RCMP DARES KIDS TO LIVE HEALTHY

"I hope you are not smoking and drinking."

The grade six class at Barton Elementary graduated from an RCMP drug
awareness program last week.

Constable Darrel MacNeil visited the school over a ten-week period
this fall and winter to instruct the students in Drug Abuse
Resistance Education.

"DARE not only educates children about the harmful effects of drug
abuse, but teaches them about making healthy decisions that they will
be able to take with them through their journey into junior secondary
school," said MacNeil to the parents, family and friends of the
children at the ceremony, Thursday night, Jan. 17.

As part of the course, each student wrote themselves a letter to be
opened when they are in grade ten in 2012.

Here are some excerpts:

Dear Me,

I hope you are not using drugs, smoking tobacco or drinking wine,
beer or rum. Because if you are you will shorten your life by years.

You might know this but if you forgot this letter will remind you.

Dear Me,

Are you smoking yet? I hope not. Do you remember what you learned in
the sixth grade?

Smoking can give you any cancer that you can imagine, and they are so
addictive that you are pretty much forced to get cancer. Drugs make
you crazy. They drill holes in your brain and kill you. They are so
addictive you'll do some pretty nasty stuff to get them.

Dear Me,

I hope you are not smoking and drinking. If you are, quit because
cigarettes have 400 poisons in one and 4,000 chemicals in one too.
And there's enough tar to cover a half a roof in one.

Oh and I hope you are not drinking. Remember that guy you know who
lost his driver's licence for a year and he was trying to quit and he
was mad all the time.

Dear Me,

Thanks to Constable MacNeil I am learning how bad drugs are for me. I
am glad that now I know how bad they are and I will never do drugs,
smoke cigarettes, smoke marijuana and I will never drink alcohol
under the age of 19.

More than 45,000 people die in Canada annually due to smoking. If you
don't want to be one of those 45,000 people, why don't you just say
'no thanks'?

I really think you should just say no. Smoking is the number thing
that causes lung cancer; it is also the leading cause of mouth,
throat, bladder and kidney cancer.

Marijuana affects your ability to judge distance, speed and your
reaction time. These are very important things in life for you to
have. It is also very important when playing sports or riding a bike.
I am sure that you will want to play sports when you graduate high
school and I am very sure you will want to ride a bike when you get
older and maybe even take a bike ride with your children.

If you do drugs and become an alcoholic, then you will die quicker
than you normally would. You will not be able to see your children
graduate, walk down the aisle, or hold your grandchildren on your lap.

Dear Me,

I hope you haven't gotten yourself into trouble with drugs and
alcohol. Remember the DARE classes with Constable MacNeil, how he
taught us to avoid and cope with drug and alcohol situations
throughout our lives.

There are some things you can do to help live a good life and make
good choices. Don't go hanging around with a bad crowd because they
will probably lead you to do drugs. So stay away from drugs and
liquor. Find friends that are fun and drug free and who also make
good choices. Exercise and keep yourself busy with healthy activities.