PEERS WARN OF DRUG'S DANGERS

A documentary shown Tuesday allowed students at Central Secondary
School to see the devastating effects of hard drugs from recovering
addicts in their own community.

"Effective Fight For Eliminating Drugs" discussed life experiences of
men and women who slid easily into the drug culture but continue to
battle to stay out of it.

Melissa Schenk, executive producer of MS2 Productions, is presenting
the educational documentary to students in Perth and Huron counties
as part of the Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth's drug
prevention initiative.

Subjects of the documentary "courageously shared their stories," Ms.
Schenk said.

Cherie talked about losing 90 pounds after getting hooked on meth and
how narcotics controlled her life.

She started using pot and ecstasy as a teenager and gradually got
into heavier drugs like meth and crack cocaine.

Michelle talked about failing a drug test and losing her children,
while Michelle's mother cried as she described losing her daughter to
drug addiction.

"I gave my children up for meth," Michelle said.

Depression problems surfaced early in life for Derek, who replaced
cutting himself with drug use that nearly killed him.

Eventually, drugs were not fun anymore, he said.

He lost friends and family.

Derek said there are two sides to Stratford: the beautiful one that
most people see and the reality of what drug addicts see each day.

The documentary featured local teens discussing how boring their
communities can be.

"It's easy to get drugs," said a county teenager. "You walk down the
street and see 10 dealers."

In the documentary, Ellen Balmain, executive director of the United
Way of Perth County, said her agency asked youth for the three most
pressing problems in their lives.

Drugs was number one, she said.

The documentary featured interviews with police officers and
counsellors who work in prevention, enforcement and treatment.

"It's a community problem," said Dr. John Duncan, a professor
offering expertise from the University of Oklahoma.

Jim, the eldest of the recovering addicts, described being high on
crack cocaine as the "best feeling in the world," a feeling that
every addict chases after.

Now clean, Jim has turned his attention to mastering welding skills
with the help of a local school program. His regrets include losing
his daughter -- a drug addict like her father -- when she was 21.

"I went through years and years of grief. They suck the life right
out of you. I wish I never touched drugs," said Jim.

Ms. Schenk said documentary participants shared their stories so
students can make educated decisions in the future.

Students told her they have heard of many of the drugs circulating in
their community, however, they were unaware that marijuana can
sometimes be laced with meth.

Few were aware of the task force, but most admitted they know of meth
and other drugs.

"Getting into drugs is the easiest thing, getting out is the
hardest," Cherie said in a telling portion of the documentary.
"You're lucky if you can (get out)."

You walk down the street and you see 10 dealers."