Pubdate: Mon, 07 Nov 2005
Source: Parklander, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2005 Hinton Parklander
Contact:  http://www.hintonparklander.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/782
Author: Jessica Kerr
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)

METH PROGRAM WON'T REACH RURAL ALBERTA

Rural students in Alberta will not be privy to a new nation-wide
crystal meth education program that was launched on Oct. 31.

The Council on Drug Abuse (CODA) has aimed its program, Between Life and
Death: The Crystal Meth Explosion, at high school students and highlights
five different topics: how and why meth makes you feel the way it does,
peer pressure, addiction, short and long-term effects of meth use/abuse,
how to quit or help a friend quit.

The program is set to be in Calgary classrooms Oct.31 to Nov. 11 and
in Edmonton from Nov.14-24, but will not journey outside the urban
centres. Lesley Whyte, CODA executive director, said that the program
only has enough funding to visit the two cities right now. "We do want
to branch out though," she said.

The program, which is being funded by Shoppers Drug Mart, was
developed by Dr. Ronald Clavier, a psychologist and neuroscientist,
and offers the most current, factual information about the drug and
its impact on the brain and the rest of the body.

Between Life and Death is one of two education campaigns launched this
month with the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC)
unveiling two new television commercials a few weeks ago.

The ads began airing Oct. 12 and depict the damaging consequences of
crystal meth and the effects it has on the health of users, as well as
what it can do to personal relationships and the mental well-being of
the user.

The commercials, which are only slated to run for four weeks, were
developed with the input of youth and parents in Alberta and will be
made available to other provinces.

The Hinton Drug Action Committee is also set to refocus on education
initiatives in the near future. The group is planning on regrouping in
December and setting out a new set of goals, said Tasha Allen Symon,
area supervisor for AADAC.

One of the projects HDAC will be taking on, she said, is working with
industry employers in the area to educate them and their employees
about addictions, with some focus on crystal meth.

"Education is a key component, but it's certainly not the only thing,"
Allen Symon said, adding that education has to be combined with other
community activities, such as prevention, in order to be the most effective.

She said HDAC will be looking at all avenues when it starts meeting
again in December.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin