ECOLE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN TO SAY "NO" TO DRUGS

Students from Ecole Providence school in McLennan are being given the tools
they need to combat the often intense peer pressure that coincides with
using illegal drugs.

It was all part of a meaningful one-day anti-drug crash course at the
school last Wednesday which saw representatives from the Alberta Alcohol &
Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) in High Prairie educate students from grades
5 to 9 about the dangers of drug use.

Representing AADAC at the event was youth and tobacco addictions counselors
John Dunn and Dianne Fraser, both of whom spoke to students about the value
of saying no to drugs.

"The topics we discussed here today focussed on providing education and
awareness to young people about the dangers of drug use and the different
types of drugs which are presently available on the street," Dunn explained.

Students watched an informative 30-minute video which included real life
experiences about the effects which drugs can have on their lives prior to
splitting up into small groups for break-away sessions.

Fraser said students demonstrated a genuine interest towards learning about
effective ways to lead a drug-free life by opening the lines of
communication with one another.

"The feedback from the sessions was extremely positive," she said. "It gave
students an opportunity to talk openly in an informal environment about
strategies to deal with peer pressure and methods to say no to drugs," said
Fraser. "This kind of open dialogue is something that will be extremely
beneficial to students both now and in the future."

Dunn, meanwhile, says one of the biggest keys to significantly reduce the
risk of drug use among teenagers is to hammer the message home early in life.

"We're providing students with the harsh facts about drug use early in
their lives in the hope that it will increase their level of understanding."

One of the more prevalent drugs to be discussed during the day was
methamphetamines - a synthetic drug stimulant (and a derivative of
amphetamine) which is highly addictive and commonly sold on the street as
"speed" or "crystal meth."

The drug is available as a powder and can be taken orally, smoked, snorted
or injected.

The prevalence of methamphetamine use among adults and adolescents in
Alberta is unknown.

Reports from both police and service agencies such as AADAC, however,
suggest that methamphetamine use is far more prevalent in the United
States, Edmonton, and communities in Western Canada than it is in northern
Alberta.

But Dunn says that in no way means that the drug hasn't been found in this
neck of the woods.

"It's one of those dangerous drugs which rears its ugly head every once and
while," said Dunn, who described the frequency of use in the region as
"minimal."

Short-term effects of methamphetamine use include: increased alertness and
energy, decreased appetite, rapid heartbeat and breathing, increased blood
pressure, sweating, dry mouth and dilated pupils.

During the use of methamphetamines, individuals may be talkative, restless,
excited, feel powerful, aggressive or hostile in addition to behaving in a
repetitive manner.

Dunn points out that large doses of the drug produce pale skin, cause
tremors, paranoia, hallucinations and even death in some instances, often
results from burst blood vessels and heart failure.

He says one of the problems with methamphetamine use is that it results in
build up of tolerance to the mood-elevating effects of the drug, meaning a
person must take more to get the same "high" or level of euphoria.

Long-term effects of methamphetamine use include: malnutrition, an
increased risk of HIV and hepatitis, skin abscesses, kidney damage, lung
problems, infections and blocked or weakened blood vessels.

Sherrie Hay, assistant principal and counselor at the school, says drug
awareness prevention topics such as this most recent one are critical
components of the educational facility's learning curriculum.

"I think it's extremely important for schools to come up with proactive
measures to educate students about the impact which drugs can have on their
lives and the lives of their family members."

"It's all about protecting our children by giving them the information they
need to make responsible and informed choices in life," she emphasized.

Part of that overall process continues to centre around a core group of
five students at the school who are actively involved in leadership
training skills through the school's Alberta Initiatives School Program.

Hay says the leaders serve as role models to the student body by helping to
steer them down a straight and narrow path of responsibility.

"Kids, much like adults, tend to gravitate towards leaders by turning to
them for advice. By having these leaders in place, we're essentially trying
to prevent a problem before it occurs."