TACKLING THE DRUG PROBLEMS WITH AWARENESS AND EDUCATION

An upcoming drug information presentation may be taking place at a school,
but that doesn't mean drugs are only a school issue. "There's a need for it
everywhere, whether it's this community or provincially or anywhere,
really" said Nadeen Skelton, a member of the Carman Collegiate Home &
School Association. "Just because we're a small town doesn't mean we're not
affected and it's very much a community issue, it's not just a school issue."

Entitled The Drug Scene: Know the Score, the seminar scheduled for Carman
Collegiate on Nov. 27 features Julian Madigan, who has first-hand
experience with drug addiction and recovery. At age 20, after coming out of
four years in the drug scene, Madigan published his first book, The Agony
of Ecstasy, in March 1996.

Skelton is the chair of the committee responsible for the coming seminar.
She said the decision to get Madigan to speak at the gathering was based on
the positive reports they heard about his presentations in Morden and
Winkler the previous year.

"This year we chose to ask Julian to come because he was in the
Morden/Winkler area last year and we had reports that he was very good and
it was well worth the effort and the money to get him to come," she said.
"Plus this is a little bit of a change from last year, so that's good too.

"We're hoping every fall, at this time of year, as far as the home and
school goes, to be able to make people aware of drug awareness."

Madigan will be hosting three seminars in Carman on that Wednesday; two in
the afternoon for junior high and high school students, and one in the
evening, for interested parents and community members.

Jack Phillips, principal at Carman Collegiate said the presentation is
being done somewhat in conjunction with Manitoba Addictions Awareness Week,
which was the previous week.

"What they're going to hear is, from what I understand, quite an amazing
story of Julian's, I guess we could call it adventure, into the drug scene
and then his ability to make decisions to get out of it and get on with his
life," Phillips said. "Hopefully students will be able to understand that
they do have a choice on what they do and that they can make decisions that
are positive in nature and will get them so that they can make good
decisions in their life, and hopefully get them out of drugs, if they're in
there."

In addition to Carman Collegiate, students from Dufferin Christian School,
as well as Grade 6 students from Carman Elementary will also be attending
the afternoon sessions.

Rob van Spronsen, the principal at Dufferin Christian School, said the
school sees drugs as a larger concern, not just a school issue. "It's a
community issue, and we're part of the community as well, so we thought
'let's get all the high school students involved, not just the collegiate
high school kids but our kids too'," van Spronsen said.

"I hope that they realize that even the 'soft' drugs, which people may
think are harmless, really aren't harmless. They have a bad effect on the
body and on the soul, and I hope our kids will understand the harmful
effects of these 'soft' drugs."

Skelton said it's important for people to be knowledgeable about the issues
surrounding drugs and drug use.

"The more we learn, the more we can help people or even for our own student
body, the more resources we can bring to those types of issues, the better
off the whole community is," she said. "It doesn't matter whether you're in
school or a young adult or a senior citizen, it affects the whole community."

Madigan's community presentation takes place at 7 p.m. at the Carman
Collegiate Theatre. Phillips said he hopes there will be good attendance
for the evening's event.

"It's going to be an excellent presentation," he said. "It really is a
must, here in this day and age, for parents and community members."