By Staff Writer Lynn Arbid
On Thursday, March 6, Naperville North High School and the Naperville Police Department (NPD) hosted an informational presentation regarding drugs and addiction within the Naperville North community.
Principal Kevin Pobst said he hoped the presentation would serve as a key tool in helping both students and parents lead healthy and drug-free lifestyles.
“I want the parents to have information that they can use to help their children, if their children need help,” said Pobst. “The more parents know about what’s going on, the better position that they are in.”
The presentation focused on marijuana, heroin, prescription drugs, addiction, and ways to prevent drug abuse.
Three speakers spoke at the event: NNHS social worker Robin Amberger, NPD detective Shaun Ferguson, and NPD detective Rich Wistocki.
Ferguson spoke about commonly abused drugs, how kids obtain them, and their harmful effects. He also spoke about the difficulty in overcoming addiction.
“Generally, two things happen. [Addicts] fight the battle until it wins and you die or until you die of natural causes,” said Ferguson. “You never beat the battle. [Addicts] never win.”
Following Ferguson, Amberger presented on the risks teens take when they experiment with drugs. She said that adolescents are at a higher risk of experimenting and becoming addicted to these illegal substances.
During her presentation, she illustrated the brain’s reaction to drugs and the steps leading to addiction.
“Once upon a time, using a drug made you go from a normal level to a significantly higher one,” said Amberger. “Addicts don’t start at normal anymore. They start at pain, and they have to do drugs to feel normal again.”
Wistocki ended the evening by giving information to parents on how to monitor their child’s cellphone and computer, stressing that teenagers often use these two outlets make drug deals.
“Parents understand this: there is no such thing as privacy for children,” said Wistocki. “I am telling you; investigate, investigate.”
Wistocki shared several programs with parents that allow them to view their children’s messages, apps, and even gain their password and usernames to various accounts, such as Shield Genie, My Mobile Watchdog, and Spectorsoft.
Also, Wistocki encouraged the use of at home drug tests.
“I gave [my son] an out by drug testing him,” said Wistocki. “Now, he can say ‘I can’t; my parents drug test me.”
The NPD also collected pills that were no longer in use to combat prescription drug abuse.
This presentation was organized by the School Family Community Partnership (SFCP), the NPD, and NNHS, according to Amberger.
Anushka Rau • Mar 12, 2014 at 11:12 pm
I think the best way to keep your kid from abusing drugs is to develop a healthy relationship with them. Like Luke said, often the children with the most controlling parents are the ones that feel a need to rebel. If the parent-child relationship has a good amount of transparency, the child would feel more secure communicating problems to their parents, which could stop addiction because drug abuse is often linked to feelings of inferiority and stress.
Luc Waked • Mar 12, 2014 at 10:36 pm
No privacy for children!!!!!!
I don’t like this.
Parents need to be aware of what their children are up to, but honestly, the best way to do that is to make sure that they feel safe and secure, and that they can tell their parents what is going on in their lives, regardless of what the consequences may be.
Although “investigating” may be the best option in some cases, I feel like preventing kids from having privacy will only make them want to spite their parents. No teenager wants their parents looking over his or her shoulder all the time at texts, apps, ect.
Course, this isn’t about what teenagers want, but I do think it is important for parents and kids to meet each other halfway(ish).
If kids feel comfortable and safe with their parents, it’s pretty plausible that they will tell them stuff.
If their parents hang over their shoulders all the time and don’t give them any privacy, it’s not super likely that the kids will feel safe and comfortable.
Hannah Novak • Mar 9, 2014 at 10:09 pm
Mazz’s Contemporary Health Issues classes are doing some cool projects relating to Chris Herren’s presentation, too. It’s about the Day One of addiction…. but also the Day One of recovery. When they’re finished in a few weeks, be sure to check them out by the health room!