in Novermber and while he is focusing
on local schools right now, he plans to branch out to other schools in
Ontario and eventually across the country. Various individuals and
organizations have supported Mr. Christie in his efforts to reach out to
teenagers, including Softcom, Aero-Safe Technologies and Ronald B. Watson,
chartered accountant.

For a schedule of Mr. Christie's talks, or if any other individuals or
organizations are interested in supporting Mr. Christie, please go to his
website at www.gloryclouds.com.