Recruit in War on Drugs Has Own Battle Scars

After years as a student activist against drugs, Orange County native Jessica Hulsey has brought her fight against drugs to the nation’s capital, hoping to make a difference.

Hulsey, 22, whose parents were both addicted to heroin during her childhood in Buena Park, has dedicated much of her young adult life to fighting drugs, using her family’s ordeal to relay a message of hope to thousands of young people across the country.

Last year, the Cypress High School graduate was named co-chair of an advisory commission to drug czar Barry R. McCaffrey. She is also director of training and technology for Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America, a national organization based in suburban Washington.

“The director has found Hulsey to be an invaluable part of the fight against drugs,” said Bob Weiner, a spokesman for McCaffrey. “Her insights and message resonate with the youth and her commitment has made an impact.”

Hulsey has turned what many would consider a perilous upbringing into a tale of overcoming daunting odds, recounted in the speeches she has given and articles she has published since she was 15. Now, after earning a degree from Princeton University, she has chosen to make the fight against drugs her life’s work.

“This is an issue I will work for all my life,” Hulsey said. “My goal is to positively affect one person so they don’t use drugs.”

Last month, Hulsey spoke at a White House ceremony unveiling President Clinton’s national drug strategy. She introduced Vice President Al Gore and shared the stage with Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and other Cabinet members and dignitaries. After her comments, Gore urged the crowd to give her a standing ovation.

She also has been center-stage at other major events, addressing a crowd of 5,000 in 1997 at the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, a pro-volunteerism event attended by Clinton and former Presidents Bush, Carter and Ford. Hulsey is even profiled in a book by Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) called “Courage Is Contagious: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things to Change the Face of America.”

Hulsey said she grew up surrounded by addicts and witnessed what she calls “the true face of drugs.”

As a young child, Hulsey said, she and her younger sister were often left alone, undernourished and improperly clothed, while her parents went off to get high. The girls sometimes had drug dealers as baby-sitters, she said, and were left in cars alone for hours.

When Hulsey was 8, she and her sister were placed in protective custody. In the ensuing battle over their custody, Hulsey said, she testified in court that she wanted to live with her grandparents, and the sisters were declared wards of the court. Eventually their grandparents, who had helped care for them when they were younger, were awarded custody.

“The life she had with her parents was so horrible,” said Hulsey’s grandmother, Alzoha Breaux of Buena Park. “I tried to give them a stable home. Her mother never forgave her, or me, for testifying in court.”

Two of Hulsey’s uncles died because of their drug use, she said. One was killed by a gang when he tried to quit supplying methamphetamines. The other was shot while burglarizing a home to support his heroin habit.

“It’s hard for me to see that’s how I lived,” she said, recalling her youth. “It hits home with how much time is lost.”

Hulsey said her mother has been a recovering addict for 14 years and that they have been in close contact for the past five years. She has not been in contact with her father for two years.

Her life stabilized after she went to live with her grandparents. In school, she got good grades, became active in journalism and anti-drug efforts and involved herself in public service.

In high school, she wrote a newsletter column for the Orange County nonprofit group, Drug Use is Life Abuse. She was also president of an Orange County group known as Organization of Students Against Drug Abuse, now called Impact: Students Making a Difference.

“Not very often do you come across someone who becomes such a powerful member of society,” said Marilyn MacDougall, executive director of Drug Use is Life Abuse. “People want to listen to her story. She has the gift of communication.”

The group first asked Hulsey to talk about her experience when she was in ninth grade. She has since traveled across the country speaking to audiences of all ages.

“Young people can think for themselves,” she said. “My hope is that they make an educated decision before they hurt themselves.”

Hulsey also is writing an autobiography, though she has yet to find a publisher.