FATHER OF RECOVERING ADDICT LEARNED, 'IT WAS NOT ABOUT US'

PEABODY - For former Salem superintendent Herb Levine, always the
man in charge, proud and single-minded, his son's OxyContin addiction
was a tremendous blow. "It takes a lot of education," he says, "to get
by the anger, to get by the guilt, to get by the embarrassment."

Eventually, he learned a crucial lesson. "It was not about us."
Treatment, the love and discipline of family, and the young man's own
determination were the keys to his survival.

"He's been clean for two years," says his admiring father. Part of his
recovery has involved reaching out to help others, speaking in public
about the dangers of addiction, sometimes with dad at his side. The
pair offer practical advice for families in the same predicament. Herb
Levine is a strong advocate for random drug testing in high school,
but a task force at Salem High recently recommended taking such a step
only as a last resort. "We're just not there yet," says Herb Levine.
"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying." With so much at
stake, he downplays criticisms. "How much privacy does a high school
kid need?"

Levine has also been hired by Essex County District Attorney Jonathan
Blodgett to get a new drug education program into the public schools.
The program, called "Choose to Refuse," is designed to address
OxyContin and heroin abuse.

Meanwhile, he's been working with Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and others on
"sobriety high schools," a new approach that would provide a place for
recovering high school addicts to go to class in an environment
geared toward continuing their recovery.

"We expect that to be a very successful strategy," he says. For Joel,
vigilance is the price of sobriety. "He won't even have a beer," his
father says proudly. His success has given hope to others. "It's
really about Joel," says Herb Levine. "The credit has to go to him.
But it's important to have a home, a loving home."