Last Friday, the Senior Class at WHHS received a visit from four members of the Passaic County Drug Court.  Drug court is a program for people who have committed crimes involving drug and alcohol abuse to get treatment.  Four speakers from our county drug court came to speak to the seniors about the dangers of drug abuse.

Adam, 26, was an alcoholic.  From Jefferson, N.J., he “skated by” in high school.  His drug abuse began with smoking marijuana often during his senior year. He later went on to college, but soon dropped out due to his desire to be high prevailing over his desire to attend classes.  His abuse escalated to 40-50 painkillers, 10 bars of Xanax, and $500 worth of heroin each day.  Adam was scarred forever by experiences such as the death of his girlfriend right before his eyes.  At the age of 22, he introduced her to heroin immediately causing her death. He told students that what scares him the most is that he’s no longer afraid of being arrested.  He’s been in jail so many times it no longer scares him. 

Pete, 26, claimed that drug court saved his life.  He graduated from Lakeland high school in 2007.  An ice hockey player, Pete was a user of steroids as well as an addict of alcohol and other drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, mushrooms, LSD, and heroin.  He explained to the students that he had dreams and goals for his future.  However, these dreams were destroyed by his addiction.  He graduated from Passaic County Community College, despite “getting high the whole time.” After losing his father in 2011, Pete stopped caring about his future and lost his job as a manager at Home Depot. 

Senior Kristen Templeton asked Pete if he had one decisive moment when he realized he had to turn his life around.  Pete replied with a story of one of his many highs when he stopped himself and realized he wasn’t doing anything productive with his life.  “I thought I was gonna be somebody…I wasn’t being anybody.” Pete left the students with an ominous message explaining how lucky he was to have hit rock bottom, because some never reach that point and “end up six feet under.”

Douglass started using drugs with his mother when he was 17-years-old.  Growing up in a house without a father, he was required to act like a man at a young age.  Douglass constantly had to track down dope for his HIV-positive mother so she would feel well enough to clean the house.  His advice to the seniors was to “stay focused and pay attention…if you don’t, you’re gonna end up [in drug court].”

Frank was the final speaker at the assembly.  He discussed how he was constantly high throughout high school and was in N.J. State Prison four times.  He was addicted to dope and coke, and would frequently rob strangers. “I didn’t care about other people…how I hurt them.”

Frank went on to discuss how his social image contributed to his use in high school.  He felt like he always had to be high in order to be the life of the party. 

Later, his time in jail began to affect his life as he missed the final moments with friends and family.  He was unable to attend the funerals of his father, brother, and various fellow drug addicts who passed while he was being detained.  Frank ended his discussion with emphasizing the fact that he has to carry the weight of being a convicted felon for the rest of his life.

This presentation was well received by seniors, including Gianna Bracco who thought “the speakers provided a contrast from typical presentations where students are lectured with facts and statistics. By hearing their personal stories students were engagaed and a much bigger imapct was made.”