Chuck Matson gives advice direct from drug users: Don’t even start.The professional speaker was here in 2002 and talked to Luverne students in an unforgettable, dynamic presentation. He is speaking to them again next week and is broadening his audience by inviting the general public. The local Meth Task Force sponsors the presentations.He will speak Monday, Oct. 24, to the Luverne High School at 9:30 a.m., Luverne Middle School at 10:45 a.m. and Hills-Beaver Creek High School at 1 p.m.As a veteran of the Omaha Police Department, he has seen first-hand the aftereffects of drugs and shares what he has seen, including pictures, in his presentation. He tells listeners that drug use supports terrorism, because people like Osama bin Laden and groups like the Russian Mafia produce drugs. Matson also plays at people’s vanity by showing them mug shots of drug users looking worse over time. He also shows brain scans of drug users and how the damage is irreparable.Some of our readers might not think there’s a drug problem locally, but not everyone who’s busted for possession makes the paper. And thanks to meth cookers, even law abiding cold medicine users have to sign off on purchases of certain drugs so the illegal drug problem touches all of us.Methamphetamines are getting a lot of attention, with a few manufacturing sites found in Rock County in the past two years and a special task force formed to address problems with meth. Other drugs, so-called party drugs, are also on the rise and create just as much long-term damage to the brain and body as meth does.Matson is a dynamic and convincing speaker, and we hope the general public and our school kids remember his message and share it with those who can’t make his presentation.
