By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Ann Marie Kirk makes television shows for students, but her latest project is meant to educate parents.

Kirk writes, directs and produces programming for the Teleschool branch of the Department of Education. When she heard Wayde Lee do a presentation on designer drugs, she thought his "talk story" approach would be perfect for a simple, straightforward television program.

"I'm not really a TV person," Lee says in his laid-back Moloka'i-style way of speaking. "I was like, nah, I'd rather just talk to people face-to-face. But I told her, 'Ah, it's OK. I try.' "

Lee worked with Kirk to condense his hour-long presentation into a half-hour. He talks about Rohypnol, GHB, Ecstasy and Oxycontin — drugs known as "club drugs."

"Everyone is focusing on ice, but I think we should be maka'ala on these drugs because they're on the rise."

Designer drugs are very different from others that parents may be aware of, Lee says. For one thing, a kid doesn't have to be an active participant.

"With something like ice, you have a choice," says Lee. "Either you want to do it or you don't. With designer drugs, kids don't have a choice. They're slipping them into their drinks, slipping it into food."

Another big difference is the sort of paraphernalia associated with designer drugs. "It's in a pill form, and the paraphernalia is stuff like Vicks or pacifiers or M&M candies. It's a whole new culture. It has its own clothes-

wear. And the marketing is towards youth."

Lee has given his presentation in O'ahu communities, but on Moloka'i, where he works with a youth program, he says, "I ask my youth and they say, 'Yes, Uncle, even on Moloka'i we have that kind.' "

In the program, called "Designer Drugs: What Every Parent Should Know," Lee uses video clips to illustrate the dangers of these kind of drugs. In one segment, a doctor talks to a young woman who was a long-term Ecstasy addict. "Look how almost moth-eaten it looks there," the doctor says, referring to an image of the woman's brain on a computer screen. "You're, what, 22 years old? I would say this would be the brain of someone in their late 60s or 70s who has had multiple little strokes."

Hearing Wayde Lee talk about what parents should look out for is like getting the scoops from a relative who works in the police department. He knows his stuff, but his delivery is like he's talking story over stew and rice.

"Parents gotta know about this. They gotta be aware. Don't just drop your kids off at a party. Take the time to go in and look around. Really check it out."

The program runs Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. through November on Channel 53 on the Big Island and Channel 56 in the rest of the state.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honolulu

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