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Table of Contents

1) Brett Becker2) Taylor Argent3) Nicole Hansen4) Sasha Rodriquez 5) Trevor Robinson6) Story Analysis Summary7) Five myths about addiction8) Five facts about drugs9) Physical Symptoms of drug addiction10) Behavioral Symptoms of drug addiction

The Story:Growing up, Brett Becker was disowned by his parents. He was taken in by grandparents and lived with

them through middle school and the first year of high school, eventually his grandparents kicked him out because they could not support him anymore. One of his friends took him in for the remainder years of high school. When he was in grade 12 he joined the ‘wrong’ crowd. Brett was at a party with some friends where drugs and alcohol were involved. When he passed out, one of the guests at the party called the paramedics, but by the time they arrive it was too late because he had already died. The week after the death they had a memorial service for him. People were happy that he was in a better place, a place where he could belong since it seemed that he just did not belong with anyone here.

Conclusion: I believe that Brett Becker just wanted to belong to someone. A family. Just like so many drug

addiction stories, they just felt alone and wanted to fit in. Unfortunately the ‘wrong’ crowd of people always seems to be accepting new recruits. However, since Brett felt that he fit in with his new friends, my guess is that he decided to join in their fun. I believe the party was not supposed to end his life, instead I think it was an accidental overdose.

References: Kirsten Samida. Acquaintance to Brett Becker

Taylor Argent was the youngest of 2 boys. He had a mom that stayed at home during the day, and a working father. To help with the support of the boys’ and their hobbies the mother usually worked evenings. The parents did what they could to keep the boys happy. When Taylor reached high school he got into a whole new group of friends. In 2004, Taylor was trying out for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. He died 31 months later.

The family says they rarely had alcohol in their house, so when Taylor starting drinking, it didn’t take long to notice. It also didn’t take long for them to notice the pot and the cocaine that Taylor was doing. Taylor was disgusted with his decisions because, according to the parents, he didn’t like to put anything bad for him in his mouth. However, his disgust for his decisions didn’t stop him.

He was put into a Private Treatment Program for some time. When he came out, he was the son that his parents remembered. Not the “broken soul with no self esteem, ashamed, embarrassed and sad” person he was when he went in there. Taylor graduated with a new sense of himself and his parents were proud of their son, that was gone for so long, was now back and happy.

After a while of things going good for the family, Taylor relapsed, overdosed, and this time it was fatal. On April 2nd, 2007, Taylor passed away from overdose.

Conclusion: Taylor was just fitting into his new groups of friends and didn’t realize the damage he was doing to his body. When he finally was free of drugs, I believe he realized what he did to himself, however maybe the temptation of getting high was too strong for him, so he relapsed and did too much. Thus, causing his own death.

References: http://www.taylorargentlegacyfoundation.org/ourstory.shtml

Nicole first started doing ecstasy. She loved the feeling it gave her and the senses she felt while high on the pill. She started doing it every other Saturday night then it progressed to every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Her physical appearance suffered with her family relationships. She hated her family, and she hated school.

After ecstasy wasn’t as exciting as it used to be for her, she moved onto different drugs, such as cocaine, special K (ketamine), and mushrooms. Nicole never noticed the problem with drugs since she was still going to school and had a job.

One night at a party, she was drinking what she thought was just a Red Bull, but was actually filled with GHB. 10x more of the amount than you are ‘supposed’ to take. She was passed out, and non of her new ‘friends’ bothered to help her. After the owner of the house took her to the hospital, they revived her using paddles. Every time they got her breathing she would stop. After a few times, she continued to breath by herself. She was comatose for 3 hours.

When she woke up she was shocked that she had overdosed on GHB. That was the turning point in her life. She went from parting every weekend, to sitting at home with her parents; crying from withdrawal.

Nicole is now clean. It has been a long hard time for her but with her parents by her side, she has been able to stay clean. She didn’t graduate with her class, but she did go back into the summer and get her GED. Along with that she has won the Miss Teen Utah contest, has made an appearance on the Montell Williams show about using club drugs and had the privilege to run the Winter Olympic torch through Spokane Washington. She is now a singer/performer and she speaks to school with children of all ages about the dangers of drugs.

Conclusion: Nicole didn’t know what she was getting herself into. Like so many before her, she just found the wrong group of friends and they changed her life around. They were always there for her, except for when she needed them. I think she believed that she was invincible. Her personal choices have greatly affected her life but she has proven that hard work and perseverance can get you through pretty much anything.

Resources: http://checkyourself.com/ShowRealStory.aspx?storyId=4479a373-22d0-4d14-9aa7-2f1fbe0ceaaa

Sasha Rodriguez was a 15 year old girl who snuck into a rave in L.A. last year on June 30th. The newspaper article didn’t state her home life or her peer situation. However, family members who were interviewed seemed to be torn about this incident. They said that drugs were not something that Sasha would be doing, however at a rave, nothing is really safe, especially when you’re an underage girl. Her friends said that after they had been dancing, the place started to get really hot so they were drinking ice cold water. After that, Sasha passed out on the floor and people were dancing and stepping on them due to the over-crowded place. Doctors who were in charge of Sasha at the hospital said that she had a very high amount of ecstasy in her system. When you start drinking high amounts of water after taking that drug, your body does not know how to process the water replacing the lack of sodium and electrolytes in your body so fast, which is what caused her to pass out and hit her head on the floor. Sasha was comatose in the hospital and was taken off life support, then she passed away.

Conclusion: I believe that Sasha was just out to have a good time. Not realizing what she was getting into. I don’t think she had a drug problem but she was just experimenting and didn’t know how to handle it properly.

http://helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm

2C-E is the drug that was used and was believed to be the cause of death for Trevor Robinson. This was just a regular house party when the people who attended the party decided to put the drugs in drinks as well as cop into lines and snort it. Trevor along with 10 other people were hospitalized, sadly, Trevor was the only one who died. He was taken off life support after being comatose in the hospital. They weren’t familiar with the drug or how much it would take to make them overdose. This drug is not technically illegal and can be easily sold/bought online or anywhere on the streets in US. This is normally sold and called a ‘research chemical’.

http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/03/18/minnesota-teen-reportedly-dies-from-2c-e-drug-overdose/

Conclusion: I don’t think that Trevor had family issues aside from the norm. I believe he had friends, and just like the previous story they just didn’t know what they were getting into and curiosity got the best of them.

Drug abuse victims are very hard to put to a theory. As is everything else. Everything has a different reasoning for the outcome.

Nature vs. Nurture.

Is it our nature to want to do drugs? Or was it influenced upon us by our surroundings? Was it meant to be, or something that wasn’t planned but affected us for the rest of our lives?

Naturally, humans are curious. Trying drugs just to feel the sensation of it would be giving into your curiosity. However, is it really giving in? Or is it just simply doing what we’ve known how to do from the start? Nurturing your child is very important from the start. The child will grow up with your habits, and your genes. Very few can avoid having the ways of their parents within them. We grow up looking up to our elders and doing as they have done, or have taught us. When we refuse to do what they tell us, then the relationship gets sour. When something goes sour, you don’t much care for it. You are willing to throw it away since it doesn’t do you any good, or doesn’t do what you want it to.

I believe that in some cases, the relationships between the parents were what influenced the child the most. The relationship between friends, is what got them into the situation. However the curiosity of doing the same things that all your friends are doing is what made you have the desire to make the decisions they did.

In other cases, I believe that is was just nature that got the best of them. Naturally curious and the feeling of invincibility. Thinking that you know that nothing can stop you, because you’re young and still have your whole life ahead of you. There is always a tomorrow… always a tomorrow that you will be apart of. Just living in the moment because you never know when you are going to have to grow up. Nature has made us curious; some of us are more curious than others. Which would reflect to how we were nurtured.

When it comes to Nature vs. Nurture, I don’t think there is an ending to that argument. For better or for worse, those two arguments go hand in hand. You can’t have one argument without the other. It creates a circle, and we all know that a circle is continuous and never ending. In the end, all you have is yourself. Whether you choose to blame your background, or your internal programming, the final result is yours to make.

The longer you use drugs the more control they will have and the more powerful the cravings will be. It’s not a matter of willpower it is a matter of the chemicals in your brain that will alter your cravings.

Addiction is a brain disease, but it can be reversed through therapy, medication, exercise and other treatments.

You can get better at any point in time and it is a lot easier to do it sooner than later.

Wanna bet?

Coming off drugs can be a really hard process and it can have set backs. Relapse happens all the time and it is possible to get back on track. There are always more than one ways to get into the right way.

http://helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm

o Loss or increase of appetiteo Changes in eating habits, unexplainable weight gain/loss.o Slowed/Staggering walk, lack of coordinationo Loss of sleep, sleeping patterns are out of whack, lazy.o Red/Watery eyeso Blank stares/pupils are smaller or larger than usual. o Shaky hands, cold and sweaty palmso Skin is red or pale, face is puffy. o Smell is different (usually the scent of the drug) o Hyperactivity is at extreme levels, over talking.o Cough and runny nose, all the time. o Excessive needle marks on bodyo Nausea, vomiting, sweatingo Tremors in hands, feet, or heado Heartbeat is irregular.

o Personality is different, with no reasoning's. o Different peers and interests.o Drop in grades, poor performance at work, skips school, always late. o Loss of interest in family and family activities. o Forgetful, difficulty paying attentiono Lack of motivation, energy, self-esteemo “I don’t even care” type of attitudeo Sudden oversensitivity, temper tantrums, resentful o Irritable, moodiness, nervousness o Silliness or giddinesso Paranoia o Private. o Secretive and very suspicious o Lying constantly o Always needing money, stealing money or itemso Personal hygiene is different

http://www.acde.org/parent/signs.htm

Okai, so that is pretty much it. I hope you enjoyed, and I know I didn’t put any animations but I did try to make it kind of pretty