Parents take a look at drug use

Christine Carrillo

They party on the drug Ecstasy, have taken hallucinogenic trips on

Jimson weed and construct marijuana pipes from apples.

While only a minority of today’s youth falls into this category, a

group of parents within the Newport-Mesa community spent Tuesday

evening learning how to keep their children from entering that drug

world, too.

During a meeting hosted by the Harbor Council Parent Teacher

Assn., five guest speakers gave parents tips on how to deal with

teens facing drug and alcohol issues, issues frequently associated

with end-of-the-year festivities.

With issues ranging from expulsion to legal consequences imposed

on parent and child, the meeting provided parents with a brief

synopsis of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s policies, the

various trends with teenage drug and alcohol use, the legal

ramifications and the best ways for parents to intervene.

“This is a difficult topic for parents ... but we’re all in the

business of keeping kids safe,” said Patty Christiansen, Harbor

Council president. “If we only change the way 10 people look at what

their children are doing and they intervene, it will make a

difference.”

Costa Mesa Police Officer Ron Stone and Newport Beach Police

Officer Lloyd Whisenant gave the audience a look into the dangerous

activities of some teens.

“I think this is a great idea and we need to do more of it,” Stone

said. “We need to get more parents involved because a lot of times,

we’re preaching to the choir.”

While the officers revealed the problems with the use of alcohol

and marijuana among teens, and the constant problems with teenagers

driving while under the influence incidents, they highlighted how the

use of such substances can easily lead to much more. Ecstasy, GHB

(commonly known as the date rape drug) and Ketamine were just a few

of the “club drugs” that officers Stone and Whisenant discussed.

“A lot of these drugs are related to sexual assault and rape,”

Whisenant said. Parents “need to know what [their] kids are getting

into.”

Pepe Montenegro, coordinator for the district’s outreach

counseling program, suggested that parents adopt an active role, an

idea that lingered in the minds of many of the parents and other

audience members.

“I think [parents] often overlook or forget to look at the

basics,” said Vanessa Ontiveros, a Costa Mesa resident who works at a

homeless shelter. “I think it’s important to bring it to their

attention. It would’ve been nice if more parents came.”

While the goal was to help as many parents as possible, the Harbor

Council wasn’t deterred by the fairly small turnout. As far as

they’re concerned, it’s a step in the right direction.

“I don’t know if we reached as many people as possible,” said Lisa

George, Harbor Council event chair. “Hopefully, it’ll have a ripple

effect.”