cannabisnews.com: News of Teens' Drug Use Spurs Parents to Action!





News of Teens' Drug Use Spurs Parents to Action!
Posted by FoM on February 06, 1999 at 12:30:13 PT

CHARDON When Shirley Teresi heard about Chardon students taking LSD at a party, the self-described "child of the '60s," now a parent, was shocked.
Teresi knows that drugs and alcohol are everywhere. But, she said, it's the seven students who took the LSD at a Jan. 23 party - and had to be taken to Geauga Regional Hospital - that surprised her."These are kids that aren't bad kids," she said. "They are not troublemakers, kids you would not think are on drugs."The jolt from that party, at which one teen was badly hurt when he jumped through a window, still reverberates in classrooms and in the community.When school officials scheduled a parents' forum Thursday night at the middle school, they recalled that a similar forum a year and a half earlier drew 14 people.Thursday, more than 150 parents and students filled the school auditorium.Jonathan Lee, executive director of the Northcoast Counseling Center in Painesville, scanned the crowd in amazement. He told the audience he had lost count of the times he had told parents that their child might be using marijuana and got the response, "Yeah. And your point is?""That's what is amazing in this turnout, that it reaffirms the fact that people really are concerned," Lee said.Parents like Teresi, who has two children in Chardon schools, cared enough to show up.Teresi said the message that she grasped from the forum is a simple one: "Just, basically, you have to talk to your kids," she said. "It starts at a young age; starting to talk to your kids when they are entering high school is a little late."The soul-searching isn't confined to parents. At the forum, 20 students left the auditorium to talk with teachers about their concerns.Sarah Svoboda, 16, a sophomore, said she served as a "baby sitter" to her friends at the party, trying to make sure they didn't get into trouble. Although she said the students knew there might be alcohol, most didn't know there would be LSD. She said the consequences have hit home among her classmates."The people who were at the party, we learned enough already," Sarah said. "Not to do stupid things, and drugs aren't worth it."Parents lined up after the forum to join a Community Action Team, to teach awareness and act as a support group.Pam Crawford, who has a child in elementary school, signed up for the Community Action Team. She said she attended Thursday's forum to see if she could help. "People definitely need to get involved," Crawford said.Lynn Kempf, a Lake County counselor, said that even though her two children have graduated from Chardon schools, it is important for her to stay active in the schools."I challenge you: don't let this meeting be the only time we get together," Kempf told other parents.Lee told the audience that communication between parents and their children is the critical element. He said parents often get lulled into complacency by the time their teenagers turn 16 and 17."It is my belief that it is the time your kids need you the most," Lee said. "That's when the stakes are highest. That's when the decisions are life and death."Chardon schools Superintendent Jane Hayman said the forum will be successful only if the momentum is carried through, and the message reaches enough parents."It does take a village to raise children, and I do think if we are about kids, if we really believe these kids are this nation's future, then we have to be proactive and put our money and our energy where our words are," she said. 
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