Pubdate: Thu, 17 Aug 2006
Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
Copyright: 2006 The Daily Herald Company
Contact:  http://www.dailyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107
Author: Corrinne Hess, Daily Herald Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

A LAKE VILLA SON'S CRY FOR HELP OVER DRUGS

Teen's Mom Says Boy Sought Drug Test After Dad Gave Him Some

Some kids try to avoid a school's random drug tests,  but for a 
14-year-old Lake Villa boy, it was the only  way out.

He watched for years as both of his parents, now  divorced, went in 
and out of drug and alcohol rehab.  Visits to his father's home 
included marijuana use with  his father in an effort to win approval.

In an essay written for a school health class last  year, the boy 
wrote, "My mom is doing good in AA and my  dad is doing OK as an 
alcoholic, but I do not like him  drinking because he acts stupid and 
there is nothing I  can do."

That changed in March when he asked Lakes Community  High School 
officials for a drug test.

The boy's mother says it was a cry for help so he would  no longer 
have to do drugs with his father.

Eventually, Antioch police interviewed the boy, whose  name is being 
withheld to protect his identity, and  later arrested his father. The 
43-year-old Antioch man  was charged May 3 with contributing to the 
delinquency  of a minor, police Cmdr. Craig Somerville said.

The father was later served with an order of  protection, forbidding 
him from contacting his son or  daughter. He will be in court today 
for a pretrial  hearing.

"We received information and followed up," Somerville  said. "We have 
the best interest of a 14-year-old at  heart here."

Somerville said the charge against the father is a  misdemeanor, and 
cases involving parents using drugs  with their children are rare.

In a May 3 statement to Antioch police, the man said:  "There was a 
couple of occasions where (the boy) and I  took a couple of hits 
together, and I regret it. It was  a big mistake in judgment."

The boy's mother said her son has struggled to get love  and 
acceptance from his father since she divorced her  husband in 1993.

She suspected her son and ex-husband were using drugs  together, but 
she couldn't prove it.

What she didn't know is her son approached school  officials and 
requested a drug test.

She thinks she found another cry for help a short time  later when 
she found drug paraphernalia in her son's  pocket.

"He knew I looked through his pockets and put the  shorts on the top 
of the laundry basket," she said. "He  thought the only way not to 
smoke pot was to find a way  to get caught."

Nathan Bylsma, student assistance coordinator for  District 117, 
verified the story.

Because of the circumstances, Bylsma said, the boy  would not be in 
any trouble at school.

"This is one of the reasons we have drug testing  available," he 
said. "The bottom line is we are here to  help parents. And I do 
think drug testing works."

The boy's mother said Lakes staff and the Lake Villa  and Antioch 
police departments rallied around her son.

"Nathan (Bylsma) has been awesome, and the two police  departments 
worked together beautifully," she said.  "They just wanted (the boy) safe."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman