Adolescent drug abuse escalates in Lincoln County

Editor's note: This is a multi-part series on prescription drug abuse in Lincoln County. The names have been changed to protect the identities of the minors involved.

Jenn's journey from drug abuse to her eventual sobriety has been a six-year process.

She's lived a lot in her short 16 years. Jenn is wise beyond her years and more mature than most of her peers.

Jenn began smoking marijuana when she was 10 years old, which she started with her cousin, who was 18 years old at the time.

"I always hung out with everyone older than me," Jenn said.

When Jenn first smoked marijuana she enjoyed it, noting she didn't think it would affect her so much. She continued smoking the drug for approximately 1 1/2 years before it lost it's novelty and she moved on to other substances.

Like many young children who begin abusing drugs, Jenn had a self-described bad childhood and drugs became a release for her. From the time she was born until she was 4 years old Jenn's father was a drug addict and she was exposed to that environment. Her father was a cocaine addict and an alcoholic.

"It was a stressful environment," Jenn admitted. "I felt a lot of helplessness when I was young."

When smoking marijuana no longer did the trick to make Jenn forget about her problems, she started popping pills to get high. Jenn was smoking marijuana all day, every day, she admitted. She began taking a smattering of pills she got from friends, including Soma, a brand name for carisoprodol, which is used medically as a muscle relaxer that works by blocking pain sensations between the nerves and the brain. She also took methadone, which is a narcotic pain reliever, much like morphine. Methadone is also used to reduce withdrawal symptoms in addicts of heroin or other narcotic drugs. Oxycotin, which is used for pain regulation, was also a drug she regularly took to get high.

It wasn't difficult to access the prescription drugs. Either Jenn's friends had the prescriptions or her friends would steal pills from their parents who had prescriptions. Taking the prescription pills made Jenn feel drowsy and dull. Jenn was 12 years old when she began taking prescription medications.

"The high was higher" than smoking marijuana, she said. Smoking marijuana no longer had the same effect and her high wouldn't last as long. Ingesting pills made her paranoid and she was very angry and got in many fights, she said.

Prescription pills are more easily accessible than illegal drugs at times because they are found in most medicine cabinets.

"There is an ease of getting re-prescribed," said Troy Chief of Police Mitch Walters. "We frequently receive reports that people have had prescriptions stolen and because they file a police report they can get the prescription refilled."

Libby Chief of Police Clay Coker has noticed a shift in the kinds of drugs abused.

"The trend in drugs has moved away from the traditional drugs like meth and, before that, pot," according to Coker. "I've seen a big increase in prescription drug abuse. It's easier to access it through parents or grandparents."

Drug abusers have become more savvy, too. They are much more knowledgable and can easily access drug information on the Internet. In many cases drugs are prescribed and a couple are necessary for pain relief, then the rest are not used, therefore people get the idea to sell them or take them to get high, Coker said.

"They can get a prescription and then claim that they lost their pills or that they were stolen and then they can get another prescription," Coker explained. "Then they can sell them or take them themselves."

In the last two to three years Coker has noticed prescription drug abuse has been more prevalent and there has been more discussion regarding the abuse. There is no distinction between abusers, it occurs in all social, economic, geographic and ethnic groups. The age group more likely to abuse the drugs are those in their teens to early 20s, Coker said.

Jenn fits into that demographic, but no one seemed to notice at school that she was addicted to drugs. She would act completely different during school.

"I led a double life," Jenn said. "I was a good kid at school and I didn't use [drugs] at school. I did look tired all the time, I was very blah."

Eventually her grades began to reflect the lives she was leading.

Jenn had a group of approximately seven or eight friends that she took drugs with. She would smoke marijuana every day and take pills twice a day. Eventually, Jenn lost all interest in the outside world and drugs became her main focus by the time she turned 13.

"I got moody when I didn't take drugs, I got angry," Jenn conceded.

At 14, Jenn's mother sent her to Kalispell to live with her aunt for a summer and Jenn began smoking methamphetamine and speed. One of Jenn's cousins also began abusing methamphetamine and introduced Jenn to two men, ages 21 and 27, who introduced them to more illegal drugs.

"I did meth everyday, I got sick if I didn't," Jenn admitted. "I didn't eat."

While on meth, Jenn would lie and steal to get the drugs. She had intercourse at a very young age due to the life she was leading.

"I was so young, I didn't know," she said.

Jenn's mother and aunt both knew she was on drugs, but didn't know how to handle her.

"My mom didn't know what to do with me," Jenn admitted. "My aunt got sick of us being high all the time and moved to California."

Jenn moved back home to Libby and came to the realization that she had to stop taking meth. She continued smoking marijuana and taking pills, however.

When she was 14 she got into a fight over an issue that had been brewing with another individual. She blacked out and went out of control, she said. Jenn hurt someone during the fight and, as a result, a judge ordered her to attend drug counseling.