Clan: Info_drogues

Committed to Establishing a Vast Virtual Community to Fight Drug Abuse

When you have experienced your own personal problems with drug-addition and managed to pull through with a great deal of effort, courage and determination, your most cherished desire is often to try to convince others not to fall into this hellish world as well as help people get back on the path to recovery. This is the challenge that Sébastien Marchand chose to take up when he created the Clan: Infos_Drogues on the interactive multimedia platform NETLOG. “I reckon that I have won a number of personal battles against drugs. However, I daren’t declare victory because there are still many battles to be fought, and I will fight these battles alongside all those who struggle for survival.” It was in these moving words that Sébastien, a student at Université Laval pursuing a multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree in drug addition, social work and law, poignantly defended his project. And he firmly believes that knowledge is the key to winning the fight.

In January 2006, he began carrying out extensive research so as to compile all the available information on drugs and understand their subsequent social repercussions. His aim is to render this information accessible and to reach out to as many people as possible so that everyone can work together towards finding an effective, universal way, which is open to all, of tackling this scourge. After gathering information from numerous sources, he had to find the best way of publicizing it. “Because drugs know no boundaries, I decided to do the same with my approach,” he goes on to say.

The Internet appeared to be the perfect medium for reaching out to a vast public. But an Internet site, however dynamic, does not enable users to interact nor does it maximize impact, the exchange of information and mutual support. Creating a blog therefore turned out to be the perfect option.

It was in April 2007 that Clan: Infos_Drogues was established as a clan for socializing and obtaining information. It deals with numerous subjects linked to drug addition and provides a multitude of links relating to other addictions. Moreover, several volunteer contributors are available to answer questions within 24 hours and, in the medium term, Sébastien hopes to be able to offer on-line professional services that are available around the clock. It should also be pointed out that Clan: Infos_Drogues ranks in the top 50 most popular clans among the 5,800 present on NETLOG, a platform that is open to everyone and visited by over 30 million Internet users. To maintain his enviable status, Sébastien makes sure that all the information provided is valid. Moreover, he has written a code of ethics, which he asks members to read and sign. The code is a kind of voluntary contract that sets out the guidelines to be followed to ensure mutual respect in a spirit of openness and tolerance.

After more than two years of hard work and having personally invested a great deal of time and money, the Clan: Infos_Drogues has carved out a significant and enviable place for itself on the NETLOG platform: 167 members have signed up, 12,000 people have visited the blog and more than 500 comments have been posted.

“This clan will allow me to continue in my efforts to publicize information as a means of bridging the huge gap between knowledge and ignorance in terms of drugs,” Sébastien Marchand proudly asserts.

Clan: Info_drogues