HEROIN OD CAUSED DEATH

In late October, Wanda Parent found a peculiar essay that her son,
Penn State student Justin Parent, had written for an English class
last spring. It detailed how an errant friend had introduced the
19-year-old to heroin, how he became addicted and what he did to beat
his dependency.

On it, a teacher wrote, "Do your parents know?"

Wanda had just been looking through college papers to give to
Justin's younger brother as he began his application process. The
essay was the first she had known of her son's struggles with heroin.

A few days later, Justin was dead, found in cardiac arrest at his
third-floor Cedarbrook apartment. On Friday, the Centre County
Coroner's Office announced the cause of his death was an accidental
heroin overdose.

Parent was pronounced dead at about 8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Mount Nittany
Medical Center, less than an hour after police responded to the
scene. An empty box of naloxone, a fast-acting overdose medication,
and discarded syringe caps lay strewn outside Parent's apartment door
as paramedics rushed into the apartment in an attempt to save his life.

Described as a light-hearted joker by fellow Delta Upsilon fraternity
members who knew him as "J-Rent," the Glastonbury, Conn. native had
planned to visit home the weekend of Oct. 27. He died the Thursday before.

Despite his cause of death, Wanda Parent maintains her son was not a
regular drug user.

"The kid was a smart kid, and he wasn't an addict -- he just made a
bad choice," she said. "The toxicology report shows that his body was
in fine condition."

Parent's death highlights the growing popularity of heroin in the
Centre Region, especially amongst college students, Pennsylvania
State Police Trooper Leigh Barrows said.

"It's become more of a drug of choice with younger people," she said.
"I see a lot more heroin coming from the New York area, coming
through Altoona. It's killing a lot of people."

Barrows said she busted drug dealers while policing college campuses
in the region as an undercover narcotics officer in 2001 and 2002,
predominantly confiscating cocaine; now, she said, heroin is taking
precedence in the county.

"You never know with the heroin batches that go around -- you get a
hot dose of heroin, it will kill you," she said. "These kids, they
don't know ... they don't understand what they're really getting into."

Drug dealers especially target students, who are ignorant of the
risks and more likely to engage in risky behavior, she said.

Wanda Parent said she wants to make a difference. She's distributing
Justin's essay to local DARE classes and others who are interested,
hoping her son's story will inspire others.

"It's enlightening, that's for sure," she said.

So enlightening, she said, that she wishes someone at Penn State had
notified her when Justin first turned the paper in.

"No one contacted us about this," she said. "There should be
something in place, we think, at the college level."

The investigation into Parent's death is ongoing, according to the
State College Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to
call 234-7150.