I was talking to a good friend, who is a local probation officer, about meth use in Bozeman. His reply was “Man that is a really scary drug! Every one of my people who is on parole with a meth problem relapses. Nothing seems to work for them." 

 
  The "Demon Drug" is here in our valley! "Oh no!" Seems to be the cry. "What should we do?"
  Gone are the simple days when people were only using "Non Demon Drugs." Here now is the stark reality of those dang “Big City” problems. It's not too far off when we'll get to see other “Big City” problems so we'd better learn and build up our experience bank account.    

  The drum beat of, "We need to stop this problem now" is faint but it's there.
  Many in our community are going to speak up. They're going to do what they can to help control the problem. Even the legislature will step in with their ideas. People will toss their ideas into the ring and they'll feel better because of it.

  It's great that they take an interest in helping. It's great because some of the ideas are good ones and those ideas should be listened to. The drug problem is not something that will ever go away, it's been around a long time and it's here to stay. Nothing anyone can do will change that.
  I’m stuck, just like many other parents who have young kids entering middle school. I sat in the DARE graduation and I got to hear the kids read their proclamations and I was proud of my son when he read his proclamation. Now my son is in the middle school and is now at the age where drugs will enter his life. Even the demon drug Meth will come rubbing against him.

  There is a great old saying "The truth will set you free. But first it will make you miserable!” I've found in my life that the longer I avoid the truth the more miserable I am. For us the truth has been in front of us but we keep looking down sticky side roads instead. Let's skip the side roads and look at truth.  

  First, how old are kids when they start using drugs? Very young, but the starting age really hasn't changed for a long time. Kids are starting around ten or twelve years old. That is when they first come into contact with drugs or alcohol. But for the majority it's at the middle school when they first really start to deal with the drugs and the drug issue.

 Why do kids do drugs? Given what they've learned about drugs most of them still try drugs. Why? Simple and it's the same reason most everyone has, drugs are fun! We are human beings and we are geared to have fun. Teenagers are fun seeking machines and drugs are fun. There's no escaping the fact that they are fun. Everyone has a story about something they did where drugs or alcohol was involved and each story involves fun.

  Drugs affect all aspects of a person’s life. Take a drug and that drug is felt emotionally, spiritually and physically. The duration of time differs for each drug but the effect is the same for all of them. Kids learn quickly how to change the way they feel.

  If they're at a dance feeling awkward, they smoke a bowl of marijuana and they aren't feeling awkward anymore. Scared about going on a date, pop a pill and they feel like superman or superwoman. Scared on the football field, take some speed. Scared on the ski hill, drink some whiskey. Each one of those scenarios has been faced by ninety percent of the adults reading this and they have done the same thing.

  What drives this problem? The best answer for this is to listen to the music the kids are listening to. Don't believe me? Then listen to the music you listened to when you were young. Mine was the music of the late sixties and seventies. I grew up listening to some great rock and roll and country rock. My favorite even today was Willie Nelson’s "Whiskey River Take My Mind" or Eric Clapton’s "Cocaine."

  Kids today are bombarded by television telling them to use alcohol or drugs. I had Cheech and Chong and their dope smoking movies. Kids today have many more movies then those telling them drugs are fun. It's not that long ago that "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was the movie of a generation.

  When I was young the tag line for the movie "Up In Smoke" said "see this movie stoned" so I was stoned out of my mind and laughed all the way through it. I never saw the movie again but I'm sure it was dumb, had no meaning and if I was to watch it today I'd be embarrassed.

  Watch any channel the kids today watch and there will be numerous songs, videos and shows saying drugs are okay. With the kids being told that by the celebrities of today, there's no way for parents to fight that. With their friends telling them it's okay there's no way for their parents to fight that either. It was a long time ago when parents were usurped for the control of their children. It's been years now that peers, music, television and books are what kids turn to first for advice and comfort.

  What is there to do then? Tell the kids the truth. Kids today are no more or less rebellious than any of the adults were when they were the same age. The only real change is the amount of information kids are exposed to today. There is more media shoving information towards them then at any other time. There are more channels on the television geared towards young kids today then before. The list is endless but it is true.

  Have we lost?
  Nope. Not even close. It's safe to say this because I deal with kids in high school, college and once in awhile even some younger kids. They are still the same basic kids as I was when I was that age. They have the same struggles and the same basic challenges going on.

  All they and their families need are some good ideas on how to work together and with each other. People get caught in the prevention trap. I still do get caught in the same trap every now and then. Prevention is an idea that has its place but with this problem, immediate attention is needed. If I'm lying on the floor bleeding out, I don't want prevention education, I want immediate action.

  The best thing to do for this problem is meet the kids and give them what they want. They want to be kids. They want fun. They want action. They want experiences. That's what I wanted and I'm sure that's what you wanted. Everyone needs rocking chair memories when they get old.
  Road trips with your pals are what get us going. The advertisers of the world know it best. "It's Miller Time." "Rainier Beer” had some great commercials. The Super Bowl is prime stomping ground for the industry. "Bud Bowl." Hank Williams needs "...All of his rowdy friends..."   Our job as community members is vital. What do we want to accept and what is acceptable. When I was working with youth in a different community I had really strict orders from my boss.

  My job was to help kids get off drugs and alcohol and teach them how to have fun in a positive way. I wasn't to care about appearance, dress or language. The important thing was no drugs or alcohol. Everything else came second.

  In our community it's simple. We used to have great programs where families could get the truth and work with their kids. They could both find resources where the truth was told and they could work as a team to get themselves back on track.
  They could go together to events and have fun while they were there. The parents could learn how to talk with their kids and be with them. The kids could learn how to talk with their parents and be with them again.

  During the late eighties and very early nineties the programs were working and young people along with their families were succeeding. Some of those kids stayed away from drugs and alcohol permanently and others stopped, graduated from high school, went on to college and then decided to drink again.

  Stopping teenage usage was the goal. Giving their families and the community a way to work with them was the goal. Giving the kids a resource where they could meet their "fun" needs was the goal. Those ideas worked then and they'd work again if the community wanted them to work.

 It takes people willing to draw the line in the sand and not accept unacceptable behavior anymore. It takes people willing to dig into themselves and become willing to listen to what is really being said by those involved.

  Each instance is a deep cry for help and a cry for acceptance. Those cries are not being heard right now. Each kid starts using because of low self esteem. The drug hits their system and they no longer care. The feeling that was overwhelming is replaced by "Okay ness" and they move on. Those that are truly carrying the addictive personality are the ones that keep zipping along the road of addiction.

  Those that have enough self esteem and come up with ways to compensate for not feeling "Okay” stop, or they may need some help for a short period of time. Kids know all there is to know about drugs. Heck most of them know more than I do and believe me I know a lot about drugs.

  Slowly if we choose to build a safe environment where they get to be who they are and not what we want them to be then we have a shot. It's hard not to try and change them into little cups of vanilla. But the world is Baskin Robbins for a reason. We are a world full of flavors not just the basic flavors. We need to let the kids learn who they are on their own.

  There's so much more but the last thing is the best. We need a place for parents to share honestly about what's going on and the struggles they are having. Kids are great and they are really strong. But if we don't help the families learn and only help the kids then we have only kept the process going. When the kid gets home the same thing will happen again. We perpetuate failure.

  A young kid with two MIP's is the perfect example. The parents have to learn just as much if not more than the kid. They have to learn new ways to cope just like their kid needs to learn. They are struggling with the same issues the exact same way they always have and they are getting the exact same results and don't even know it.

  Kids need to learn that when they use drugs they are choosing to become unmanageable for a period of time. Parents who are using drugs or alcohol need to look at their unmanageable behavior also. It's a choice and for a period of time new choices need to be explored. New ways need to seep into old entrenched beliefs. New pathways need to be explored.

  Young people and their families are awesome. Seeing families rising from the ashes of addiction and moving forward is truly inspiring. Seeing that family functioning as a unit, having fun and growing together, rather then further apart is a miracle. We need miracles