Kids, Drugs, Parents and Death.

[imported_six4three]

you must not have been paying attention, wise county has done the same the past few months, and their investigations are ongoing.

the ultimate responsibility for these kids however is their parents. one major problem though is that a lot of the parents are doing the same thing.

[belly32]

Pardon me, but YOU must not be paying attention. We still have kids dropping dead because of prescription drugs. That small round up Wise Co had didn't make a dent in it. Lets get serious and put a stop to it. These small timers don't even serve time! They are back on the street the next day most of the time. If you know someone dealing....its time to rat them out...It could save a kids life!

It's just a big game to most. Until it's someone's life.

And from what i gather, a kid, lost his life by buying stolen prescription drugs, from another kid, selling those stolen prescription drugs to buy himself a game.

We got some serious problems folks. In our schools, our homes and on our streets. Even in our businesses and work places. As far as prescriptions drugs and just drug use and abuse.

I will have to agree with six in some ways. Many of the parents are doing as much as the kids.

Right now you'd probably have to fix as many parents, before you could fix the kids.

Something needs to be done. When school age kids are dropping over, we have a problem.

Thing is how do we fix it.

I remember when the biggest concern use to be worrying about a kid taking a drink.
Now it's if their shooting up or snorting up. We got some problems. Kids and adults.

[jtw61194]

I agree with everything that all of you have said. But, there is one question that continually haunts me every day. Why do kids want to get high? I understood why I took my first drink and all the drinks after that. Socially, it was an acceptable practice. It was/is still an unhealthy practice with some pretty serious consequences. But, what part of the teenage brain says, "Hey, let's sniff that glue until we pass out!" or "Hey, let's spray that can of Lysol in a cup until there's just straight alcohol left." or "Hey, let's swing this cough medicine around so that the actual drug rises to the top and we can get the straight stuff." I mean, seriously, why and how would somebody think of stuff like that? An open-ended question for all of you. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wall.gif[/img]

[imported_elp6n]

I had a group of young teenagers (13 yrs maybe) play the "choking game" right in front of me a couple of weeks ago. The "leader" was saying how cool it was and that there's no harm to it. I had to politely request they refrain from that activity and as briefly and clearly as possible explain that it's far from harmless.

It's complete ignorance. They'll believe anything that's told to them, especially if it's someone they look up to.
I'm sure these kids probably left the building to play the game elsewhere. I'm an adult - what do I know. Why should they listen to me - it's much cooler to listen to your friends.

Any parent that thinks "not my kid" is ignorant.
EVERY kid is into some behavior that mom & dad don't want them to do.

[R0cketer]

I guess its just the continuing story of life. It used to be kids dying from alcohol (directly or indirectly) and now its drugs.

Honestly there is no simple solution. It is probably worse here because there is limited things to do.

I mean the options are really this

Go to a ballgame
Go to a movie
Go bowling
Go walmart
Go eat

That's it effectively.

Now I know good kids who never did a thing but got tired of the same old, same old. Or the nothing. If you put a good kid out there, with nothing to do, who doesn't want to do anything but the options are sit at home, or go to a friends house where there are girls/guys, what are they going to do. Most don't go and do anything/everything the first time but they go a time or two and do nothing but sit around and talk. The next time, maybe they have a beer because everybody else there is drinking so what does it hurt. They have a good time so next time they drink more. They have a bad time and someone says well no wonder beer sucks, try this booze. Eventually someone they like or think is cool is doing something, and they think well it doesn't hurt them, so whats it hurt me, besides they have been over here doing whatever for months and never hurt them. Of course odds are nothing happens the first time so the next time they don't think about it. On it goes.

I honestly can speak for myself, that back when I used to could go sit out in Clintwood, hang out with friends, maybe see some people cruising around (girls from other towns, who are we kidding), I could have a great time just doing that. Didn't need anything to help me have a good time. Once it got to the point that they started running off people parking or cruisers, as a teen or young adult you had to find something to do, and especially a way to meet some of the other sex. I went several times and never touched anything. After awhile, being one of the good people, I'd get bored or get tired of being the one who didn't touch anything, so yes, I eventually gave into drinking some. Thankfully with seeing the effects of drugs to some family, I didn't give into that, but its really a slippery slope that most can't stop.

My honest opinion. I know that kids can be messy and you'll always have some bad eggs (like we talk about in relation to everything else) who end up ruining things for everybody, but in sticking it to the bad eggs, you stick it to the good ones as well.

Yeah you have cruisers, you are going to have some kids who are out there speeding, hanging out of cars, playing music to loud, etc. You have people parking in lots, you're going to have litter and yes, probably a few who sit there and drink or whatever, but you have to find some middle ground.

I used to park in a lot in Clintwood and a town cop would pull in and talk to us. Guess what, we didn't care, we were sitting there, watching people and I guess being watched. We was talking one time about someone they had pulled over a few days earlier, and the cop made a good point. He said he was suspicious that they had been drinking but as long as they sat still in the lot, they wasn't out on the road, and running people off the road or wrecking. As he said, kids are going to find a place to go, at least there, he could keep an eye on them. Once they were out of town though, with all the backroads and curves we have, it was just an invite for an accident.

If this area really wants to slow down drugs, give kids some options. Don't treat them like trash and try to eliminate options. Guess what, its not going to get fixed over night. It didn't go to hell overnight either. It's just that a lot of adults who used to sit out at all the little drive-ins or shops that they used to meet their wives or some of their best friends have forgotten what they did growing up.

[DawgFan3]

The kid that passed away was a good friend of mine. I have never known of him using drugs, except drinking occasionally. He was an all around good kid and never caused harm. He was active in sport and I never thought I'd see him gone. The first time using drugs was his last. People need to think about the consequences of using drugs, especially pills. I'm not saying I'm inncocent by far, but losing a buddy of mine sure has opened my eyes along with others. People, espcally kids, need to think about their actions. I honestly think that there should be a program in schools showing the side effects of specific drugs and the harm that they can do to someone instead of being taught that drugs are "bad" without showing what harm that a certain and specific drug can do. Kids need to be more educated. The drug problem in our area will never go away no matter how many busts go down. As many have said, we need more to do around here. The same stuff gets old. We use to cuise Wal-Mart parking lot until the cops started writing tickets and such. Then the hanging out moved to the mountains where many got ran off or charged with trespassing for kids fourwheeling and having a good time. After all of that was taken away, what's left for us to do? I know that's no excuse, but think about it?

[NotSoSilentBob]

Plenty of things for kids to do. Want to save a kid's life? Buy them a gun or fishing rod and take them fishing and hunting.

[imported_trumpet1988]

Kids are now getting the mentality that drugs are harmless. A kid just DIED from it. Do they think it's harmless now?

No, it's not our lives, it's their's. And it's our life to tell them it's wrong and possibly and hopefully save a life.

[1inStripes]

[ QUOTE ]
you must not have been paying attention, wise county has done the same the past few months, and their investigations are ongoing.

the ultimate responsibility for these kids however is their parents. one major problem though is that a lot of the parents are doing the same thing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gotta agree there six4three. Looking at the arrests last week in Lee, I noticed alot of the same last names with ages varying from say 55-18. Putting two and two together, it seems like a lot of it was families doing the same stuff. Its really sad.