Anti-P play to tour schools

1.00pm

A play aimed at influencing teenagers to say no to methamphetamine will tour Northland high schools, thanks to $40,000 of public donations.

Organisers of 10 Foot Tall and Bullet Proof, a theatre production focusing on the addictive nature of pure methamphetamine, or P, had been frustrated they could not raise the money to pay for the professionals needed and to keep the play admission-free.

But after an eight-month sponsorship mission, organisers now have enough money to fund a three-week tour of Northland high schools.

Producer Alan Palmer, who is a member of Playworks Co and came up with the idea for the play, was thrilled it will be performed because of his passion to educate teenagers about the danger of P .

The play, which supported by the Whangarei Arts Promotion Trust, is aimed at 15- to 18-year-olds. It follows the story of a young woman, played by Whangarei's Gemma Adams, who becomes a "burnt-out slave to P" and was written following talks with former P addicts.

Following the play, workshops will be held with students to discuss the drug as well as the alternative decisions the young woman in the play could have taken to avoid ruining her life.

The workshops will be run with the help of health professionals.

Mr Palmer also expected to set up internet support enabling schools to set up websites to share information about the anti-drugs message.

A Northland-wide campaign to eradicate the use of P, coinciding with the play, will start at the end of the month.

Dubbed the "P Prevention Campaign" , meetings will be held in Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Whangarei and Dargaville to inform locals about the dangers of P.

Drug awareness co-ordinator Shirley-Anne Brown said the meetings would teach people how to detect usage, where to go for support and to encourage community action against the drug.

Former P addicts would also talk about their experiences.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)