Parents, students talk about prescription drug abuse

Not ambulances and squad cars.

Three weeks ago, Tim Myles, a senior at Falls High School, was taken by ambulance from the school to Rainy Lake Medical Center Hospital Campus for treatment.

Welcome to the war on prescription drug abuse, Borderland area.

Myles, 18, along with fellow senior Blake Museta, 18, were both later charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, according to Falls Police Investigator Willi Kostiuk.

Tanner D. Hanson, 18, was charged with felony sale of a controlled substance.

Nationally, prescription drug abuse has already surpassed hard-hitting drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine as the second most abused category of drug — behind marijuana.

This incident at Falls High School, and another at Indus School, brought these statistics locally into homes, around coffee tables and next to water coolers.

But what are parents and students saying about it?

“I was pretty surprised,” said Maggie West, a junior at FHS. “I didn’t know what to think. I was just shocked it was the three guys it was, because I’m pretty good friends with them.”

Most current students interviewed were surprised, one was still upset and a recent FHS graduate admitted to being offered Oxycodone, a prescription pain killer, twice during high school, including once at school.

“Everyone was pretty shocked to know it was in our school, because we’re in a pretty small town,” West said. “I guess it was a shock and kids are really looking out for that kind of stuff.”

Ask anyone at Littlefork-Big Falls High School about the problem, however, and they haven’t seen it and haven’t talked about it much.

“I kind of thought it was stupid,” said L-BF class vice president Jesse Steele, a senior. “Why would you be taking sleeping pills or anything like that during class. I know class is boring, but ...”

L-BF student class president Ann Kennedy, along with three other L-BF seniors interviewed, admitted to never seeing or being offered prescription drugs. There are roughly 30 students in this year’s senior class.

“The only talk there has been has been about the Falls,” Kennedy said. “It wasn’t even talked about before then.”

And it has been talked about little since.

“We talked about it the first day it happened and the day after it happened, but no one really cared,” said L-BF senior Haylee Gates. “It hasn’t been an issue with us that I know of, unless I’m completely naive.”

Although with more light being shined on the subject, some students are starting to realize it’s an issue.

“I’m not going to say it’s not going to happen, but I’d prefer it not to,” said fellow L-BF senior Kyle Burmeister. “I haven’t heard of anything happening in Littlefork, but I can’t say it won’t happen.”

In the Falls, the surprise not only stemmed from the incident itself, but from the parties involved. Myles was a three-sport athlete fresh off being named homecoming king, while Museta was one of the top defensemen on the boys hockey team. Both were starters on the football team, as well, which was less than a week removed from what turned out to be the only victory of the season. Hanson played basketball last year and was listed on the schools honor roll in 2007.

“I just felt really bad, because it’s a felony and I knew that a lot of their futures would be ruined,” said Britni Hendrickson, FHS’s student class president.

Emotions also ranged from being surprised to upset.

“I honestly don’t know where we will be in however many years,” said FHS junior Jeff Shermoen, who considers himself “pretty social about what’s going on.”

“I don’t think it’s very good,” he added. “I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t have many great things to say about what’s going on. ... It’s pretty sad.”

He went on and went as far as saying he might transfer schools his senior year.

“I think ours is worse than some,” Shermoen said. “Everything’s got issues. It’s just dirty.”

Jace Baldwin, a 2009 FHS graduate, admitted to being offered Oxycodone twice during high school — once at school. He turned it down both times.

“I think there are so many prescription drugs out there for so many things, people don’t know and experiment,” he said, adding that kids aren’t afraid of it because they don’t understand what it can really do.

“I think it’s just getting easier and easier to get your hands on it.”

Which is where parents enter the fray.

Mel Millerbernd has already had two kids graduate from L-BF, but a third is on her way through in eighth grade.

Millerbernd was concerned about the recent incident at FHS, but realizes “it’s out there. Basically, cause it’s easy to get.”

Millerbernd, the athletic director at Rainy River Community College, teaches a chemical abuse class, giving her a major advantage over most parents: she actually knows what’s going on.

“Kids, they think they’re invincible and they think a little pill is not going to hurt them,” she said. “They just don’t think anything’s going to happen.”

And many parents haven’t realized a loosely-monitored medicine cabinet can be a gold mine for kids trying to abuse — or sell — prescription drugs. And no, a large Tupperware container holding your medication next to the chips and crackers isn’t the same as a locked up liquor cabinet.

“A pill is easy to hide,” Millerbernd said. “I read something the other day that we’re careless with medication and when we don’t use them, they sit in our cupboard. I think we have to become more aware and conscientious of that stuff.”

Tom West, on the opposite side of the coin compared to Millerbernd, confessed to not being an expert on anything pertaining to the issue.

“There’s a certain amount of eye-opening with something like this,” said West, the father of two FHS students, including Maggie, and one 2009 FHS graduate.

“Have we sat down on the couch and had a discussion with prescription drugs? No,” Tom said. “But have we talked about alcohol and cocaine and other drugs? Yes.”

Tom also supports the school for how it handled the situation and would hope they would do the same if it was one of his children.

The responsibility lies on more than just the school, however, to curb the abuse, Tom said.

“Largely, that’s parental,” he said, admitting his family has prescription drugs in their home and he has no idea what they would do to a teen or young adult if they were consumed. “You have to know the drugs in your house and what you have. Similar to monitoring alcohol in your house. How much is there? Ask your kids questions.”

Many agreed there isn’t one solution that can put an end to prescription drug abuse, but it’s still being talked about heavily in the hopes that ambulance and squad car visits to local schools can be limited.

“I think it’s going to have to be a group effort,” Hendrickson said. “It’s gotta involve all the parents and all the faculty and stuff. And it’s going to have to have a lot to do with the students, cause we’re going to know. We’re going to have to stop it.”