FAMILY HOPES STORY OF FATAL DRUG USE HELPS OTHERS

Russell Bietsch was just weeks away from his 19th birthday when his
parents discovered he used drugs.

It's hard to say whether this was his first time or not, but it was
his last. Sometime around 2:30 a.m. June 1, Russell collapsed at a
friend's home and was pronounced dead on arrival at Grady Memorial Hospital.

He was a nice kid from a nice suburban neighborhood and responsible,
involved parents, one of countless American teenagers who experiment
with drugs - except for two things.

The first is he died of an overdose of Ecstasy.

The second is that his parents decided to be open about how he died
in the hope that no one else has to endure the same pain.

Karl and Irene Bietsch aren't blaming others. They talked to Russell
and his little brother Klark about the dangers of sex and drugs, but
they say they should have done more.

They should've said drugs kill and then told them what drugs and why;
and that you don't always get what you pay for.

Autopsy reports showed Russell actually died from a highly toxic
derivative of Ecstasy called PMA, which is 10 times more potent.

But you can't teach what you don't know, and the Bietsches discovered
there was a lot they didn't know, including how much the world has
changed since kids lived for their stereos and a beer buzz.

Russell, the Bietsches said, lived for his music, too. A freshman at
Georgia State University, he changed his major from international
business to music. He was taking voice and piano lessons. He was
excited about his new job at a local Italian restaurant, where he
sang "Happy Birthday" to guests in Italian.

Russell wasn't considered much of a social butterfly. He hung out
mostly at home and was considered a "straight arrow" by his parents.

Karl Bietsch said he felt like he and his wife were "in a bubble, and
there's this whole world out there we aren't that informed about."

And maybe that's the problem. Too many of us feel we're insulated
from the dangers of drug use, that good kids don't die from things
you've never heard of, such as Ecstasy.

Within hours of his son's death, Karl Bietsch was shocked to find
that world well within his reach; everything he needed to know about
the drug trade could be found on the Internet.

His son's death was a teaching moment and not just for his family.
They had to tell the community what they'd found out the hard way.

At his funeral, Russell's cousin Laura Marsh, an associate professor
of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, laid
out the facts.

Ecstasy is a drug similar to methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline.

It provides a brief experience of tremendous energy and well-being,
but its negative effects on the body are long-lasting. It causes,
among other things, memory loss, mood swings and sleeplessness.

Taking Ecstasy is like placing your own body in the oven and baking
it, Marsh warned them.

"Doctors can't reverse that," she said, "just as we can't unbake a cake."

In lieu of followers, Russell's father asked friends and family to
make donations to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

On Friday they will hold a charity concert in memory of Russell at
Centennial High School, his alma mater.

But this isn't just about Russell. It's about raising awareness about
the risks associated with drug use and what you can do to educate yourself.

"Our son was a normal kid who made a bad decision," said Irene
Bietsch. "We want to better educate others so that they avoid a loss
and tragedy like ours."

Tickets to the concert, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. in the
school auditorium, are $5 for students, $10 for adults.

Proceeds will go toward a memorial scholarship in Russell's name and
the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.