Can we prevent teens from using drugs?

Editor's note: This story originally ran on Dec. 5, 2001 as part of the Daily Herald's "Hidden Scourge: Heroin in the Suburbs" series.

It's the million dollar question - how do we keep kids from ever using drugs in the first place?

Talk to a recovering addict and some will say there was nothing anyone could have done or said to keep them from using. They wanted to snort that first dose of heroin or swallow that Ecstasy pill and nothing could have stopped them.

Others say maybe they would've thought twice if they knew more about the drugs or were more concerned about getting caught.

Yet many agree something needs to be done to stop other kids from using.

More education. More parental supervision. More enforcement. Something.

"I just think maybe there should be more education in the high schools about it," said Chris Foley, a 20-year-old recovering heroin addict from St. Charles.

Had he known more about heroin, Foley said he may have thought twice about doing it.

"I never knew anything about heroin," Foley said. "(And) my friends never told me anything negative about it."

Today, Foley is getting treatment while serving out a 2 1/2 year prison sentence at Taylorville Correctional Center for theft and possession of heroin. On Dec. 14, Foley will be released early for good behavior.

Across the suburbs, many parents, teachers, police and prosecutors are joining together to prevent others from winding up in Foley's shoes.

St. Charles police, for example, are heading to freshman health classes this year to talk specifically about heroin and Ecstasy - both drugs popular among teens.

Students will hear about what withdrawal from heroin is like and that even though they don't have to use a needle to take the drug anymore, it is still just as addictive. Police also will talk about Ecstasy and how long-term use can damage their brain and health.

Officials from the DuPage and Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Groups are out spreading the word about Ecstasy - to parents and teachers. The agencies developed a program to help parents be aware of the drug and its effects on their children.

"It's very difficult for a parent to talk about drugs, it's even more difficult to talk about drugs that they never heard of," said Mark Henry, director of the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group. "Ecstasy wasn't even around 30 years ago, so how do you sit down with your kids and talk to them about it?"

His group also has a downloadable Powerpoint presentation on club drugs on its Web site (www.dupagemeg.com/PowerPoint%20Rave%20Presentation%20Download%20A rea.htm).

In the past year, Henry and Terry Lemming, the director of the Lake County group, have conducted more than 100 informational sessions for parents and teachers. They talk about warning signs, why teens like Ecstasy and other issues related to the drug.

Police also are working on stricter enforcement - and finding new ways to deal with drug addicts.

Two years ago, Henry and others from his group went to the West Side of Chicago and watched as suburban teens made more than 400 drug buys.

Police recorded the license plate of each of the 400 cars that came through and checked to see if any were registered in DuPage County. They then sent letters to the owners of the 70 cars that were registered in the county.

The letters informed the owners that their car was seen in a high crime area in Chicago that is known to be a popular area for drugs. The letter opened a lot of eyes, Henry said.

"We got a tremendous response," Henry recalled. "We got a lot of phone calls from people who didn't know that their son or daughter had borrowed their car or what they had borrowed it for."

Henry won't say if his team is still trekking to the city to take down plates, but did note that they're still active in the fight.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett also pushed for tougher laws that now put Ecstasy on the same level as cocaine or heroin.

The state law, which takes effect Jan. 1, makes it a Class X felony - punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison - to have 15 pills of Ecstasy. Under the existing law, someone could have up to 900 pills of the drug and still get probation. The new law will not allow an offender to be put on probation.

Birkett pushed for that law after Sara Aeschlimann died from a drug overdose in May 2000. The 18-year-old Naperville Central High School senior died from a lethal dose of PMA, a drug that is similar but more potent than Ecstasy.

The chief judge of the 16th judicial district, which includes Kane County, also has started a task force to focus on preventing drug use.

Judge Grant Wegner started the task force after noticing the increasing heroin-related crimes in the county - particularly in St. Charles and surrounding towns. The task force is focusing on developing programs to keep teens off drugs and securing funding to get addicted teens treatment.

Kane County Board members also are considering a plan to provide up to $250,000 to help cover the cost of rehab for people who land in the county's drug rehabilitation court program.

But even with new laws, classes and court programs, experts agree change needs to start at home.

Parents of recovering addicts all offer the same advice - know your child's friends, know where they're at and educate yourself. Even recovering addicts echo that advice.

"Know what your kids' lives are like, who their friends are," advises Shawna Mauser, a 20-year-old former heroin user from Burlington. "Know their business."

One father notes that he would've taken a completely different route if he realized the heroin his son admitted to snorting was just as dangerous as the heroin people used to shoot up.

Dan Simmons told his dad after the first time he used. But when the St. Charles teen said he snorted it, the father didn't think it was as potent as the heroin he grew up hearing about. His father, who did not want his name used, didn't realize how addictive it could become.

"When I found out he was snorting it, I thought less of it," said Simmons' father, recalling the stereotype he grew up with of a junkie with a needle in the arm. "I thought snorting was a lot less than injecting."

So he had a talk with his son, who promised never to snort heroin again. By that summer, his son was injecting the drug in his arm.

"We didn't know the signs," added Simmons' mother. "We didn't know what to look for."

Now they know. Their advice: don't ignore the tell-tale signs like slipping grades, different friends, long stays away from home, constant sleepiness, and constricted "pinpoint" pupils. They also advocate drug testing if you think your son or daughter is using drugs.

"You have to be aware of their situations, their moods, their attitudes, their friends," said Mike Zimay of Itasca, whose 29-year-old son is a recovering heroin addict. "We all have to be more aware of it ... People just can't ignore all the things that happen with their children."