Pubdate: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 Source: Alberni Valley Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 Alberni Valley Times Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouverisland/albernivalleytimes/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4043 Author: Quintin Winks Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) RCMP OFFER DRUG INFO SESSION Ecstasy Concerns Spur Parent Education Concern by the perceived rising popularity of ecstasy among Port Alberni youth has Mounties teaming up with the District Parent Advisory Council to educate parents and the communities of the drug's danger. The event, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. tomorrow, is an information session meant to arm parents and families with information. It's part of the police program Project E Aware and was sparked by the chemical drug issue in communities across B.C., said RCMP Cpl. Dave Cusson, area co-ordinator for drugs and organized crime awareness services. "Port Alberni is not immune to chemical drugs by any means," Cusson said. "You're seeing trends with young people experimenting with drugs that are essentially a cocktail of various chemicals. They're very risky to use and in some cases kill people." Among the recent victims of ecstasy was 21-year-old Erin Spanevello. The attractive young West Vancouver resident died after mixing her first-ever dose of ecstasy with GHB, commonly known as a date-rape drug. The combination of drugs proved lethal. On Thursday, Catherine Spanevello, mother of Erin, is coming to Port Alberni to speak of the experience ecstasy has had on her family. It's an experience that began in ignorance, but in the months since her daughter died, Spanevello has learned a lot about ecstasy and the youth drug culture. She plans to share that knowledge with parents in an effort to help them avoid enduring the same loss. "The chemical drug issue is building and parents don't have a lot of knowledge about them," Cusson said. "Parents mostly know about marijuana and alcohol and the hard chemicals like cocaine and heroin. But ecstasy is a drug that parents aren't aware of." Following the presentation by Spanevello, which is set to kick off at about 7 p.m., there will be speeches by members of the RCMP, including Theresa Thompson, school liaison officer for the RCMP who provides prevention education for school students. Const. John Bouchard of the municipal drug section will also speak about local drug trends in Port Alberni. Those trends include information on what drugs are showing up, their effects and how and why youths might take them. "I know ecstasy is around," Cusson said. "Young people are using it in the community. It used to be used at raves, now it's being used at parties and even daily. It's being used as a means to replace alcohol. The pills are cheap, they're easy to hide and don't produce the same effects of alcohol." While ecstasy might be common in Port Alberni, it might be less so in the next community. Each community is unique, and Bouchard will present on the current drug trends in Port Alberni today, Cusson said. While parents will walk away with a much better idea of who is at risk and telltale signs to watch for, the information session will also benefit police. The issue of drugs is not purely a police problem, but one that belongs to the whole community, Cusson said. "There's no such thing as a safe drug," he said. "These chemical drugs have no controls and recipes vary. We don't know what's in them, drug dealers don't know what's in them and the people taking them don't know what's in them." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D