Post by concerned2 on Jul 9, 2011 6:55:48 GMT -6
Two tragic teen deaths need to spark a community conversation
By Denise Crosby dcrosby@stmedianetwork.com July 7, 2011 11:16PM
Reprints
15Share
By the
Numbers
According to a report released last week by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University:
72.5
The percent of high school students in this country who have drunk alcohol.
36.8
The percent of high-schoolers who have used marijuana.
14.8
Percentage of students who have misused contolled prescription drugs. That number goes up to 19 percent when looking at just high school seniors.
32
The percent of teen trips to the emergency room related to drug or alcohol use.
80
The percentage of sophomores who say that it is “easy” to get alcohol. The students also say it is easy to get marijuana as well.
90
Percent of high school students who have misused controlled prescription drugs who also have used other addictive substances, including 46.6 percent who have used another illicit drug.
To see the report, visit
www.casacolumbia.org
Updated: July 8, 2011 2:35AM
The stories break your heart: Two 17-year-old boys, students in the Indian Prairie School District, are dead.
Both teens passed away recently in two separate incidents in Naperville within a week of each other — the first in the basement of a Will County home; the second, on the patio of his DuPage County house.
Each death was confirmed by authorities, but at this point, there’s little else they can say except the deaths are still under investigation, and toxicology reports are pending.
But what makes the stories so unique — and difficult to write — is that we have heard a lot more about these tragedies because the teens who were with these victims the nights they died have been so willing to talk.
I don’t know if it has to do with social networking and how comfortable kids today are about putting it all out there for the world to read; or if they just badly want someone to know what a wonderful friend they lost.
Perhaps it is neither — or a little of both. But one thing is certain: What they have to say adds urgency to an issue that cannot be ignored.
According to the teens who spoke to us, both victims had a zest for life, great sense of humor and compassion for others.
In the basement of the Will County home, according to the female friend who was present, the group of four friends were talking, laughing over home videos and drinking beer, Smirnoff “lemonade” vodka and an over-the-counter cold medication into the early morning hours of July 1. The victim had fallen asleep, the friend told me, and when they went to wake him for his summer school classes that morning, they found him unresponsive and called 911. The friend, who said prescription narcotics were also involved, tried performing CPR until paramedics showed up minutes later.
Her story is similar to what Naperville police told us: No illegal narcotics or drug paraphernalia were found, but there was “some alcohol discovered” in the basement, along with a bottle of over-the-counter cold medicine.
The second boy, found Wednesday morning outside his home, was pronounced dead after being taken to the emergency room at Edward Hospital. His friend told reporter Erika Wurst that as the Fourth of July weekend drew to a close, a small group gathered around a bonfire pit outside the home of the victim, who’d just celebrated his birthday.
He had attended Ribfest, went out to dinner with friends — and by all accounts, things seemed back to normal for the boy who had spent time earlier this year in a drug treatment program. But several friends said they knew he’d been using heroin that evening, for one thing, because he kept falling asleep.
“We saw him climb up the stairs into his house,” his friend said. “Then we took off.”
They speculate the victim probably came back outside on his own, where he eventually passed out on the patio. He was found around 3 a.m., friends said, and wasn’t breathing.
It is unusual to report details about such tragic deaths without using the victims’ names. We are doing so because, although there’s no official confirmation on how the boys died, it’s obvious these tragedies speak to an issue parents and the community must address ASAP.
Kids are dying. Good kids with bright futures who had families and friends who loved them.
“Education and awareness,” Naperville Police Sgt. Gregg Bell stressed, are our best tools in fighting teenage drug abuse.
His words are important. But perhaps the sense of urgency is best summed up by the young man who lost his good friend this week.
“We have to tell our parents what’s going on,” he said, “because they honestly don’t know.”
By Denise Crosby dcrosby@stmedianetwork.com July 7, 2011 11:16PM
Reprints
15Share
By the
Numbers
According to a report released last week by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University:
72.5
The percent of high school students in this country who have drunk alcohol.
36.8
The percent of high-schoolers who have used marijuana.
14.8
Percentage of students who have misused contolled prescription drugs. That number goes up to 19 percent when looking at just high school seniors.
32
The percent of teen trips to the emergency room related to drug or alcohol use.
80
The percentage of sophomores who say that it is “easy” to get alcohol. The students also say it is easy to get marijuana as well.
90
Percent of high school students who have misused controlled prescription drugs who also have used other addictive substances, including 46.6 percent who have used another illicit drug.
To see the report, visit
www.casacolumbia.org
Updated: July 8, 2011 2:35AM
The stories break your heart: Two 17-year-old boys, students in the Indian Prairie School District, are dead.
Both teens passed away recently in two separate incidents in Naperville within a week of each other — the first in the basement of a Will County home; the second, on the patio of his DuPage County house.
Each death was confirmed by authorities, but at this point, there’s little else they can say except the deaths are still under investigation, and toxicology reports are pending.
But what makes the stories so unique — and difficult to write — is that we have heard a lot more about these tragedies because the teens who were with these victims the nights they died have been so willing to talk.
I don’t know if it has to do with social networking and how comfortable kids today are about putting it all out there for the world to read; or if they just badly want someone to know what a wonderful friend they lost.
Perhaps it is neither — or a little of both. But one thing is certain: What they have to say adds urgency to an issue that cannot be ignored.
According to the teens who spoke to us, both victims had a zest for life, great sense of humor and compassion for others.
In the basement of the Will County home, according to the female friend who was present, the group of four friends were talking, laughing over home videos and drinking beer, Smirnoff “lemonade” vodka and an over-the-counter cold medication into the early morning hours of July 1. The victim had fallen asleep, the friend told me, and when they went to wake him for his summer school classes that morning, they found him unresponsive and called 911. The friend, who said prescription narcotics were also involved, tried performing CPR until paramedics showed up minutes later.
Her story is similar to what Naperville police told us: No illegal narcotics or drug paraphernalia were found, but there was “some alcohol discovered” in the basement, along with a bottle of over-the-counter cold medicine.
The second boy, found Wednesday morning outside his home, was pronounced dead after being taken to the emergency room at Edward Hospital. His friend told reporter Erika Wurst that as the Fourth of July weekend drew to a close, a small group gathered around a bonfire pit outside the home of the victim, who’d just celebrated his birthday.
He had attended Ribfest, went out to dinner with friends — and by all accounts, things seemed back to normal for the boy who had spent time earlier this year in a drug treatment program. But several friends said they knew he’d been using heroin that evening, for one thing, because he kept falling asleep.
“We saw him climb up the stairs into his house,” his friend said. “Then we took off.”
They speculate the victim probably came back outside on his own, where he eventually passed out on the patio. He was found around 3 a.m., friends said, and wasn’t breathing.
It is unusual to report details about such tragic deaths without using the victims’ names. We are doing so because, although there’s no official confirmation on how the boys died, it’s obvious these tragedies speak to an issue parents and the community must address ASAP.
Kids are dying. Good kids with bright futures who had families and friends who loved them.
“Education and awareness,” Naperville Police Sgt. Gregg Bell stressed, are our best tools in fighting teenage drug abuse.
His words are important. But perhaps the sense of urgency is best summed up by the young man who lost his good friend this week.
“We have to tell our parents what’s going on,” he said, “because they honestly don’t know.”