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1 Comment [ View ]When you child does drugs
By JESSE FRUHWIRTHCalling the police is one option, but there are others
FARMINGTON -- Struggling with a teen's drug abuse can be a confusing, guilt-ridden process for parents. But when, and under what circumstances, should parents call police on their drug-using teens?
Experts in the field give a range of answers to the question, but all acknowledge that entering the court system for drugs today is far more therapeutic than it once was.
One Centerville teen was turned in to police by his parents in January after they found hallucinogenic mushrooms in his possession. According to court records, the call to police came just three days after their son turned 18.
That difference of three days meant he was no longer a beneficiary of the protections and anonymity the juvenile court system provides. He was booked into jail but was released days later on his own recognizance after his parents appeared in court and assured the judge their son was welcome back at home.
John Carter works for Dg Court and is an enthusiastic booster of its program to help drug-using teens. By the end of a minimum 15-month program, which requires regular drug testing, support-group attendance and supervision by a probation agent, drug court participants can have the charge removed from their record. Any failure mid-program, however, can land the user in jail.
Carter said the Centerville teen is certainly not alone, and his parents did the right thing.
"A lot of cases come to us that way," he said. "Jail is a part of treatment. Granted, you're in there with a bunch of yo-yos and knuckleheads ... but we get better results keeping someone in for a week or two before moving them to a residential treatment facility. ... Sometimes you have to cage the cat before you can tame the cat."
Carter is bullish on the idea of parents' calling police on their drug-using kids, even if it's the first time the parents become aware there's a problem. He said parents should put their guilt aside and act early.
"I would not feel bad at all calling the police to say 'I saw something suspicious in our kid's room,' " Carter said. "Early intervention is the biggest key and getting arrested by police is intervention."
Alternatives
Drug court is not the only option for legal intervention. For less serious offenders, defendants can be diverted from incarceration through the statewide Drug Offender Reform Act, or DORA, program.
Suzanne Cunningham, a criminal justice reform advocate who has volunteered with Families Against Mandatory Minimums and the Drug Policy Alliance, stridently disagrees with Carter on calling in police. Cunningham is an enthusiastic supporter of DORA, which was expanded from a Salt Lake County pilot program by the 2007 Legislature. She said parents should not actively involve police in their children's addiction.
"Why would you even get your child caught up in the court system? Why even approach that when it (addiction) is a medical issue? Why would you even do that when we know addiction is a disease?" she said. "I would call a psychiatrist and have the psychiatrist come into our home."
Cunningham has her limits, however.
"If there was a physical attack on me, if there was some violence that occurred, I may call police," she said.
Joseph Wegener, a licensed substance abuse counselor who until last year worked exclusively with adolescents, falls somewhere between Carter's gusto and Cunningham's reserve. He hosts support groups for Drug Court participants, but said he wouldn't rush kids into the court system.
"Calling the police is always the last resort," he said, but added if a child resists help and treatment "for more than three months, then I would get police involved."
Courts have great programs in place, Wegener said, but not all users are ready for rigid guidelines and rules, and parents can do on their own many of the things the court does.
"A lot of the resources through the courts are available to parents without involving the courts. ... The drug testing places do not have to report to the courts at all," he said. "With the courts, (addicts) can become more deeply involved than they had ever anticipated. ... Perhaps the child is really severely addicted, and if he's not able to change his ways immediately, there can be some pretty severe consequences."
Wegener said keeping solid trust between parent and child is an important component of recovery that should not be squandered.
"The relationship between adolescent and parent is a loving one and they anticipate their parents will do anything they can before they get them in trouble. If that doesn't happen, then I think there would be a trust issue with parents," he said.
"The first thing parents need to do before they call the police is let the child know they're going to call police: 'Honey, I'm going to have to call the police on you because nothing else seems to work and I'm so afraid for you.' That puts the ball in the child's court."
Add Your Comment
I always told my kids I'd put them in jail, or in the hospital if they used drugs.
I also told them that I'd "Deal" with their friend or dealer that provided them with drugs. Somethings are worth goig to jail for.
Never had to intervene with any of the tree. All good kids, now adults.
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