Pubdate: Thu, 05 May 2005
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2005 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Contact:  http://www.knoxnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: Jim Balloch

DA, SCHOOLS CHIEF MAKE CAMEOS IN METH VIDEO

District Attorney General Randy Nichols did not set out to be in the movies.
Neither did Knox County Schools Superintendent Charles Lindsey.

But Wednesday morning, both men were filmed for cameo roles in a video
called "Meth is Death."

No, it's not a fictional police thriller. It is a deadly serious warning
about the dangers of methamphetamine and the pitfalls of becoming involved
with that drug.

Nichols and Lindsey were at Community Television of Knoxville studios, where
they were filmed making comments that will be used in the introduction of
the video. The rest of the film was completed earlier this year.

"Meth is Death" was created by the statewide Tennessee District Attorneys
General Conference for schools throughout the state.

It will be shown to all middle schools and high schools in the Knox County
school system, beginning next week. About 30,000 students will see the
video.

It was deemed "too graphic" to be shown to elementary school pupils, Lindsey
said.

"You can call it a scare tactic, but it needs to be scary," Lindsey said.
"We are willing to try just about anything to encourage kids to stay away
from meth ... it is an extremely dangerous drug."

The video includes pictures of people before and after they became hooked on
the drug.

"It is a very compelling film," said Nichols. "We are confident that once
the kids see the first couple of minutes of it, they will watch it all the
way through."

Community Television of Knoxville also will show the video next week on the
cable education channel (10 on Comcast) it has set aside for the Knox County
school system. It will be shown Monday through Friday, every half hour
between 7 a.m. and noon, said CTV General Manager David Vogel.

The District Attorneys General Conference decided to prepare the video
because the use and production of meth -- short for methamphetamine -- is on
the rise in Tennessee, and Federal authorities have identified the
Sequatchie Valley area as one of the top meth areas in the country, he said.

Originally it was produced mainly by users, who would sell to other users,
and is very widespread in poor rural areas. But now Mexican cartels are
beginning wholesale production, "and you can see what this will start to
mean for our urban areas," Nichols said.

The drug is instantly addictive to nearly everyone who uses it just once,
and only about four out of 100 addicts are able to break the habit, he said. 
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