The underground world of drugs at Millard West – Part II
*names have been changed
Jogging in place and flailing his arms wildly in the air, a cigarette dangles from John Doe’s* tightly pursed lips. Breathing frantically yet rhythmically, Doe’s eyes are wide open, his pupils dilated. He stops suddenly, opens the screen door to the house’s basement, and yells at a nearby friend.
“Hey man, come watch me chain-smoke!”
The friend reluctantly comes outside, and Doe resumes his dance, breathing smoke and ashes into his face. On his breath, underneath the stench of stale cigarettes, is the subtle scent of vodka. The friend, almost startled by the toxic bombardment, retreats back into the house. Doe seems to take no notice of his departure. Tonight, November 20th, John Doe is drunk; he’s celebrating his 17th birthday at another friend’s house.
Inside, clear half-full plastic cups haphazardly litter every available flat surface. An empty can of Reddi Whip lays abandoned on its side, the accompanying balloon not too far away.
“I’ve been sober for the most part until tonight. I wanted to be clean for awhile, but it’s my birthday. I can party if I want to,” says Doe.
Since his break in sobriety, Doe drinks regularly. The highlight of his week is “booze-day Tuesday,” when he meets with friends of his to drink and smoke weed.
This type of behavior is almost commonplace at Millard West. Although it isn’t apparent on the surface, substance abuse is a widespread problem here.
courtesy of CNN
“I had kids [from Millard West] who would walk up to me and say ‘Help me. My life is screwed up because of drugs,’” says Robert Stutman, the speaker who came Wednesday, August 26th and Thursday, August 27 th to talk with students about drugs. “I had a thousand kids [Wednesday]; I invited them to come and talk with me after without any teachers. We had four hundred kids show up. [Thursday] we had three hundred and fifty, and they probably turned away three hundred and fifty more. That shows that kids want to talk about this subject.”
Stutman, a retired DEA agent, say the usage of prescription drugs, such as Vicodin, OxyContin, and Xanax, has eclipsed marijuana and alcohol usage.
“OxyContin is by far the most dangerous,” Stutman say. “There is no margin of error. It’s very easy to overdose.”
This is very alarming. Students no longer need a dealer to get their fix—the drugs they’re looking for can be found in the family medicine cabinet.
“Last week I gave some of my anxiety medicine to my friend,” says another source. “He blacked out for the whole day. He doesn’t remember anything.”
It doesn’t stop there. Students even use substances at school in class; tobacco seems to be the most popular. During weight training classes, some athletes choose to chew tobacco (“chawski,” “chaw,” “ponski”) while lifting weights. In other classes students will try to hide their use by pretending to sip out of pop cans so they can spit. In the bathrooms empty cans of snus (similar to chewing tobacco, except users do not spit) can be found in the trashcans. It’s not uncommon to see students stopping to look in the mirror, pulling down their lower lip to examine the damage they’ve inflicted.
Kids coming to school high isn’t unheard of either.
“Last year I came to school during lunch one day on robo,” says Doe. “All of the faces I looked at all stared back at me. It was overwhelming. But none of the teachers could tell, so I didn’t get caught.”
Doe says that was the last time he came to school under the influence.
“It’s just not smart. It’s not worth it if you get caught. And you waste an entire school day. You come to school to learn. That’s why I save it for when school gets out,” adds Doe.
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