LINCOLN PARENTS LEARN DANGERS OF DRUGS

Some 75 parents of teens sat in silence as they listened to a man
about their age share the story of his son's drug-related death.

Mike Rozga of Indianola was the keynote speaker Jan. 20 at a Lincoln
High School event called "A Dose of Truth: Things We Don't Want to Talk
About."

Rozga's son, David, killed himself in June after smoking K2, known as
a synthetic version of marijuana. It can cause severe hallucinations,
extreme anxiety, seizures and blackouts.

David had just graduated from high school.

Mike Rozga said the danger of K2 is that it's not regulated, and it's
manufactured all over the world. Often it's marketed as incense, and
each dose can contain different elements. It affects users differently
and unpredictably, he said.

Following David Rozga's death, his parents lobbied Iowa lawmakers to
ban the sale of K2, then launched a website, www.k2drugfacts.com, to
educate teens and their parents about the drug that's relatively new.

And now, even through their grief, the Rozgas talk to kids and their
families in an effort to help them.

"What I love about being here is seeing a school community that wants
to learn and make a difference," Mike Rozga said at the program. "And
schools can make a difference.

"We need to talk to our kids about stuff we don't even know about," he
said to parents.

"My message to you (students) is: Be smart and do not smoke, ingest or
inject. You don't know what somebody is going to hand you."

Rozga also appealed to parents to get to know their teens' friends,
and to set a good example for their teens. He asked teens to call a
trusted adult if they find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.

"We live in a messed-up world," he said. "You can make a difference.
Just say no. That sounds real easy. If you do give in, call someone
for help.

"We need to start standing up and do the right thing. We don't want to
see what happened to our family happen to anyone else."

The event's other speaker was Mike Wenger, a substance abuse
prevention specialist at Employee and Family Resources. Wenger
discussed some of the major addictive substances that teens use today:
alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants and K2.

Wenger told the audience that alcohol had changed his life. When he
was 18, he was drunk and crashed his car. He lost his lower left leg
in the accident and now uses a prosthesis.

Wenger said he wants to challenge young people when he talks with
them.

"Not everybody gets into drugs and alcohol," he said, and he urged
teens in the audience to "try to think past that day," saying that
mood-altering substances won't help them if they're having a bad day.

Other events at Lincoln's program were presented by the Hope Drama
Troupe, which focuses on child abuse; and break-out sessions were held
on drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy and bullying.

Jenna Guy, 18, a senior at Lincoln, performed with the drama troupe.
She said the troupe helps get teens talking about issues, particularly
about child abuse, its main focus.

"It opens doors to conversation," she said.

Sophomores Mallory Hinds and Katie Thorpe, both 16, served on the
committee planning the event. They said it's critical to get young
people to talk to each other and to be supportive of each other.

"It's so important," Hinds said. "I'm going to listen to a student
before I'll listen to an adult."

Laurie Butz, Gear Up adviser at Lincoln, worked with the Youth
Building Healthy Communities student-run service learning project and
with Employee and Family Resources to plan the event. Starting in
October, they surveyed 1,500 Lincoln students in the sophomore, junior
and senior classes. Butz said 35 percent of those who returned surveys
said using drugs and alcohol was the number one problem that should be
addressed.

She said the program last week was aimed at parents, and she was
pleased with the turnout of about 80 people, some of whom brought
their teens.

"We were afraid students wouldn't come," she said. "But we are so
proud of our students who helped organize this, and so proud of our
community for supporting it."

She also appreciated the feedback she received from parents
attending.

"Parents said there's a need for a program like this," she said. "And
it's needed everywhere. It's not a Lincoln issue."

[sidebar]

MORE ABOUT K2

The parents of an Indianola teen who died after he used the synthetic
marijuana product K2 created a website to inform people of the drug's
effects and dangers. The product -- often marketed as an herb or
incense -- has been banned in Iowa since the death of David Rozga.
Another dozen states also have banned it and at least 10 others have
bans at the local level or under consideration statewide. Learn more
at www.k2drugfacts.com.