WINNIPEG — Teens in Manitoba said it’s time to change the messaging around impaired driving because of the emergence of fentanyl and carfentanil.
Students from River East Collegiate had a chance to see a new film by Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada (MADD), called In the Blink of an Eye.
Students from grade 7-12 had the opportunity to watch the film that showed how a simple night of drinking can so quickly take a fatal turn with one wrong decision.
Patricia Hynes-Coates, the National President of MADD Canada, said the objective of the group has been to get the message out about the destruction that comes with impaired driving. But, she also said messaging has changed recently to meet the changing landscape of impairment in the country.
“You’ll see in our messaging that it’s no longer drunk driving, it’s impaired driving. Impaired will include marijuana, alcohol, to fentanyl, to anything that you can consume in your body that will throw you off,” Hynes-Coates said.
The change in messaging is what many teens at River East Collegiate are asking for. They said they’re glad there is messaging out there and they’ve learned a lot about drinking and driving through many platforms, even about smoking marijuana and driving.
However, their big concern is the new drugs they don’t know much about: fentanyl and carfentanil.
“Fear, lots of scared feelings towards those kinds of drugs just because we haven’t learned about them,” Holly Simpson said.
The student from River East Collegiate said she feels like health class, gym class, even science class, along with MADD Canada and her family have all talked about drinking and driving, but she wants to learn more about these opiods she keeps hearing about but doesn’t know much about.
MADD Canada said whether it’s drinking and driving, texting, drugs, or any other impairments, they’ll continue to adapt the message as necessary.
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