FILM HOPES TO KEEP KIDS AWAY FROM DRUGS

Toronto teens will be more aware of the effects of drugs and alcohol thanks
to a new educational film by concerned parents' group Parent Action on
Drugs (PAD).

The non-profit group, which was formerly known as Parents Against Drugs,
released its second classroom film 'Skeletons in the Closet', at its annual
general meeting and hopes to have the film distributed to schools across
the city shortly.

The film, which is geared at teens 13 to 15, outlines goings-on at a party
thrown by a Grade 12 student and his younger sister. It demonstrates the
dangers of testing limits, obscuring judgment and making decisions when
their thought processes are clouded over.

"Kids are going to be tempted by these things, but they have to be properly
educated so they know what they could get into," said Diane Buhler,
executive director of PAD. "Kids can get mean and when you throw alcohol
and drugs into the mix, they can get much meaner."

PAD, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary as an advocacy group, looks
at the problem of teen alcohol and drug use realistically.

Buhler said she knows that most teens will experiment with drugs or alcohol
at some point, whether it's out of rebellion, curiosity, peer pressure or
otherwise.

"A lot of teens feel the need to try alcohol or other drugs," she said.
"But this film is a good jumping off point for discussion and can hopefully
help facilitate conversations about why some kids are acting that way."

'Skeletons in the Closet' follows in the footsteps of PAD's first film 'For
the Record', which was geared at older children and taught of the dangers
of alcohol poisoning.

Both were filmed by students of Ryerson University and written after
extensive educational consultation and research. Information was gathered
through statistics and workshops with students at North York's Cardinal
Carter Academy for the Arts.

The students were asked what kinds of problems and experiences they had
come across at parties and those experiences were then transcribed into the
film.

Student View

"We needed to really get a student perspective because that would be
received far better than us just preaching at these teens," Buhler said.
"So far, we've shown it to a number of schools and the kids have all seemed
to like it."

While the films are geared toward teens, PAD is primarily a group to help
parents, educators and health care workers make informed and rational
choices about possible substance abuse issues with youths. Though it
operates out of Downsview Secondary School, parents from across the city
are welcome to join.

For details on PAD or its films, call 416-395-4970 or visit the website at
www.parentactionondrugs.org