LEAVE ASSUMPTIONS AT THEATRE DOOR

Fix: The Story of an Addicted City, is a love story of sorts. It's the
story of how an addict loved his drug, how a mayor loved a city, and how a
woman loved to help.

It's also a seedy, gritty story of drug abuse in a neighbourhood that has
been described as the poorest in Canada.

Ever drive through Vancouver's downtown Eastside? It's an experience unto
itself. People deal drugs openly and only take a pace or two into
alleyways to inject chemicals into their bloodstream.

Few would deny drug addiction is an unhealthy activity. But the debate
over whether the problem of drug addiction should be treated as a health
issue or a criminal one rages throughout the province.

Fix, featured on page A12, focuses on drug addiction in Vancouver's
downtown Eastside. It shows us the raw reality of drugs, the kind we would
see if we ever dared to step into one of those dark alleys.

It's important, however, not to focus too much on location. Drug addiction
is not specific to the downtown Eastside. Only recently the Penticton RCMP
started turning up the heat on drug trafficking in the South
Okanagan. Without addicts, there would be no trafficking.

That's why Nettie Wild and crew have brought Fix on tour, and why they have
set up discussion forums after the film's 7:30 p.m. airing. Expect the
forums, like the film, to provide as much information as uncomfortable
entertainment.

We have just one stipulation: to get the true understanding of all sides of
the issue, leave your assumptions at the door and your prejudices at home.

Fix will challenge you to stop and think, whether it's about an uneasy
sense of sympathy for the addicts, or an understanding of how the police
can care about the people they arrest.

Drug abuse is a reality in Penticton, as it is everywhere in Canada. A
little time spent thinking about the issue can't hurt.