Pubdate: Mon, 17 Jan 2005
Source: World-Spectator, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The World-Spectator.
Contact:  http://www.world-spectator.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2914
Author: Amanda Stephenson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

CRYSTAL METH, ECSTASY PRESENTATION HELD
FOR SCHOOL DIVISION

"My wife and I had made a pact that we wouldn't cry--we would show we were 
strong parents," John Watson told Moosomin School Division students in a 
presentation at McNaughton High last Monday. "But then I felt the tears 
coming. I couldn't stop and then she couldn't stop." Watson was describing 
the pain he and his wife Wanda went through the night their son, 
20-year-old Jimmy Dean, died of an ecstasy overdose.

That was last February. Since then, Watson has devoted his life to 
travelling to schools and warning students about the dangers of crystal 
meth and ecstasy, two drugs that are growing problems in rural 
Saskatchewan. Watson, who is from the Ochapowace First Nation, did his 
presentation for Rocanville and Wapella students on Monday morning in 
Rocanville and again at McNaughton High for Moosomin and Maryfield students 
on Monday afternoon.

He told the audience about the morning that he and Wanda got a call from 
their son's girlfriend, informing them that Jimmy Dean was in a coma. When 
John and Wanda arrived at the hospital, Jimmy Dean was on life support.

"We talked to him-- 'Jimmy, fight back, boy. Don't leave us, boy,' " Watson 
remembers. But at 5:20 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2004, Jimmy Dean was pronounced 
dead from an overdose of ecstasy. Watson, who choked up with tears at the 
end of his presentation on Monday, told the World-Spectator that some days, 
it is incredibly difficult to speak to audiences about his loss. But it is 
something he feels he has to do, to save other parents from having to go 
through the same nightmare. "At some schools it's really hard, and then at 
the next it will be easier," Watson said. "Then I think maybe it's his 
(Jimmy's) spirit guiding me."

Watson said he made the decision to start speaking out about the dangers of 
ecstasy and crystal meth three days after his son was buried. He doesn't 
expect to reach every student who comes to hear his presentation, but he 
does hope it will make an impression on some of them. "This will give them 
something to think about--then it's up to them," Watson said. "No one can 
make our choices for us."

Sergeant John Hodgson of the Moosomin RCMP says that crystal meth and 
ecstasy haven't come to the attention of RCMP in this area yet, but these 
drugs are becoming increasingly common in rural Saskatchewan. He says 
presentations like the one on Monday are a good way to start when it comes 
to prevention. That is exactly what the board of the Moosomin School 
Division was hoping when it decided to have Watson give his presentation. 
School board chair Marg Gordon says she wouldn't want to say whether drugs 
like crystal meth and ecstasy are a problem in the Moosomin School 
Division, but the board just wanted to make sure students are informed 
about the dangers. "We're concerned that the information gets out," Gordon 
says. "I don't think any young person is immune."

School division counsellor Sherril Roberts agrees. "They (these drugs) are 
so dangerous. If it's here, then eventually someone's going to get hurt," 
she says. "We don't reach everyone, we know that. But I feel if you save 
one life or have one or two kids make the choice not to do that, then it's 
worth it."

Students Hear Emotional Anti-Drug Message

Kassandra Shaw, McNaughton High student and president of Moosomin's SADD 
(Students Against Drinking and Driving) group, says she knows that drugs 
are a problem in the Moosomin area. "Maybe not as much as in some of the 
big cities, but they definitely are," she says. Shaw says she thinks 
Watson's presentation sends a good message to students by showing themthat 
the dangers of drugs are not an exaggeration. "I think the biggest thing 
is, whether it stops some people who are already doing it or not, maybe it 
will make other people who don't think it's reality realize that it is," 
Shaw says.

For John Watson, the reality of drugs has hit far too close to home. He 
concluded his presentation by asking students to think about the people who 
love them when they make their decisions. "Those of you that have parents, 
I ask you to think of the choices you'll have to make when you head off to 
university,"Watson said. "Remember me and my baby Jimmy Dean."

The Moosomin School Division is also working on organizing a crystal meth 
and ecstasy information night for parents that will take place in the near 
future.
- ---