TEENS IN REHAB SAY DRUGS ARE EVERYWHERE

KINGSPORT - Before they got their driver's licenses, went on their first
dates or attended a prom, drug and alcohol abuse had become a way of life
for most of the boys now living at a Kingsport treatment center.

The teens say drugs are everywhere - and are often as accessible as a can
of pop. They can speak firsthand that it doesn't matter if you live in a
housing project or in a million-dollar home, every teenager will be tempted
by drugs and alcohol, and some may end up becoming hard-core users.

Different roads brought teenagers Shawn, Aaron, Jacob, Michael and Brad
(all names have been changed to protect the teens' privacy) to
Comprehensive Community Services' Adolescent Treatment Center in Sullivan
Gardens, but they will spend at least four months at the facility learning
how to live life sober.

Michael, who grew up in the projects of Chattanooga, said he has been
exposed to drugs and the drug culture all of his life. He came to CCS after
being arrested for selling drugs to an undercover cop and for violating his
probation.

Michael smoked his first joint when he was 8, when his uncle let him try
marijuana. After that, Michael said he sold drugs for his uncle.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Brad. Growing up in rural East
Tennessee, Brad said his parents never did drugs and never had a drop of
alcohol in their home. An older cousin allowed 12-year-old Brad to smoke
his first joint, and he said he began using drugs because it was about the
only thing fun to do in his small town.

"You either get high or get drunk. There is a park, and that is it. There
is not even a Wal-Mart. There's a few gas stations. It's nice, but all
there is to do is get drunk or get high. Everybody does it. The whole
county," Brad said.

At 17, this is Jacob's third time at a rehab center. He started using drugs
when he was 12, sniffing a "bump" of coke at a friend's house.

"I have a great family," said Jacob. "There's no history of drug use. I
have an older brother, and we live in the suburbs. We have a nice little
house, two bedrooms, one bath. Two dogs, three cats. A happy little life.

To pay for his drug habit, Jacob would do neighborhood yard work. He'd make
between $80 and $100 a day and lie to his parents about how much he made
and how he was spending the money.

"I did everything. ... I painted, cleaned out gutters, weed-eated, mowed,
washed cars. I'm not spoiled. My drug of choice was LSD. ... It's usually
about $4 a hit, but for $70 I could get a vial, and that's 120 hits," Jacob
said.

For Jacob, using drugs boosted his confidence, especially with girls.

"I have low self-esteem. If I'm on drugs or under the influence, I feel
like I can talk to a girl easier," he said.

Jacob maintains that even after he leaves the treatment facility, he'll
probably go back to using drugs, especially when he goes to college. But he
says when he gets married and raises a family, that's when the drug use
will stop. "They say that what you do will come down three times on your
kids. I hope the (things) that I do won't come down on them," Jacob said.

Shawn also says he'll probably go back to drinking alcohol when he's out of
the treatment facility. He started drinking after several of his friends
died in a car accident. He got caught stealing beer from a convenience
store and was sent to CCS.

"I can't go back to the neighborhood I live in and expect not to do
anything. It's just all around," said Shawn.

Shawn lives in Pigeon Forge, which he describes as a constant party town.
Although he doesn't look 21, Shawn said he got alcohol from convenience
stores simply by striking up a conversation with the clerk.

"It's all about how you approach people and talk to them. You always find
ways. You slip them a five and go get a case of beer. It's not hard."

Aaron, who had been at the center for two weeks at the time of the
interview, said he had gotten in trouble for a non-drug-related offense and
wound up taking a drug test for the court system. The judge sent him to
CCS. Aaron had a part-time job installing siding to make money to pay for
drugs.

All five boys were introduced to drugs either by family members or friends.
Even though their parents were not using drugs and had discussed the
dangers of drugs with them, other influences in their lives started their
habit.

"My parents tried to act like I didn't have a problem, but they knew I
did," said Shawn. "They asked if I needed help, and I said no, I didn't
need any f---ing help."

"I hate when people ask me if I need help," Michael said. "If people want
to, they'll stop."

"I had a problem with stealing," added Brad. "I loved pills, and I would
steal anything to get pills. I stole pills off my grandpa. ... You start to
lie a lot."

"I don't call it lying, I call it being a con artist. If you do drugs, you
have to know how to con people to get what you need or you end up in jail,"
said Shawn.

None of the teens said they were scared of going to jail. Most were more
scared of their parents finding out about their drug use.

"I didn't want to let my parents down," said Brad. "I was doing real good
for a while, and I just let them down. And they were saying 'Oh my God' and
crying. I don't like that."

"My grandma told me I needed to stop. But I wouldn't smoke in front of my
grandma. ... I regret that I got my little brother smoking weed. One day I
was in the bedroom with him playing, and he asked to hit it with me. For a
minute, I paused and thought about it. And then I let him. ... I'd rather
him smoke it with me than with anybody else because you never know," said
Michael.

All five teens admitted to doing drugs at school. But they never got
caught, and they were never tested for drugs even if they were involved in
sports.

"In my freshman year, I started out playing varsity in everything I did,"
said Shawn. "I didn't want to let the coach down or get put down to JV. So
I started snorting coke. I'd do a gram of coke before a football game and
raise hell, running everywhere and hitting everything.

"I did good because I was so hyped up. Then it turned into more of an
addiction. We didn't do drug tests. Most schools know what is going on.
That's why they don't push the drug tests because half of their players
would be gone. I think the coach knew. Two or three of us were on the
sidelines, and we'd pop up with a nosebleed. You'd have to know that
something was going on."

Michael and Brad said they both smoked pot on the job at fast food
restaurants, sometimes even with their managers.

"I could go to the (store) with my parents and get high in the bathroom,
and no one would know," said Michael.

All five of the teens said they graduated from the DARE program, Drug Abuse
Resistance Education, when they were 10. But that never stopped them from
taking the first sip of alcohol or smoking the first joint.

"The DARE program is a joke. That's in fifth grade. You're eating crayons,
not pills. Four years later, you're not thinking about the drug program.
You need to bump that up to like seventh grade," said Shawn.

"If they said they were going to drug-test people, more than likely more
people would quit," said Michael.

"There is no way to get it out of the system. Kids are always going to be
exposed to drugs. There is nothing nobody can do about it. There is no way
to stop it. All you can do is talk to them," Jacob added.

"Just always talk to them," said Shawn. "I'm going to tell you that there
is nothing you can do. At a certain age you got to let them have their
freedom. If it's your daughter and she's 14 or 15 and there's three guys
and two other girls and everybody is getting high but her, she's going to
eventually give in."

"But you can't go crazy on them cause they tried it once," said Brad.

"Yeah, you can," replied Shawn. "I say go f---ing nuts."

"My parents freaked out the first time," said Brad.

"Not me," said Shawn. "I wish my parents had."