NOT DYING IN VAIN

Tragic as it was, the death of Thousand Oaks High School senior
Griffen Kramer could be the tipping point in this area's fight against
heroin.

Word this week from the Los Angeles County coroner's office confirming
the drug as the cause of the 18-year-old's death (see related story on
page 1) puts an end to any debate and provides another opportunity to
address this life-and-death topic.

We're amazed by how many people we've talked to in the past month who
had no idea high schoolers were using heroin and no clue about the
prevalence of prescription painkillers in the local party scene. Along
with this spike in awareness is a desire for action.

Thankfully, one of the most popular questions we've heard from parents
is "What can I do?"

The first thing is not to panic. We don't want parents thinking that
every kid in high school is shooting heroin or that every teenager who
takes a pain pill is going to be a junkie. That isn't the case.

What is the case is that if our children leave the house there's an
extremely good chance they will encounter one of these drugs and a
host of others. So arm them with the knowledge that one bad decision
can lead to a lifetime of consequences.

Young people don't need to be regular users to seriously hurt
themselves. A bad mixture of alcohol and prescription pills can send
them to the ER or, worse, the morgue. Teach them that misusing legal
drugs is just as dangerous as abusing illegal drugs and set a good
example by properly discarding your unused medications and not sharing
prescriptions with friends and family members.

If you think your child may have a drug or alcohol problem, speak up
or refer them to a doctor, counselor or a mental health professional.
Don't be afraid to drug test them; at-home kits are available at many
local pharmacies, cost between $17 and $35, and will provide tangible
evidence (as long as it is given unexpectedly and under supervision)
that they are engaging in dangerous behavior.

You can expect resistance, but being a good parent means being able to
set rules and enforce them. We're not telling parents to be gestapo,
but there's too much at stake not to act on your intuition.

Teen drug use is a problem everywhere, and Griffen was only the latest
of many young people in this area to have their futures ripped away by
drugs or alcohol.

But the exposure this story has received has given us the opportunity
to make sure Griffen, unlike so many others, did not die in vain. We
ask that you take advantage of it.