Tracknum: 3141.7.0.1.0.0.20061117074600.019c3d70 Pubdate: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 Source: Chatham Daily News, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2006 OSPREY Media Group Inc. Contact: http://www.chathamdailynews.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/162 Author: Erica Bajer, and Bob Boughner GROUP CRACKING DOWN ON DRUGS ESP Launches Program To Fight Substance Abuse The latest effort to combat the "alarming'' rate of substance use and abuse in Chatham-Kent was launched Thursday. In the war on drugs, East Side Pride has developed a drug awareness campaign dubbed C.R.A.C.K. - Citizens Raising Awareness in Chatham-Kent. "The purpose of this campaign is to educate the community about the dangers and risks of drug use and its prevalence in our community,'' Marjorie Crew of East Side Pride and a newly-elected Chatham councillor, told a media conference. The goal, she said, is to make the community safer, healthier and more vibrant. "This campaign is acknowledged as one small step, but we feel an important one,'' she said. Crew said substance abuse is a contributing factor in many crimes committed in Chatham-Kent. Joe, not his real name, knows first-hand the toll drugs can have on a person's life. "I was suicidal, I wanted to kill myself," he said. "I knew I hit bottom." Joe said his decades-long drug addiction began when he sniffed nail polish remover and glue at the age of 14. His quest for a high quickly moved to illegal drugs including marijuana. "From that, it just escalated as time went on," the 49-year-old said, adding he soon moved on to LSD, methamphetamine and heroine. Joe said he doesn't know why he became a drug addict. "I used to blame it on issues in my life which I didn't have because I came from a good family," he said. Joe said as a teen, he hung around with older kids. "I thought they were cool," he said. "In order to be like them, I acted like them." Joe became a methamphetamine addict and to support his habit sold drugs. In the mid-1970s, the police caught up with Joe and he spent two years less a day in jail for trafficking. Shortly after his release, he was again arrested for trafficking. That sentence took him away from a pregnant girlfriend and made him want to change his ways. "It was a little too late," he said, noting his girlfriend left him when his daughter was born. The loss of his family sent Joe back to drugs and alcohol, which he became increasingly dependent on. "I was so bad, my liver was starting to shut down," he said. Joe said his addiction got to the point where he lived on the streets and couldn't keep anything in his stomach except booze. "The doctor told me I had to stop drinking or I was going to die," he said. When Joe found himself strung out, cold and hungry with nowhere to go, he did the only thing he could - asked for help. "I fell to my knees crying because I had enough. It beat me," he said. Joe has now been sober for 10 years and he still fights his addictive urges. He said the C.R.A.C.K. campaign is worth it if one person avoids trying drugs because of it. "It's okay to push drugs out, but this is a prevention tool," Crew said. ESP has worked to eradicate drugs and drug-related criminal activity from Chatham's east side. They have helped shut down more than 40 drug houses in that part of town. "We've seen what drugs can do to a community, we have suffered the negative effects for many years," Crew said. "It's been a long haul in getting our community back to where we feel safe walking on the streets." Drugs are a known problem in the municipality, officials said. "The use of drugs is very high in Chatham-Kent compared to other parts of Ontario,'' said Dave Cons, chairman of the Drug Education Alliance of Chatham-Kent. "Ask any police officer and they will confirm what I say.'' John Zarebski of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Chatham-Kent, said 45 per cent of Grade 11 and 12 students in Chatham-Kent have indicated they've used cannabis in the past year. "The alarming fact is that nearly 16 per cent of them are using it daily,'' he said. "That's up from eight per cent in 1999.'' Zarebski said drug use in Chatham-Kent is actually higher than in Toronto. He said high-risk consumption of alcohol by adults is also a concern in Chatham-Kent. Chelle Cartier of the Drug Education Alliance said the Drug Awareness Council of Chatham-Kent chose Drug Awareness Week, which starts Monday, to launch the campaign. Cartier said pamphlets will be distributed to various groups and individuals in Chatham-Kent containing information related to the campaign. The literature deals with such subjects as the indoor growing of marijuana, protecting children from harmful drugs and methamphetamine labs. For more information on drugs visit www.eastsidepride.ca or www.streetdrugs.org.