PARENTS TAKE A STAND ON DRUGS

With her teenage son safely in a drug rehabilitation centre, Lesley Bushell
can finally rest - perhaps for the first time in six months.

For half a year, the Walnut Grove mother of one has been living a parent's
worst nightmare; first finding out her son was using the hard drug crystal
methamphetamine, (also known as JIB) and second, trying to convince him to
seek help.

It's been "a living hell," said Bushell, a full-time psychiatric nurse who
is willing to share her story in hopes it will make other parents aware of
the scope of Langley's teen drug problem.

Bushell started noticing changes in her 16-year-old son in April.

"The first thing I started noticing was his mood. He became extremely
hostile, paranoid and aggressive."

In the beginning there were little signs, like lying about where he was
staying overnight and admitting that he was experimenting with marijuana,
she said.

What Bushell's son wasn't telling her is he was trying a much harder drug,
one that has been described by local police as the current "drug of choice"
for Langley teens.

That drug, JIB, is as addictive as heroin, Bushell said.

So addictive, her son overdosed on it in May.

"When we got him home from the hospital we couldn't keep him there. We
forcefully kept him home, even sat on him, but he ran as soon as he could,"
Bushell said.

Where her son was running to was his drug dealer.

It turned out the teen was enticed into the drug culture by a man who
offered him employment. Bushell's son would work nightly delivering
newspapers for this man.

According to Bushell, her son wasn't the only one dragged into this life by
the man, who was later fired from his job.

"He would entice the teens to help him do the route by giving them free
drugs," she said.

After her son overdosed, she tried to get him help.

"I tried to get my son admitted to the hospital because I thought he was a
danger to himself, but they wouldn't admit him. I couldn't get him into a
rehab program because he had to admit he was using drugs," she said. "A
young addict must agree to treatment."

Frustrated, she brought her son back home.

"I caught him a couple times doing drugs in the house. When I caught him
the last time I said either stop doing drugs or get out of my house,"
Bushell recalls.

He decided to leave.

"He was actually living on the streets for two weeks. He was living in an
abandoned house in downtown Langley, known by the teens as the crack
shack." In those two weeks her son stole and sold drugs to feed his habit.
Living in the drug house with more than 10 other people of all different
ages, Bushell knew she had to get him out of there.

"I eventually had him arrested and he was in jail. We have been waiting
since Aug. 1 to get him into a treatment centre.

"I just delivered him Monday to Williams Lake. It's been a very long and
hard process."

It's a process she wants to share with other parents because she knows
she's not alone.

"These kids are our future and if telling my story can help even one person
than it's worth it. These drugs are destroying lives, and it can be my
child, your child or your neighbours child, it's out there and parents need
to open their eyes."

When her son started using drugs, his circle of friends changed, he lost
weight and wouldn't come home for days.

"When they get high, they stay up for two days straight. He would come home
and sleep for 30 hours at a time and often binge eat."

She also found a lot of straws around his room.

"What they would do is get a Slurpee and a couple of straws and cut them.
They heat the straws up in a glass pipe which needs to get a certain
temperature to cook the drug," she said, explaining that she educated
herself about crystal meth so she knew what she was up against.

The use of candles and blow torches are also the only way to cook the drug.
Regular Bic lighters don't work.

Drugs are being sold at many places that teens hang out, including
theatres, recreation facilities and schools.

"My son had a stable upbringing, there is no alcohol or drug history in my
family. I have a good job and we've brought him up right," she said. "This
can happen to any family."

If you're a parent in this position, or you feel your teen is heading in
this direction, there's some help out there, said Langley Township
recreation manager Janet Whitehead.

Langley Township Parks and Recreation is putting together Langley's first
Parents Together workshop for moms and dads struggling with drug or alcohol
addicted teens.

"The workshop helps parents find solutions," Whitehead said.

"This (drugs) don't just happen in Surrey. Parents in Walnut Grove are
dealing with these conflicts too and that's why we wanted to bring the
program here. Parents in this area have had to go to South Surrey to get
the program."

Walnut Grove's community police officer Const. Yvette Jamesom agreed that
drugs aren't something that just happens in Langley City and Surrey.

Teens buying and using drugs is going on in and around suburban Walnut
Grove everyday, Jamesom said.

"Marijuana is still the drug of choice for teens, but speed and jib is
gaining in popularity," Jamesom said. "Kids are coming from Surrey to deal
drugs to kids here (in Walnut Grove). Some Walnut Grove kids are dealing
out of their homes. There is enough of a concern here."

The Parents Together support and self-help workshop is facilitated by
trained staff and veteran parents who have been through everything with
their own children and are willing to share their successes and failures.
Keeping the lines of communication open is an important way to know what's
going on with your teen, said Jamesom.

But if you're looking for physical signs that your teen is doing drugs,
Langley RCMP drug recognition expert Const. Ralph Foster sees it everyday.
With stimulants like speed, that carry no odor, Foster said teens will
appear restless, excited and talkative.

"Just after getting high, a person's pulse goes up and they start to sweat.
Regular users of methamphetamines will grind their teeth, have a runny
nose, have loss of appetite, dry mouth and appear irritable."

Ecstasy is still big with the kids, he said.

"The scary thing about this stuff (and JIB) is nobody really knows what's
in it because it's cooked up."

These drugs have been known to contain PCP, the drug that makes people have
a blank stare, repetitive speech, increased pain threshold and a feeling of
being invincible.

"I'm only looking at guys for one hour to determine what they are on.
Parents have lots of time to look at how their teen is socializing, how
they're reacting at home. Parents should know where their kids' allowances
are going."

Foster had one crucial piece of advice: "Parents can't show any support for
drugs, no tolerance at all."

The Parents Together workshop will be held on Friday, Oct. 26 from 7 to
9:30 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Walnut Grove
Community Centre.

The cost is $35 per person.

For more information call Janet Whitehead at 882-0408 ext. 105.