Several students from the Pearl River Center for Alternative Education visited the Picayune Police Department on Wednesday to receive an interactive education on drugs, alcohol and car safety.

Picayune Police Department Capt. James Bolton spoke to the students about avoiding drugs and other bad influences in order to succeed in life.

“If you really want to get ahead in life, and somebody offers you a drug, the best thing you can do is say no,” Bolton said. “Because if you say yes, you will regret it later in life.”

He displayed to the class the various narcotics to avoid, including ecstasy, and explained that regular prescription drugs like Sudafed, a nasal decongestant, can be used to make methamphetamine.

“The only way you can purchase Sudafed is with a prescription from your doctor,” Bolton said. “While it’s just a nasal decongestant, we’ve seen people use the drug to make crystal meth, which is why it’s regulated by the state.”

Other topics discussed included alcohol and car safety.

Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri spoke about the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

“Let’s say you’re in an SUV, and there’s three or four of you in one vehicle,” Magri said, “if one person isn’t buckled in and you get into a car accident, that person is going to kill you if the car rolls over. So we really encourage everyone to wear a seatbelt.”

During and after the presentation, students asked Bolton several questions concerning drugs, car safety and other topics.

The center’s principal, Nilene Quave, said seminars like this are extremely beneficial for her students.

“These are our level three students, which means they’re the most behaved students at the center,” Quave said. “We take them on field trips like this one in order to reward their good behavior.”

Quave also said that she noticed her students responded positively to Bolton’s presentation.

“I was looking at all their faces and it looked like they weren’t seeing the officer as just an officer, but as a person, which is nice to see,” Quave said.

Magri said the department likes to take the time to speak to students in order to educate them on various topics.