Posted on 11/08/2013 7:48:19 AM PST by BenLurkin
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — An Agoura Hills family is raising awareness about the dangers of heroin addiction among teens.
The Isaac family is opening up about the drug that brought their 19-year-old son’s life to an end on Aug. 21, when he was found dead from a drug overdose.
“The face of heroin has changed,” Rick Isaac told CBS2′s Serene Branson when recalling his late son, Josh.
The Agoura Hills High School graduate grew up in a loving home, involved in baseball, basketball, soccer and skateboarding.
Rick and Joyce Isaac now say they’ve learned a painful truth — heroin doesn’t discriminate.
“When he was using marijuana as a teen I would have never dreamed he would have touched heroin,” Joyce said.
Josh’s parents, and his sister, Lauren, started noticing changes in his mood after graduation as he transitioned from high schooler to adult. Lauren, who is three years older than her late brother, now wants to be an addiction counselor.
“I’m from a pretty normal family in my opinion. My parents are well educated and were here for me and our brothers. It can happen to any family,” she said.
Family members say they tried everything. Josh had been in rehab three times this year, the last time in August just weeks before his death, and was set to go back five days after he died.
“I saw him Tuesday night, the night before he passed away. He said he was going to turn his life around, enter a long-term program,” Rick said.
Then came the sheriff’s knock on the door: Josh had overdosed while staying with a friend he’d met in treatment.
“People going into treatment need to know that. Don’t use ‘one more time,’” the father said.
Now the Isaacs visit Josh’s Westlake Village grave, rather than a college dorm, plagued by thoughts of how they could have prevented his death.
“It’s hard for a parent because when they’re little, you can fix stuff. Then they grow up and they’re the only ones that can fix it,” Joyce said.
The family has created a foundation in Josh’s name, hoping to boost awareness about teen heroin addiction and build a dialogue.
“There’s this denial that goes on — ‘I know personally that nothing like that could happen to my kid, never,’” Joyce said.
According to the Los Angeles Overdose Prevention Center, overdose deaths have doubled since 1990. They’re now the second-leading cause of accidental deaths in California for people 15 to 34 years old, second only to traffic accidents.
“I know it’s a serious problem here. There is no discussion. There is a big heroin problem in Agoura/Calabasas. The kids need that fear of drugs when I grew up. They need a fear of it,” Joyce said.
Recent studies suggest there is a shift from injecting heroin — to snorting or smoking it — because of increased purity, and the misconception that these forms won’t lead to addiction. Experts say it’s pure, abundant, and as cheap as a movie ticket.
Cartels are bringing much of it from south of the border, and law enforcement in the greater Los Angeles communities of Agoura, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita and La Cresenta say it’s a growing problem. Narcotics detectives say dealers hook teens by giving them their first few hits for free.
The Isaacs say they’re aware of two other teens who’ve nearly died from overdosing since Josh’s death.
They’re hoping their story sparks a conversation and inspires the community and individual families to look at heroin head on.
“It could be learning disorders, mood disorders, just the difficulty of teen years. It’s a complicated thing to get through. We want people to understand that so they can manage their family and friends as best as possible,” Rick said.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t want to talk about bad stuff in their family, but it needs to be talked about in the community,” Joyce said.
Good day sir. I’m sure there are some druggies out there you could be jousting with, if you look hard enough. I’ve got better things to do myself.
Yep, just like on tv huh?
Alcohol is also a gateway drug. And harms more people than all other drugs combined.
I wonder whether heroin is getting stronger. I do know that the marijuana available today is far more potent than ‘60s “weed.”
Sorry about this kid—he came from an upscale town, had caring parents — how does anyone cope with a tragedy like this?
“It’s hard for a parent because when they’re little, you can fix stuff. Then they grow up and they’re the only ones that can fix it,” Joyce said.
Very telling comment there. I know many parents that think their job is to fix things for their children. It is a parents job to TRAIN our children to fix things for themselves. That way, when real life hits, they’re not shocked that it’s a tough world out there. Prayers for peace for this family.
Heroin seems to run in cycles as does LSD and cocaine.
Todays hipsters were and are big cokeheads.
In the 1990s heroin and LSD went mainstream (Lollapalooza anyone?).
Blowing/measuring 0.07 won't necessarily free you. Shoddy testing won't necessarily free you. Passing a barrage of carnival games won't necessarily free you.
Paying thousands to the politicians, courts, county, state, lawyers, and insurance companies may free you.
Some want to see BAC lowered to 0.03, mandatory breathalyzers in cars (with no priors), and “bar workers” (including entertainers) held to a 0.01 BAC standard.
Demonizing alcohol and tobacco does drug libertarians no favors but still they do it.
Doublethink. As an economic conservative I understand the law of supply and demand. If a product is in demand a supply, legal or illegal, will always be found. That was true during Prohibition, it's true in the phony War on Drugs, and it will be true if guns are ever "outlawed."
The only certain way to end the deluge of drugs into the U.S. and the human tragedies they create is for Americans to "kick the habit." But that's hard, and at least since the end of WWII our people have always demanded the "easy way." So we have a totally ineffective War on Drugs and are focused on keeping the cartels under control rather than tackling the essential job of preventing drug addiction in the first place.
They regularly watched old Jimmy Swagert ministry shows.
I’m starting to see, more and more, that law enforcement officers are realizing the “war on drugs” has been a failure. Even the Superintendent of the Indiana State Police has said so. The cops haven’t quite figured out what do to with the problem, but if you decriminalize or legalize certain drugs, then its no longer their problem.
My belief is that the criminal code is not and never will be an answer to a societal behavioral problem. If people want to drink alcohol, they will find a way to obtain it. That was the problem with Prohibition, and its the same problem with drugs.
Prohibitionism in regards to alcohol is not dead. The modern-day Prohibitionists find their home in MADD and other drunk-driving legal campaigns. The current drunk-driving laws don’t have anything to do with curbing traffic fatalities, it’s all about stamping out drinking. Some of the Prohibitionists have moved into the anti-smoking campaigns, too.
Ironically, it was Prohibition that begat our “war on drugs.” Most of the Federal laws regarind marijuana and other drugs began in the mid-1930s, and that’s when enforcement got its legs. It was because Prohibition had ended in 1933, and in the middle of a Depression, the government needed to find something for all the booze cops to do. So they made drugs illegal.
And that’s what I think about it.
“Demonizing alcohol and tobacco does drug libertarians no favors but still they do it.”
I can see how you think they’re demonizing that, but it really seems like they’re just trying to illustrate hypocrisy. We’ve got “government approved drugs” that are just as nasty, if not worse than some of the “illegal drugs” that we are spending billions trying to stamp out, apparently quite futilely.
“Smokes and beers are purchased from a store. MJ is purchased illegally from a dealer (in most states). When a kid purchases the marijuana from the dealer, he or she will almost inevitably run into “Hey, I’ve got a few of these XXXXX’s you can try. They’re extras so I’ll charge you half.” Boom...MJ just lead to Heroin or some other drug use.”
I tried drugs as a late teen and early adult. I tried and loved alcohol from the start. I became addicted to alcohol, from the stores.
About the only benefit from buying your poison in a store, is you can rely on the dosage. Enough to get you high, but probably not kill you.
The street dealers don’t want you dead, unable to buy more. Overdose from heroin is an occasional mistake.
The smokes and beers from the stores kill you, just more slowly. The drug dealer doesn’t want to kill his customers.
It isn’t so simple as one path safe, the other not safe. I’ve met priests, lawyers, doctors, judges, teachers in AA.
These days the mayor of Toronto uses crack.
I remember when they said two good things about cocaine; it is too expensive to use a lot, and it wasn’t addicting.
There are millions addicted to store-bought booze, and pharmacy-purchased drugs.
Neither of my kids were offered alcohol or cigarettes in high school. BOTH of my kids were offered MJ, meth, and pills multiple times in high school.
We need to regulate this crap. The dealers don’t care if a kid smokes, but a store owner will NOT risk his license by selling a minor cigarettes or alcohol.
What we are doing is not working.
For reasons in addition to this one, we should leave Afghanistan. We should take with us everything of value that we can. What we cannot take, we destroy. We blow the dams and bridges. Destroy the electric generating plants and substations, the water plants and wastewater plants. Blow up the hospitals and public buildings. Leave them nothing. They are savage barbarians and always will be savage barbarians. Let them live like it.
No dispute with that. However I do take issue with those who deny marijuana is a gateway drug.
In 1970, heroin was 3% pure. It was so low because it was rare and the dealers would cut the crap out of it.
Now the average is 36% pure. It’s everywhere and it’s cheap.
It’s also about 1/10th the price to get high now than it was in 1970. (In adjusted dollars)
Supply and demand.
Awesome. Are you a member?
Is 0.03 BAC enforcement excessive and confiscatory?
Is 0.08 BAC enforcement excessive and confiscatory?
How about limits on the quantity of purchase of alcohol, hours of purchase of alcohol, and age limitation on alcohol?
Do you have a problem with employer prohibition of tobacco use (even during an employee’s off hours, outside of work)?
How about smoking bans in parks, cars with children, depictions of tobacco use in movies/old cartoons/magazine advertising?
Tobacco and alcohol are “legal” but sale, production, transport, and conditions on where it may be used are heavily regulated and becoming more so every year. Dopers ain’t gonna abide by that. Even where it is “legal” all of the above may apply (including employer prohibition of employers partaking even on weekends). But dopers have spent decades talking up demon rum and evil corporate tobacco companies. The pot companies didn’t have brand names (but they did have name producers who killed people, soaked product in other chemicals, etc.). “It’s healthier”.
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em but casting them as somehow “holier” has been wrong.
Dopers are even silent over the banning of fast food and soft drinks.
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