Teen Substance Abuse

In a county willing to spend top dollar to arrest and prosecute drug users, teenagers are in danger because of underfunded detox and rehabilitation programs.

Stories by staff writer Anna Gorman in today’s Ventura County Edition of The Times look at the inadequacy of the county’s response to that need, and examine recent fatalities that might have been avoided if help were more readily available for kids with drug and alcohol problems.

Friends said Drew Diederich, 16, of Moorpark was high on LSD last week when he ran from police and onto railroad tracks, where he stood until a freight train hit and killed him. Earlier that night he had attended a rehab meeting, according to counselors.

It was a particularly tragic example of what can happen when help comes too little, too late.

“There aren’t enough of us out there and we aren’t able to get to these kids soon enough,” the director of Diederich’s rehab program told The Times.

Estimates of how many of Ventura County’s youths use illegal drugs range from as few as 10% to as many as half. By even the most optimistic view, almost 10,000 county teens are drug users. And officials say about 1,000 of them require serious treatment for full-blown addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Parents and counselors say only about one-third of the area youths who need help with drug and alcohol problems are receiving it. The county has only six detox beds available although at least 24 youths need intensive residential treatment at any time. Stays at psychiatric hospitals are short and expensive. There are few 12-step meetings geared to teens and not enough drug counselors at schools.

Superior Court Judge Brian Back, who presides over Juvenile Court, said drugs come up in 19 out of 20 of his cases.

“It’s just overwhelming,” he said. “If we didn’t have substance abuse issues with these kids, we almost wouldn’t need a Juvenile Court.”

Ventura County spends about $185,000 per year on services for youths, while officials say they should be spending $1 million. And although adolescents make up 10% of the clientele for drug and alcohol programs, they receive only 2% of the money.

County officials recently applied for a $500,000 federal grant to expand drug and alcohol services for teens. That’s a start--if the request succeeds.

But as Ventura County leaders set their budget priorities for the coming year they should give special attention to expanding efforts to rescue young people from drugs and alcohol abuse before they hurt themselves or someone else.