Series: Meth: Shattering Lives In Northern Nevada

A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that
methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold.

PARENTS TYPICALLY THE LAST TO KNOW ABOUT KIDS USE OF METH

Carol Wraught is an intelligent woman, but she didn't know the first
thing about methamphetamine even though an addict was living right
under her nose.

But she'd get a good lesson following a late night phone call a few
years ago from her son, Ken, then 23. He had been booked into the
Washoe County Jail for trafficking methamphetamine.

"I knew things were odd about him, but I had no idea it was meth,"
said Wraught, of Golden Valley. "I thought it was a phase. I asked
him if he was on drugs and he said 'No.'"

Treatment and school officials say that parents are usually the last
to know their children are using drugs.

"It's hard for parents and teachers to identify meth unless they know
about it," said Katherine Loudon, coordinator of Washoe County School
District's substance abuse prevention programs.

Four months after Wraught's son was sentenced to probation, he was
jailed again after getting caught driving with a drug pipe in his
possession. This time he was given house arrest.

Good, Wraught thought, now I'll always know where he is.

Wrong.

"He would have people coming in and out when we weren't home," she
said. "He also knew when he had to have a drug test, so, really,
house arrest wasn't doing him any good."

Her son began disappearing for a few days at a time. He lost weight,
had bags under his eyes, drank large quantities of soda and took
antacids for heartburn. He also slept a lot €" "for days" €" and
didn't like to eat. Wraught thought he had mononucleosis.

"Deep down I knew what was going on, but he was in such denial," she
said. "I wanted to believe that he wasn't stupid enough to be doing
it again after all the trouble it caused."

Steve Finnell, of Reno, knows too well what Wraught experienced. His
17-year-old daughter Lexi is recovering from her two-year crystal
meth addiction that led her to runaway three times and live with
strangers or other meth addicts. His daughter's sober now, but
Finnell doesn't rest easy.

"I don't get up thinking it's all over," he said. "I don't know that
I'll ever have that comfort zone again."

Wraught's son eventually moved out of his parents' home to live with
his girlfriend and her children. Soon after, he got arrested for
driving under the influence of meth. He's now 27 and in the Salvation
Army's substance-abuse program and is scheduled to graduate in June.
By that time, his girlfriend will have given birth to their first child.

The pain he caused his family lingers, however.

"This has broken my heart," his mother said. "I can cry you a river.
. As parents you don't want to think your kids are involved in this.
If I could go back I would have taken him to get drug tested and had
him prove it to me.

"I feel stupid that this had gone on in my own home," she said.

Finnell understands that sense of failure.

"Parents have a really hard time and wonder, 'Where did we go
wrong?'" he said. "We blamed ourselves totally and thought 'what if?'
My job as a dad is to keep her safe and I failed. I was helpless.
What do you do?"

To understand her son better and to give herself peace of mind,
Wraught read books on meth addiction, conducted Internet searches and
attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

"I never realized how bad meth was until I heard the stories of real
people talking about being in prison and losing their families," she
said. "Our life lately has revolved around our son's drug problem. We
have to be optimistic it will work out for him."