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05-25-2005, 11:55 PM
05/25/2005
Area parents face drug issue
BY ROBERT L. BAKER , Wyoming County Press Examiner
(Editor's Note: This is the second of a 3-part series about the drug problem facing teens in Wyoming County. Earlier this spring we met with nine parents and two grandparents of youths who are in or have been through the Wyoming County juvenile probation system. In order to guarantee their confidentiality their names have been changed.)
Mike and Joanie had the makings of an all-American marriage and their family life, although not perfect, was pretty darn good.
Then they got the news that their son was addicted to heroin.
Mike was totally devastated. Joanie said, "he was like the deer caught in the headlights and didn't know where to turn. He cried for five days."
She lost 20 pounds in a month. "If you ever want to lose weight, this is the perfect thing, although I wouldn't recommend it," she said wistfully.
She recalled watching the events of 9-11 unfolding on television. She said it was about that time that her son went into treatment. "I thought to myself, they think they have problems."
She added, "I didn't see much hope back then. I carried with me a notion I had from the 1970s that drug addicts were the degenerates of the earth. And then I realized that in front of me was the face of heroin. My son, for God's sake."
Mike and Joanie along with a host of other parents and grandparents across Wyoming County share a bond of seeing their family racked by a teen child on drugs.
They also have the common thread of having been acquainted with the Wyoming County juvenile probation system following their child's (or grandchild's) arrest for some drug issue.
Of the 186 cases involving juveniles in Wyoming County that went to court in 2003, about a third of them have a drug or alcohol issue, according to Marshall Davis, who oversees the county's juvenile probation office.
Davis said he believes his office only sees a small tip of the iceburg -- the ones who actually get caught.
Nine parents and two grandparents recently met for a roundtable discussion about the extent of the problem in Wyoming County.
Their kids represent students out of the Tunkhannock Area and Lackawanna Trail school districts.
When told that a similar roundtable of teens (including their kids and grandkid) suggested that as many as 70 percent of students had experimented with some sort of drug or alcohol, most were not surprised.
"Had you told me that three years ago, I would have told you that you that number was crazy, but after all that I've seen and heard while my child was in treatment, I just don't know," one dad said. "I fear it could be worse."
Edie said she had no idea her daughter had a drug problem. "I was told by my daughter that she had smoked marijuana before" and "her use of it was under control."
"But, I had no clue she was snorting coke or heroin," she said. "How could I know about those things if I weren't seeing needle marks on her arms?"
"Ignorance was my greatest enemy," Edie said.
But, she beams when talking of her daughter being clean over the past 18 months.
She said it took a long time to get her girl on the right path. Edie said she realized her daughter had a problem after reporting her missing. Her daughter turned up with the wrong crowd and some drug paraphernalia to boot.
Edie realized that if her daughter was going to be alive, "I was going to have her arrested."
"It's the hardest thing I ever did in my life, and she hated me for it," she said. "But she has made it."
Of the things that bother her a lot, Edie said are the parents out there who think it's okay to provide their kids with drugs.
Most can't handle them, she said. "I know, I was there. It's so easy to convince yourself that your kid's drug use is a rite of passage. That's a lie."
She recalled a recent moment when she saw the parent of a friend of her daughter's. She said she knew the parent once had supplied the kids with drugs. "I wanted to step on the gas and run over him," she said. "I am so mad at people like that who don't see that they are a part of the problem."
Larry worried about what now appears to be a second son in his household who has discovered drugs. The older boy is now 19, but the younger one is 15.
He said the younger one does more drugs than the older one did. Huffing, paint, Robitussin, drinking and marijuana are all things he's tried, Larry said. "I don't know where he find it all."
One of the telltale signs of drug use, parents agree, is missing money. "If you leave loose change around the house and suddenly discover it gone or $20 bills that you thought you remembered as being in your wallet are missing, there you go," Larry said.
Joanie said, "These drug addicts, our kids, are the most manipulative individuals who try to outsmart you every step of the way."
She added, "They know how to prey on your vulnerabilities and they can convince you a single episode where they actually get caught with drugs is just a stupid mistake."
"You're stupid if you keep buying into that," she said.
Juvenile probation officer Laura Hasenzahl said that it is not uncommon for parents to deny that their child has a drug or alcohol problem.
When the youth is placed on probation, "Parents are forced to face the reality of their child's addiction, especially when the facts emerge."
She said, however, that not all parents are willing to stop enabling their kid's problem.
But, she added, "when parents stop enabling, hope and help becomes available."
"We have found that parents who join Al-Anon are much more willing to work hand in hand with probation," she added. "That increases the teen's chance for on-going sobriety and recovery."
(Editor's note: Next week we'll share what the juvenile probation process is like, and explore some of the related issues that Wyoming County faces regarding drug addictions.)
http://www.newage-examiner.com/site/news.c...id=480505&rfi=6 (http://www.newage-examiner.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14586133&BRD=2310&PAG=461&dept_id=480505&rfi=6)
Area parents face drug issue
BY ROBERT L. BAKER , Wyoming County Press Examiner
(Editor's Note: This is the second of a 3-part series about the drug problem facing teens in Wyoming County. Earlier this spring we met with nine parents and two grandparents of youths who are in or have been through the Wyoming County juvenile probation system. In order to guarantee their confidentiality their names have been changed.)
Mike and Joanie had the makings of an all-American marriage and their family life, although not perfect, was pretty darn good.
Then they got the news that their son was addicted to heroin.
Mike was totally devastated. Joanie said, "he was like the deer caught in the headlights and didn't know where to turn. He cried for five days."
She lost 20 pounds in a month. "If you ever want to lose weight, this is the perfect thing, although I wouldn't recommend it," she said wistfully.
She recalled watching the events of 9-11 unfolding on television. She said it was about that time that her son went into treatment. "I thought to myself, they think they have problems."
She added, "I didn't see much hope back then. I carried with me a notion I had from the 1970s that drug addicts were the degenerates of the earth. And then I realized that in front of me was the face of heroin. My son, for God's sake."
Mike and Joanie along with a host of other parents and grandparents across Wyoming County share a bond of seeing their family racked by a teen child on drugs.
They also have the common thread of having been acquainted with the Wyoming County juvenile probation system following their child's (or grandchild's) arrest for some drug issue.
Of the 186 cases involving juveniles in Wyoming County that went to court in 2003, about a third of them have a drug or alcohol issue, according to Marshall Davis, who oversees the county's juvenile probation office.
Davis said he believes his office only sees a small tip of the iceburg -- the ones who actually get caught.
Nine parents and two grandparents recently met for a roundtable discussion about the extent of the problem in Wyoming County.
Their kids represent students out of the Tunkhannock Area and Lackawanna Trail school districts.
When told that a similar roundtable of teens (including their kids and grandkid) suggested that as many as 70 percent of students had experimented with some sort of drug or alcohol, most were not surprised.
"Had you told me that three years ago, I would have told you that you that number was crazy, but after all that I've seen and heard while my child was in treatment, I just don't know," one dad said. "I fear it could be worse."
Edie said she had no idea her daughter had a drug problem. "I was told by my daughter that she had smoked marijuana before" and "her use of it was under control."
"But, I had no clue she was snorting coke or heroin," she said. "How could I know about those things if I weren't seeing needle marks on her arms?"
"Ignorance was my greatest enemy," Edie said.
But, she beams when talking of her daughter being clean over the past 18 months.
She said it took a long time to get her girl on the right path. Edie said she realized her daughter had a problem after reporting her missing. Her daughter turned up with the wrong crowd and some drug paraphernalia to boot.
Edie realized that if her daughter was going to be alive, "I was going to have her arrested."
"It's the hardest thing I ever did in my life, and she hated me for it," she said. "But she has made it."
Of the things that bother her a lot, Edie said are the parents out there who think it's okay to provide their kids with drugs.
Most can't handle them, she said. "I know, I was there. It's so easy to convince yourself that your kid's drug use is a rite of passage. That's a lie."
She recalled a recent moment when she saw the parent of a friend of her daughter's. She said she knew the parent once had supplied the kids with drugs. "I wanted to step on the gas and run over him," she said. "I am so mad at people like that who don't see that they are a part of the problem."
Larry worried about what now appears to be a second son in his household who has discovered drugs. The older boy is now 19, but the younger one is 15.
He said the younger one does more drugs than the older one did. Huffing, paint, Robitussin, drinking and marijuana are all things he's tried, Larry said. "I don't know where he find it all."
One of the telltale signs of drug use, parents agree, is missing money. "If you leave loose change around the house and suddenly discover it gone or $20 bills that you thought you remembered as being in your wallet are missing, there you go," Larry said.
Joanie said, "These drug addicts, our kids, are the most manipulative individuals who try to outsmart you every step of the way."
She added, "They know how to prey on your vulnerabilities and they can convince you a single episode where they actually get caught with drugs is just a stupid mistake."
"You're stupid if you keep buying into that," she said.
Juvenile probation officer Laura Hasenzahl said that it is not uncommon for parents to deny that their child has a drug or alcohol problem.
When the youth is placed on probation, "Parents are forced to face the reality of their child's addiction, especially when the facts emerge."
She said, however, that not all parents are willing to stop enabling their kid's problem.
But, she added, "when parents stop enabling, hope and help becomes available."
"We have found that parents who join Al-Anon are much more willing to work hand in hand with probation," she added. "That increases the teen's chance for on-going sobriety and recovery."
(Editor's note: Next week we'll share what the juvenile probation process is like, and explore some of the related issues that Wyoming County faces regarding drug addictions.)
http://www.newage-examiner.com/site/news.c...id=480505&rfi=6 (http://www.newage-examiner.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14586133&BRD=2310&PAG=461&dept_id=480505&rfi=6)