Anti-meth campaign headed for classrooms

Citing a statistic that says half of children who are shown the harmful affects of methamphetamine will not try the drug, the Crystal Darkness Coalition is looking for money and volunteers to fund an education program and media blitz that will go into Northern Nevada schools.

"If I get one kid to never try it, my life has purpose," said Amy Clemens, Advocacy Committee chairwoman with the Junior League of Reno.

On Thursday, the Crystal Darkness Alliance held a press conference at the Governor's Mansion regarding the Northern Nevada Release of the Crystal Darkness Training Program. The release in Northern Nevada, modeled after a methamphetamine education program in Las Vegas, will bring training and prevention tools to the schools.

In Vegas, Pastor Troy Martinez, founder of 10,000 Kids, published 250,000 pamphlets using the Crystal Darkness documentary that was filmed in Reno and Carson City and aired simultaneously on every channel on Jan. 9, 2007.

Martinez said the Las Vegas Crystal Darkness campaign has educated more than 30,000 students and parents on the effects of methamphetamine abuse.

The Junior League of Reno has taken on the campaign as its primary advocacy project for Washoe, Carson City and Douglas counties. "We are looking to find people to help fight the battle against our growing methamphetamine war here in Northern Nevada," said Clemens.

Clemens said volunteers are needed to be trained on the curriculum and then to go into the area schools and give talks.

She said money is also needed to produce a 30-page pamphlet like the one in Las Vegas.

"We need volunteers and we need corporate sponsors," said Clemens.

The Crystal Darkness documentary was filmed more than a year ago in Reno and Carson City. It came about during a Secret Witness meeting, said documentary producer Michael Reynolds, also a Secret Witness board member and president of Global Studios of Reno.

Reynolds said initially he asked television to donate time slots for a public service announcement, but then the suggestions came that a documentary be filmed, and Reynolds and company ran with the idea.

After getting all of the local stations to agree to air the documentary at the same time, local methamphetamine addicts and those in recovery were interviewed for the program.

Among those were Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong and his daughter Kendra, clean now for five years.

Since then, said Reynolds, his group has gone into Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, and California and made a similar documentary using people from those communities.

"This is a grassroots campaign that is unmatched," said Clemens.

Anyone is eligible to volunteer, said Martinez.

YOU CAN HELP

For more information visit www.crystaldarknessalliance.com or call 1-789-8159.

For a copy of the local documentary visit crystaldarkness.com.