GrizzlyEdd
November 13th, 2007, 05:27 PM
www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/11/13/news/local/news04.txt (http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/11/13/news/local/news04.txt)
Pharmacy students warn middle-schoolers of meth's ugly addiction
By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian
The Montana Meth Project's commercials are great at grabbing attention about drug abuse. But then what?
A team of pharmacy students from the University of Montana borrowed some Washington Middle School students on Monday to test their ideas for stretching those 30-second horror stories into science-backed lesson plans. They sought the sweet spot in an eighth-grader's attention span, the ideal mix of biochemistry, true-life stories and simple language.
“I was impressed with their science knowledge,” pharmacy senior and UM Grizzly football player Loren Utterback said of Kari Boucher's health/physical education students. “They knew the definitions of things like neurotransmitters.”
Classmate and teammate Kelly Kain turned his own football experience into an effective lesson on methamphetamine's impact on dopamine in the brain. With a series of stick-figure drawings, he showed the middle-schoolers how the first use of meth resembles scoring a touchdown before a stadium full of fans.
“It's crazy on the field - it gives you goosebumps,” Kain said to a rapt audience. “The fans cheering for you, that's the dopamine giving you that pleasurable feeling. So you try scoring two touchdowns, but this time, only half the fans are cheering for you. And no matter what you do, how much more meth you do, you aren't getting that feeling back. Not only are you not feeling better, you're destroying your body.”
Just thought I would share some positive U of Montana news... There are some awesome Griz players who do a lot of good in our community and state wide... in all of the other crap, lets not forget the "keepers."xnodx
Pharmacy students warn middle-schoolers of meth's ugly addiction
By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian
The Montana Meth Project's commercials are great at grabbing attention about drug abuse. But then what?
A team of pharmacy students from the University of Montana borrowed some Washington Middle School students on Monday to test their ideas for stretching those 30-second horror stories into science-backed lesson plans. They sought the sweet spot in an eighth-grader's attention span, the ideal mix of biochemistry, true-life stories and simple language.
“I was impressed with their science knowledge,” pharmacy senior and UM Grizzly football player Loren Utterback said of Kari Boucher's health/physical education students. “They knew the definitions of things like neurotransmitters.”
Classmate and teammate Kelly Kain turned his own football experience into an effective lesson on methamphetamine's impact on dopamine in the brain. With a series of stick-figure drawings, he showed the middle-schoolers how the first use of meth resembles scoring a touchdown before a stadium full of fans.
“It's crazy on the field - it gives you goosebumps,” Kain said to a rapt audience. “The fans cheering for you, that's the dopamine giving you that pleasurable feeling. So you try scoring two touchdowns, but this time, only half the fans are cheering for you. And no matter what you do, how much more meth you do, you aren't getting that feeling back. Not only are you not feeling better, you're destroying your body.”
Just thought I would share some positive U of Montana news... There are some awesome Griz players who do a lot of good in our community and state wide... in all of the other crap, lets not forget the "keepers."xnodx