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05-27-2005, 06:29 AM
Motocross champion helps promote drug dangers
By VANESSA FRANKO, Staff Writer
Most people don't think of cough suppressants as dangerous drugs for teenagers.
Filmmakers Brian Charlesworth and Brad Barham are trying to change that perception.
They'll screen their new documentary, "The New Face of Drugs," at Westfield Annapolis on Wednesday with the help of X Games Motocross gold medalist Travis Pastrana and his mother, Debby.
Mr. Charlesworth said he and Mr. Barham met Ms. Pastrana a few years ago and enlisted her help when they were getting the documentary ready.
While making the film, Mr. Charlesworth said, he was struck by teens' attitudes about drugs.
When he interviewed 80 teens in a Utah park, 30 to 50 percent said they knew people who used drugs.
But when he asked about pills like "Red Devils," better known as the cold medicine Coricidin and Dextromethorphan, or DXM, found in cough syrups, the kids said 80 to 90 percent used them.
"The weird thing is that kids don't view those pills as drugs," Mr. Charlesworth said.
The documentary includes testimony from teens who were addicted to drugs, many of which were prescription and over-the-counter.
Ms. Pastrana said that when she saw the film screened in Salt Lake City, she was struck by what she didn't know about today's drug culture in teens.
"The drugs are in our cabinets. When we think of drugs we think of marijuana, heroin," she said.
Some of the teens featured in the documentary will be at the Annapolis screening to answer questions. The Pastranas also will be there.
Mr. Charlesworth and Mr. Barham, of Salt
Lake City, were working for a company doing drug testing when they realized that families had no idea what to do or where to get help for children with drug addictions.
They embarked on six months of Internet research and found there was little information about what families can do. They met with a team of drug treatment professionals and later narcotics officers and formed DrugTALK.
The team interviewed 200 teens for the documentary.
Allison Eatough, a spokesman for North Arundel Hospital, said abuse of cough medicines with DXM has been on the rise for the past five years.
The documentary also touches on use of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which can lead some people into heroin.
Ms. Pastrana said she broke her neck last year and was given OxyContin. After she saw "The New Face of Drugs," she looked in her medicine cabinet and saw she had nine pills left.
"Brian said to me, 'For one, get rid of them. For two, you could sell those for $900.' We don't even realize what we have," she said.
"The New Face of Drugs" includes in-depth interviews with teens who had a problem, including some frightening tales of flatlining in the hospital and being brought back to life.
The documentary urges parents to talk to their kids routinely about drugs.
Ms. Pastrana said she was blessed because of her close relationship with Travis and that he never got into drugs, and she hoped the film would touch parents and children and get them to talk.
"Drugs are a lot like sex. If people aren't willing to talk about it, kids are going to experiment on their own," Mr. Charlesworth said.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/r...05/05_26-38/TOP (http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/05_26-38/TOP)
By VANESSA FRANKO, Staff Writer
Most people don't think of cough suppressants as dangerous drugs for teenagers.
Filmmakers Brian Charlesworth and Brad Barham are trying to change that perception.
They'll screen their new documentary, "The New Face of Drugs," at Westfield Annapolis on Wednesday with the help of X Games Motocross gold medalist Travis Pastrana and his mother, Debby.
Mr. Charlesworth said he and Mr. Barham met Ms. Pastrana a few years ago and enlisted her help when they were getting the documentary ready.
While making the film, Mr. Charlesworth said, he was struck by teens' attitudes about drugs.
When he interviewed 80 teens in a Utah park, 30 to 50 percent said they knew people who used drugs.
But when he asked about pills like "Red Devils," better known as the cold medicine Coricidin and Dextromethorphan, or DXM, found in cough syrups, the kids said 80 to 90 percent used them.
"The weird thing is that kids don't view those pills as drugs," Mr. Charlesworth said.
The documentary includes testimony from teens who were addicted to drugs, many of which were prescription and over-the-counter.
Ms. Pastrana said that when she saw the film screened in Salt Lake City, she was struck by what she didn't know about today's drug culture in teens.
"The drugs are in our cabinets. When we think of drugs we think of marijuana, heroin," she said.
Some of the teens featured in the documentary will be at the Annapolis screening to answer questions. The Pastranas also will be there.
Mr. Charlesworth and Mr. Barham, of Salt
Lake City, were working for a company doing drug testing when they realized that families had no idea what to do or where to get help for children with drug addictions.
They embarked on six months of Internet research and found there was little information about what families can do. They met with a team of drug treatment professionals and later narcotics officers and formed DrugTALK.
The team interviewed 200 teens for the documentary.
Allison Eatough, a spokesman for North Arundel Hospital, said abuse of cough medicines with DXM has been on the rise for the past five years.
The documentary also touches on use of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which can lead some people into heroin.
Ms. Pastrana said she broke her neck last year and was given OxyContin. After she saw "The New Face of Drugs," she looked in her medicine cabinet and saw she had nine pills left.
"Brian said to me, 'For one, get rid of them. For two, you could sell those for $900.' We don't even realize what we have," she said.
"The New Face of Drugs" includes in-depth interviews with teens who had a problem, including some frightening tales of flatlining in the hospital and being brought back to life.
The documentary urges parents to talk to their kids routinely about drugs.
Ms. Pastrana said she was blessed because of her close relationship with Travis and that he never got into drugs, and she hoped the film would touch parents and children and get them to talk.
"Drugs are a lot like sex. If people aren't willing to talk about it, kids are going to experiment on their own," Mr. Charlesworth said.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/r...05/05_26-38/TOP (http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/05_26-38/TOP)