medpot
10-09-2008, 05:32 AM
The Western Star, Corner Brook, Newfoundland (http://www.thewesternstar.com/index.cfm?sid=178970&sc=23)
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Last updated at 2:34 AM on 09/10/08
Coming back after drugs hard for teenagers, says former user
CORNER BROOK
CORY HURLEY
The Western Star
http://www.thewesternstar.com/photos/WesternStar/stories/drugsweb.jpg
Joe is focused on his school work, like this Level 3 World Geography book,
rather than the drugs and crime he was tangled up in as a younger teenager.
— Star Photo by Cory Hurley
It often takes maturing and hard lessons learned for some youth to realize the consequences of their actions.
For one 18-year-old Corner Brook man, that reality check is something he wishes he realized many years sooner.
Joe (not his real name) was a popular kid. He had many friends in all circles — the so-called good ones and bad ones. As a 13-year-old, however, he chose to hang with the bad ones more than the good.
Joe and a gang of his friends could be found on West Street at any time of day, regardless of whether they were supposed to be at school or not. Mostly, their time was spent so idle the only thing to do was get in trouble, he said.
His friends were older and blazoned with the street credibility that he envisioned as cool.
Marijuana and alcohol were the drugs of choice, and mischief was the name of the game. He is sure the older ones were into more than just weed, but for him, that was the extent of it. He said it was easy to get; the people he hung with knew where to get it.
The young teenager said he was a follower and just wanted to fit in. Whatever the teens he looked up to did, he was in.
At 13, he landed himself in provincial court — convicted of break and entry. Probation followed, a court order he still refers to as unfair, and he would break it repeatedly over the years.
He ended up spending two years on probation — the 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. curfews being the toughest to uphold. He wasn’t permitted to hang with the people he was caught breaking and entering, wasn’t allowed to leave the province (missing a trip to Ontario with his mother), couldn’t be around drugs or alcohol, had to go to school every day, and couldn’t get in any trouble there.
Ultimately, he found himself with foster guardians.
“I had an authority problem,” said Joe. “I was in trouble with the law when I was younger and went through a lot.
“I’ve been around, been with the bad crews and the good crews — with people that did drugs and people that did crime. I was involved in some of it, some drugs and some crime. I was punished and learned my lesson.”
Those lessons weren’t learned easily though. He broke curfew time and time again, and the days he did go to school, some ended in trouble. The probation he hated so much kept being extended each time the conditions were broken.
“Curfew was pretty bad,” he said. “I used to be out until 12 (midnight) and 12:30 (a.m), 1 (a.m.). I couldn’t sleep over to my friends house or anything like that. It was like being on a tight rope.
“I don’t agree with the rules personally because it is like they want you to get in trouble. It was hard; all my friends out enjoying their summer and you are inside.”
Some might say deservedly so — you do the crime, you do the time. But, Joe said you have to put yourself in a teenager’s shoes and see how hard it is to comply with those conditions every day of your teenage life.
Eventually, whether it was the realization that he had no choice or that he had turned a new leaf, he complied with the court orders. No longer living with his parents, Joe said his foster guardians would report him directly any time he broke a condition of his probation.
Foster families
He lived with a family in Corner Brook, a family in Stephenville Crossing, and later the family of a friend back in Corner Brook. He said there were difficult times staying with foster parents, and admitted things didn’t work out well at first. He said it did get better afterwards and realizes they helped him turn his life around.
He knows now he screwed up his teenage years, but believes he is a better person today because of it.
“My past taught me a lot,” he said. “I am at the point right now where I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to steal something, anything at all. After being on probation for three years and not having freedom to do whatever I wanted and be out as long as I wanted to, it pretty much changed my life a lot. I had to be in open custody and stuff like that; it was pretty hard. I would never go back on that route again.”
Joe is currently in high school, attending Level 3 at Corner Brook High. He knows he will have to go to Level 4 to complete his education and thinks he might continue at a post-secondary institute afterwards.
“I learned from my mistakes through trial and error,” he said. “It’s all right now, I learned from it. I am more wise to everything. I would now like to tell people about it, so they won’t do it. I think I can do that when I am older, become a youth counsellor or guidance counsellor.
“...It had made me want to help other people not make the same mistakes. I learned from it, so I can tell people and they don’t have to live it. You see a lot of young people down at the Valley Mall and skipping off, and doing what I used to do when I was younger. I guess that’s where it starts, small things like that — neglecting school and hanging around with the wrong crew. I see it, not so often, but I am sure there are people out there getting in trouble.”
He said times are much different now than they were just five short years ago. He said drugs are always going to be in the public picture, but said they are now harder and that the young people have a lot more to be concerned about.
He just hopes people see him as an example of how tough the bad road is, but, also, that people can turn their lives around.
09/10/08
Post a Comment (http://www.thewesternstar.com/index.cfm?sid=178970&sc=23#PostComment)
Last updated at 2:34 AM on 09/10/08
Coming back after drugs hard for teenagers, says former user
CORNER BROOK
CORY HURLEY
The Western Star
http://www.thewesternstar.com/photos/WesternStar/stories/drugsweb.jpg
Joe is focused on his school work, like this Level 3 World Geography book,
rather than the drugs and crime he was tangled up in as a younger teenager.
— Star Photo by Cory Hurley
It often takes maturing and hard lessons learned for some youth to realize the consequences of their actions.
For one 18-year-old Corner Brook man, that reality check is something he wishes he realized many years sooner.
Joe (not his real name) was a popular kid. He had many friends in all circles — the so-called good ones and bad ones. As a 13-year-old, however, he chose to hang with the bad ones more than the good.
Joe and a gang of his friends could be found on West Street at any time of day, regardless of whether they were supposed to be at school or not. Mostly, their time was spent so idle the only thing to do was get in trouble, he said.
His friends were older and blazoned with the street credibility that he envisioned as cool.
Marijuana and alcohol were the drugs of choice, and mischief was the name of the game. He is sure the older ones were into more than just weed, but for him, that was the extent of it. He said it was easy to get; the people he hung with knew where to get it.
The young teenager said he was a follower and just wanted to fit in. Whatever the teens he looked up to did, he was in.
At 13, he landed himself in provincial court — convicted of break and entry. Probation followed, a court order he still refers to as unfair, and he would break it repeatedly over the years.
He ended up spending two years on probation — the 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. curfews being the toughest to uphold. He wasn’t permitted to hang with the people he was caught breaking and entering, wasn’t allowed to leave the province (missing a trip to Ontario with his mother), couldn’t be around drugs or alcohol, had to go to school every day, and couldn’t get in any trouble there.
Ultimately, he found himself with foster guardians.
“I had an authority problem,” said Joe. “I was in trouble with the law when I was younger and went through a lot.
“I’ve been around, been with the bad crews and the good crews — with people that did drugs and people that did crime. I was involved in some of it, some drugs and some crime. I was punished and learned my lesson.”
Those lessons weren’t learned easily though. He broke curfew time and time again, and the days he did go to school, some ended in trouble. The probation he hated so much kept being extended each time the conditions were broken.
“Curfew was pretty bad,” he said. “I used to be out until 12 (midnight) and 12:30 (a.m), 1 (a.m.). I couldn’t sleep over to my friends house or anything like that. It was like being on a tight rope.
“I don’t agree with the rules personally because it is like they want you to get in trouble. It was hard; all my friends out enjoying their summer and you are inside.”
Some might say deservedly so — you do the crime, you do the time. But, Joe said you have to put yourself in a teenager’s shoes and see how hard it is to comply with those conditions every day of your teenage life.
Eventually, whether it was the realization that he had no choice or that he had turned a new leaf, he complied with the court orders. No longer living with his parents, Joe said his foster guardians would report him directly any time he broke a condition of his probation.
Foster families
He lived with a family in Corner Brook, a family in Stephenville Crossing, and later the family of a friend back in Corner Brook. He said there were difficult times staying with foster parents, and admitted things didn’t work out well at first. He said it did get better afterwards and realizes they helped him turn his life around.
He knows now he screwed up his teenage years, but believes he is a better person today because of it.
“My past taught me a lot,” he said. “I am at the point right now where I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to steal something, anything at all. After being on probation for three years and not having freedom to do whatever I wanted and be out as long as I wanted to, it pretty much changed my life a lot. I had to be in open custody and stuff like that; it was pretty hard. I would never go back on that route again.”
Joe is currently in high school, attending Level 3 at Corner Brook High. He knows he will have to go to Level 4 to complete his education and thinks he might continue at a post-secondary institute afterwards.
“I learned from my mistakes through trial and error,” he said. “It’s all right now, I learned from it. I am more wise to everything. I would now like to tell people about it, so they won’t do it. I think I can do that when I am older, become a youth counsellor or guidance counsellor.
“...It had made me want to help other people not make the same mistakes. I learned from it, so I can tell people and they don’t have to live it. You see a lot of young people down at the Valley Mall and skipping off, and doing what I used to do when I was younger. I guess that’s where it starts, small things like that — neglecting school and hanging around with the wrong crew. I see it, not so often, but I am sure there are people out there getting in trouble.”
He said times are much different now than they were just five short years ago. He said drugs are always going to be in the public picture, but said they are now harder and that the young people have a lot more to be concerned about.
He just hopes people see him as an example of how tough the bad road is, but, also, that people can turn their lives around.
09/10/08