PARENTS NURTURING CHILD DRUG USE, EXPERTS SAY

When 18-year-old Dennis Cramm, who was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in
prison for killing two Everett teen-agers, told authorities his father
shared illegal drugs with him, local juvenile probation counselors were not
surprised.

About 20 percent of teen-agers prosecuted for drug use either had shared
drugs or were introduced to them by their parents, Snohomish County
probation counselors say. A new University of Washington study supports
their conclusions.

The drugs parents share with their kids include alcohol and prescription
medications all the way to heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and
barbiturates, said Dawn Williams, a county juvenile drug court coordinator .

"We work with chemically dependent teens -- countywide, from Mill Creek to
Darrington," Williams said.

The three-year UW study reports that up to 27 percent of drug-addicted
teens in Snohomish County told researchers that they live with or have
lived with a parent who uses drugs.

Dennis Cramm has told reporters and investigators that he and his father,
Dale, 45, shared a love for drugs, particularly marijuana. The Cramms not
only partied together, but father and son operated their own marijuana
distribution business, the younger Cramm has testified.

State corrections officials determined drug use had been a feature in the
Cramm home for years and allegedly involved both of the young man's parents.

"Drug use was rampant in the household, and the Cramms encouraged their
son's participation," they said in court papers.

In the last 10 years, the number of teen-agers who say a parent shared or
introduced them to drugs has skyrocketed, said Tom Alvers, a county
probation counselor whose career began in 1975.

Teen-agers entering the juvenile justice system diagnosed as chemically
dependent say they began using drugs, on average, at 11 years old,
probation counselors say.

Teen-agers who began using drugs at an earlier age typically say mom or dad
was the supplier.

"We see teens who began drug use when they were 6 to 10 years old. The kids
who start at that age get the chemicals from their parent," Alvers said.

The introduction begins early -- sometimes before birth, sometimes with the
bottle.

"The baby cries too much, so the parent puts sedatives in their bottle,"
Williams said.

Willliams' caseload includes a 17-year-old girl whose first exposure to
drugs was helping inject her parents with cocaine. She first used cocaine
when she was 8.

Alvers recently counseled another 17-year-old girl whose parents provided
her with heroin when she was 15.

"Now she's terribly hooked on heroin. It breaks your heart," Alvers said.

Drug-addicted parents who share drugs with their children typically believe
they are doing their offspring a favor by guiding them through their drug
use, Alvers said.

"They'll say, 'Since my kids are going to use these chemicals, I'm going to
teach them how to use these drugs right.' "

Such a parent is no longer a parent, Alvers said. "The parent is now their
dope buddy."

In years past, some parents introduced their children to alcohol, which was
not uncommon, probation counselors say.

But now, a generation of parents accustomed to a wide range of drugs are
sharing them with their children, said Ken Stark, director of the state's
Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.

"Right now, we know that parents with tolerant attitudes toward drugs or
parents who use themselves represent the highest risk factor for drug use
among children," Stark said.

Statewide, 82 percent of teen-agers locked up in juvenile detention centers
report a drug addiction problem, about the same percentage as adult
inmates, Stark said.

The cost to society is great, with local, state and social institutions
straining under the economic costs of teen-age drug use.

Medical care, mental health care, the criminal justice system, Child
Protective Services, foster care, the morgue -- all those systems are
greatly affected by the consequences of untreated drug addiction, Stark said.

To counteract the problem, treatment dollars are needed across the board.

"In Snohomish County, we spend $2 million on adults for substance abuse
treatment and only $250,000 for juveniles," Williams said. "They need to be
equal. We need to help the kids."

The number of teen-agers being treated for drug addiction has increased in
the past few years, but more help is needed, Stark said.

State dollars are able to provide treatment for about three out of 10
drug-addicted teen-agers; for adults the figure is two out of 10.

"Still, seven out of 10 don't get it," Stark said.

"We're getting better at their treatment, but in all cases it's atrocious.
The majority of people -- adults and children -- who are poor don't get it."

Rich or poor, drug addiction among families is a difficult cycle to break.
Children who grow up with parents addicted to alcohol or drugs are more
likely to be physically or sexually abused, and less likely to develop good
social or coping skills or self-esteem.

"Break a drunk's bottle, and you get hit," Alvers said to illustrate his point.

Low self-esteem has a tremendous impact, acting as a springboard for
self-destructive behavior, he added.

Medical studies point to a strong genetic component to addiction; the
malady runs in families. Juvenile probation counselors such as Williams and
Alvers can recite scores of anecdotes in support of the research.

"That 17-year-old girl addicted to heroin -- the one whose parents
introduced her to heroin -- her grandfather is an alcoholic. He's reeking
of alcohol when he comes to court. He has his fifth under his arm."

- - Sidebar -

Family drug use

In the last three years, 406 Snohomish County chemically-dependent
teen-agers under the age of 18 were evaluated for the Chemical Dependency
Disposition Alternative Program, or CETA. Their average age was 15.5 years.

21 percent reported that a mother or mother figure uses or used drugs.

27 percent reported that a father or father figure uses or used drugs.

34 percent reported that a mother or mother figure had an alcohol problem.

48 percent reported that a father or father figure had an alcohol problem.
Source: University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Use Institute