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Graphic meth video will be shown to kids

A 12-year-old boy strapped to a chair chokes as battery acid is forced down his throat, winces in pain as his teeth are drilled until they pour blood and worms are dumped all over him.

The average viewer might surmise it's a scene from a horror movie -- until subtitles flash messages as the young boy struggles in pain.

"Crystal meth is rapid heart rate, obsessive grooming, the feeling that bugs are crawling on your skin and rapid tooth decay," the subtitles say as a seductive woman, who represents the lure of meth, tortures the boy.

The graphic scene is shown in a music video featuring Winnipeg rapper Fresh I.E. that will be part of a provincewide drug prevention program to be launched in the fall. The campaign will target youth between the ages of 10 and 14.

"Most people would say it's on the graphic side but we say it's just the true depiction of the reality of drug use," said Daniel Paspaporn, events director for The Adapt Campaign.

"People don't really know the risks of it. At least one out of every 10 kids that we quiz put meth in the same category as marijuana."

Winnipegger Eddy Smith was only 15 when he died in June from a meth overdose. His death was the most tragic incident of four recent cases that involved young people who thought they were popping an ecstasy pill.

Instead, the pill contained an unknown amount of methamphetamine. As a result, Winnipeg police recently issued an anti-drug warning to teens and their parents.

The video was produced by Original Pictures Inc. to show kids the side effects of meth. They warn the viewer that prolonged use can cause insomnia, the feeling of bugs crawling over your skin and rotting teeth, amoung other things.

Fresh I.E., who is also a youth pastor, got involved in the campaign after hearing the story of a young man who lost everything because of his addiction to meth. Eventually, the man turned his life around. Fresh I.E wanted to use his music to help others like him.

"I think there are so many things out there that are trying to take away our youth," he said. "Music is a big influence in society for young people so using it to combat some of the things we are dealing with is an effective tool to win back our youth."

The campaign will also include an interactive website with information, quizzes, trivia and the video posted by Sept. 21.

Kids can also download a form they can print off and sign, pledging they will never try the drug. The sheets can be scanned and uploaded back on the website.

"Whether they stick to their promise is up to them, but at the very least we know they have been made aware of the risks and can make the decision themselves, which ties into the Adapt Campaign," Paspaporn said. "Adapt to us means we're going to give you some information and you need to adapt it to the situation that comes across for you."

In Fuse Group Inc., the local company launching the campaign, will also send out school packages with information teachers need to help prevent their students from using the drug.

The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) said targeting one type of drug might not be a good idea.

"What you're almost doing by picking on one drug is saying the rest are OK. That's how they read it," said CEO John Borody. "They say 'well that one's bad so the other ones must be OK.'"

The Adapt Campaign is only the first of many prevention programs to be launched by In Fuse Group Inc., Paspaporn said.

In Manitoba, the top three substances of choice are alcohol, marijuana and mushrooms.

"For street kids, the use of meth has dropped considerably in the last few years," Borody said.

Before the drug becomes a problem in Manitoba, the Adapt Campaign wants to promote drug use prevention.

"We are a preventative initiative and the whole basis of that would be to curb it before it might even arrive," Paspaporn said. "If we had to fight Crystal meth and it was already here, it would be a losing battle."

The video will be launched on the campaign website at www.adaptcampaign.ca.