Pubdate: Sun, 04 Jun 2000
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2000 The Province
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Author: Steve Berry

GRITTY MESSAGE FOR KIDS IN COPS' ANTI-DRUG FILM

It can be a tough gig appearing before 350 high-school students with the
intention of lecturing them on the evils of drug use.

Catcalls, heckling, and smart-assed jokes can be expected and it is
precisely what a duo of Vancouver police officers received recently at
Gladstone Secondary.

That is, until they rolled the movie, made with their help, which takes
students on a tour of Vancouver's drug-riddled Downtown Eastside. The
auditorium was silent within three minutes of the opening credits.

The half-hour film, as yet untitled, consists of parts of Through a Blue
Lens, the highly-acclaimed gritty documentary that portrays drug addicts as
they interact with members of the Vancouver police Odd Squad. And it
interweaves the experiences of seven high school students, who were
recruited for the new film. They were introduced to six drug addicts and
recovering addicts.

"That was pretty brutal man, that was brutal," says one young man after
watching a notorious addict writhing incoherently in the street.

Randy, the now-recovering addict, then walks into the classroom to answer
questions. He tells the students he would often go on four-day drug binges
injecting both cocaine and heroin.

"I thought I was singing and having a great time," he tells them of the
scene they just witnessed. Asked what his life on drugs was like , he
answers: "I forgot what it was like to smile."

Stephanie, a cherub-faced blonde only a few years older than the kids and
now in recovery, tells the horrified students she became so dependent as to
pay total strangers to shoot drugs into her neck in back alleys. "I wasn't
me anymore," she says. "I was a walking zombie."

The film, directed by Moira Simpson, was premiered to the Gladstone
students. It will have its official release across Canada in the fall.

The Odd Squad is holding a fundraiser to pay for an editing suite and
office. The dinner/dance and auction, will be hosted by Terry David Mulligan
and Vicki Gabereau at the Commodore on June 15. Call 685-5541
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