Pubdate: Wed, 02 Nov 2005
Source: Pipestone County Star (MN)
Copyright: 2005 Pipestone County Star
Contact:  http://www.pipestonestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2679
Author: Laura Carrow
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE

Thirty eight year old, David Parnell, relives his poison past
imprisoned by drugs--including methamphtamine.

David Parnell told his battling story and the dangers of
methamphetamine use to a packed auditorium at PAS Wednesday afternoon
for Red Ribbon Week.

Through his horrendous path steering in and out of drug abuse and
rehab, he decided to take his mistakes and put them before kids so
that they might learn the tremendous dangers of drugs, more
particularly meth.

Parnell began what ended up a 23-year battle with drug use at the age
of 13 with marijuana. By the time he reached his senior year, his
promising basketball career dribbled out of bounds with drugs taking
over his life. He was using cocaine and drinking on the weekends.

"The only thing I cared about was where I would get my next high,"
Parnell recalls.

Because of his meth use, his weight pummeled from 240 to 160. "I would
eat two cheeseburgers a week," Parnell said. Drugs also earned him a
spot in the state penitentiary, where authorities hoped he would learn
to stay clean.

Almost immediately after his prison escapade, he found himself back in
his old dirty ways of selling and using drugs. "I believe that I got
hooked the very first time I used meth," Parnell recalls.

His addiction couldn't be tamed, he began staying up for 4-5 days at a
time and began "tweaking."

His paranoia resulting from tweaking caused him to think that people
were walking around his house causing him to put over 200 bullet holes
in his home.

According to Parnell, the life expectancy for heavy users, falls
between five to seven years. "This drug makes people do things they
would never normally do," Parnell said. "No one controls meth, meth
always controls you."

Parnell describes meth labs as, "a bunch of garbage," not quite like
fancy chemist labs seen in schools. Meth lab explosions have become
all too common. He reports, "Seventy-five percent of all burn patients
are for meth lab explosions."

Meth robbed Parnell of the love he should have had for his wife and
seven children. "It's 100% pure poison," Parnell said. By using meth,
he describes his life as a game of Russian roulette.

During his battle with drugs, he faced death not once but twice after
losing control, he attempted to hang himself and shot himself in the
face. He describes his suicide attempts as a common practice of meth
addicts.

Parnell shared the story of his first attempt at suicide, where he
tried to hang himself. His sister found him but somehow he survived.

On Christmas of 2002, Parnell found himself in a church parking lot
for two hours, contemplating suicide.

A little over a year later on Feb. 21, 2003, he had reached a point
where he couldn't stand it anymore. He laid beside his wife and placed
a gun under his chin, pulling the trigger in another attempt at suicide.

The blast caused every bone in his face to break. The police
pronounced him dead and began roping him off.

The experience left him with scars on both his face and heart but was
the beginning of a new sober person.

Three days later when he finally woke up he learned his wife was
pregnant with their seventh child. At that point he recalls, "I knew
my dope days were over. I knew this child would get a better start."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake