How club drugs affect you and your children
Editor's note: This story originally ran on Jan. 21, 2002 as part of the Daily Herald's "Hidden Scourge: Heroin in the Suburbs" series.
Though club drugs and heroin are taking hold in the suburbs, parents often are reluctant to admit it can strike so close to home.
But it can and it has.
The Daily Herald will sponsor a free community forum, "The Hidden Scourge: How Heroin and Club Drugs Have Taken Root in the Suburbs," from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Arcada Theater in downtown St. Charles.
The newspaper is sponsoring a discussion as a follow-up to its four-day series, "The Hidden Scourge," which ran in December. The series focused on heroin and club drug use among suburban teens.
"A lot of the club drugs and heroin have taken a hold in the suburbs," said Carol Falkowski, a nationally known drug researcher and expert on adolescent substance abuse. "Yet suburban parents are the last to realize it is happening here."
Falkowski, who has authored a book, titled "Dangerous Drugs: An Easy to Use Reference for Parents and Professionals," will be the lead speaker on panel that features parents, law enforcement officials and recovering addicts.
She noted that there are more drugs from which teens can choose and that drug use is not the same as when today's parents were teens.
"The choices today extend beyond smoking a joint or drinking a beer," said Falkowski, director of research communications for the Hazelden Foundation, an organization that runs drug treatment centers across the country.
"There are drugs available today that simply weren't available five or 10 years ago," she added. "And more choices mean more risks for kids."
Falkowski will be joined by two recovering heroin addicts, Scott McDonald of St. Charles and Courtney Barkei of Batavia. McDonald, who recently celebrated his first year of being drug-free, also will be joined by his mother, Linda, on the panel.
"I think a lot of people know about it, but a lot of people ignore it," said Scott McDonald, who has talked to various church groups and some students about his addiction and his recovery. "It's not that they don't want to deal with it. They don't know how."
As a result, many ignore the problem by hoping it will go away, McDonald said.
"But it's not something that's going to go away," he said.
McDonald and Barkei will talk about their addiction, how their drug use affected their lives and their recovery. McDonald's mother also will talk about how her son's addiction affected his family.
Other panelists include Kate Patton, whose daughter, Kelley McEnery Baker, died two years ago from an overdose of the club drug Ecstasy. Patton will talk about her daughter's death and what parents can do to deal with children who are using drugs.
St. Charles Police Chief Don Shaw will talk about how drug use affects a community and how people can fight back. Kane County Judge James Doyle also will talk about a drug rehabilitation program he started that combines treatment with strict enforcement.
Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions.
Admission is free, but reservations are requested. Please call (630) 587-8612 and let us know you're coming.
Falkowski also will be speaking at two other forums, titled "The 'New' Drug Scene: What Parents Need to Know," sponsored by Hazelden Chicago.
The forums will be held Wednesday at Trinity International University, 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, and Thursday at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel, 933 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook.
Both forums will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. Call (847) 405-0697 to register.