‘Death by Jib’, a gritty video used as part of the presentation seen by students grades 6 through 12 was also shown. Over 150 audience members including many children with their families asked questions for 25 minutes after the show during an open floor discussion.

CMP Society ED. Mark McLaughlin	MLA Horgan, Councillor Sifert, VREB Rep. Jim Bennett

"The presentation was interactive and kept me interested the whole time. I especially enjoyed how it was created to relate to our age group," said Tina Fraser, a Grade 9 O'Gorman student.

Now, all that activity is the focus of a conference in Abbotsford, where native leaders from about 40 B.C. bands will meet today and tomorrow with senior RCMP and provincial-government officials to discuss the growing problem, under the heading: "Organized Crime, Drugs, and Gangs in First Nations Communities."

Headlines Theatre's play Shattering begins with the premise that addicts come from somewhere: our communities. It is also within our communities that solutions dwell. By combining the multi-layered issue of addiction with Forum Theatre, Shattering engages our collective creativity. Audience members are invited to stop the action of the play, and replace characters onstage providing an opportunity to initiate dialogue and serve as a safe testing ground for experimenting with new ideas.

The eight-member group, representing emergency services, municipal council and health-care workers from Lambton, Chatham-Kent and Essex counties, wants to address the use of meth and other prevalent drugs in a proactive manner.

Casey was one of the community respondents at the second Voices of Substance community dialogue, Approaches to Substance Use in Victoria, which took place last Wednesday at the Central Baptist Church on Pandora Street.

But treatment is only one front of a three-pronged attack on the scourges of the toxic cocktail that destroys brain cells, families and lives. The other two are enforcement and education.

"I think that would create serious problems if we change the name of the task force that has been funded provincially," said task force chair Mary Robson.

The Meth Info Show educates youth on how to recognize crystal methamphetamine, the effects that it has on the body and the devastation it wreaks on families. An 18-minute video that pulls no punches, Death by Jib, was shown to the students. The video was followed by an open question period with presenters and Crystal Meth Victoria Society cofounders Mark McLaughlin and Marilyn Erickson.

"I'm told that Crystal Meth is extremely powerful. Use it once and you get addicted," said Ladysmith RCMP Staff Sgt. Charlie Schall. He reports that police have already closed down a meth lab on Esplanade Avenue and have made other seizures in Ladysmith.