Pubdate: Sat, 19 Oct 2002 Source: North County Times (CA) Contact: 2002 North County Times Website: http://www.nctimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080 Author: Candice Reed Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) STUDENTS EXPERIENCE DRUG THEATER VISTA -- More than 600 students from Vista and Oceanside middle schools participated in Red Ribbon Week by attending an interactive program at the Vista Elks Lodge and it wasn't anything like they had ever seen before. "This was crazy," said Ray Garcia, 11, a sixth grader from Lincoln Middle School in Oceanside. "I thought this would be boring, but it was pretty real. I know kids like this." The "Drug Store" is an interactive four-day event concluding today that targeted local sixth graders with a surprise message delivered uniquely through a theatrical production. The program was organized as a community-wide effort involving the Vista Unified and Oceanside Unified school districts, South Coast Elks Association, city of Vista and Vista Fire Department, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, California National Guard, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Eternal Hills Mortuary, San Diego County Probation Department, Vista Superior Court judges and the Alpha Project. While the Drug Store concept has been used elsewhere, the event at the Elks Lodge was the first time it has been put on in North County, organizers said. Students, who may think they are attending just another drug presentation, are confronted with a simulated drug tragedy. Student actors, real judges, law enforcement officers, defense and district attorneys, trauma personnel, treatment professionals and a funeral director act out the consequences when a student steals and abuses drugs. As the students stepped off the bus laughing and joking during a presentation this week, they were taken to a simulated pharmacy set up in the first of a series of tents. The students viewed an assortment of drugs and listened to a lecture. But in the middle, things took a surprising turn. The audience is informed a sample of rock cocaine was stolen by one of the students, an actor planted in the group. As more officers arrived and the atmosphere became charged, the students' eyes grew wide and many shrank from the proceedings as the suspected girl student was placed in handcuffs and frisked. The students were then told the suspect made a wrong choice and would have to pay the price. "I was really surprised when all that happened," said Brianna Woolf, 10, who attends Roosevelt Middle School, one of Vista Unified's schools in Oceanside. "I think this will make a big impression on a lot of kids. It made an impression on me." Thereafter, the students went from tent to tent, following the legal process as the actor was booked into jail, taken to court, sentenced to probation and placed in a drug-education class. Following the class, the students follow the actor to party, where she has an unfortunate experience mixing drugs and alcohol. The actor then is viewed in a hospital tent where a staff of real emergency personnel tried to save her. Seeing the child being covered by a sheet brought tears to some of the parents in the audience. "I came along today to see what my child would be seeing," said Bettina Munoz, 44, of Oceanside. "This is a good program, but for a parent it seems too real. I don't know if the kids know what kind of impact this would have on a parent." The final scene took place at the student's funeral and eulogy with an open casket containing a mirror. When the audience members looked in, they saw their own reflection. For Ashley Castrellon, a seventh grader at Lincoln Middle School in Vista who played a victim in the presentations, the program was emotional. "It was interesting playing this person, but I'm really glad I didn't end up in the casket," she said. "It started out fun, but it got a little scary at times. I know people think this is funny and stuff but I'm pretty sure they got the message." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk