From Addiction to Sobriety

He smoked marijuana at 14. He got drunk at 16. He was an alcoholic before he had even graduated from high school.

He is 25, now, and sober.

His story was one of two told Tuesday to students and parents, who heard from the source just how easy it is for teens to get hooked on drugs – and how hard it can be for teens to get off them.

The program, Teen 2 Teen, was hosted by HC DrugFree, a Columbia-based nonprofit dedicated to keeping youth free of drugs, including alcohol.

"It's a good program for teens to attend, but it's really targeted at the parents of teens and preteens," said Joan Webb Scornaienchi, the organization's executive director. "I encourage parents to attend, with or without their children.

"They can use this opportunity to ask other teens questions – all the questions that you wouldn't ask your own teen. How easy it is to get drugs and alcohol at school. If their friends are using. Have they used and then driven a car?"

A 19-year-old woman speaking to the group had – and often. "I would drive completely wasted, get home and, in the morning, wonder how my car got there. I was actually pretty lucky."

The 25-year-old man had also driven drunk when he was younger, getting charged with driving under the influence.

"I felt so ashamed," he told the audience of more than 50 people at . "I was ready for a change, but even then I wasn't entirely ready. I started going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings because I couldn't keep this under control."

He stayed sober for a few more months and then "went off the deep end again," he said.

When he was younger, his friends would drive around to liquor stores and "pull what we call a 'Hey, Mister,' " asking adults walking into the store to buy alcohol for them. By his senior year, alcohol use was common.

"It seemed like everyone's partying and drinking and everything," he said. "I didn't want to be the only one that wasn't doing it. I didn't want to be all alone. That sucks. I decided, 'Whatever, I'm going to party.'

"At first my big thing was, 'I'm just doing it because that's what me and my friends do. We party. It's not like I'm addicted or anything like that,' " he said. "Somewhere along the way, it got to the point where I couldn't hang out with people unless I was drinking or smoking, unless I was high or drunk. You start to feel like that's the only way you can have this interpersonal connection."

The 19-year-old woman said she turned to alcohol and marijuana and pills to feel love and to compensate for depression.

"I felt a part of me was completely empty without love," she said. "That's what alcohol filled for me. I was accepted at parties. It was a lot of fun, but the way it ended…"

She looked down.

"It didn't end very nicely."

But they are both sober now, they said. Both are enrolled at .

"The first three or six months of sobriety are hard," the woman said. "You're dealing with everything you drank away. After you go over that little hump, life starts turning around, and you're able to actually do things with a clear mind."

HC DrugFree has held similar events for several years. The goal, according to Scornaienchi, is for parents to leave with a more realistic view of how easy it is for youth to access alcohol and other drugs.

Fake identification cards. Adults providing liquor. And medicine cabinets.

"Parents lock their medicine chest when their children are toddlers, but many of them never consider limiting access to their drugs or medication as their children age," Scornaienchi said.

"I know that parents trust their children," she said. "I really view this as a matter of life and death. Stop thinking 'Not my child. Not my child's friends. And not my child's schools.' Maybe my child. Maybe someday my child. Maybe my child's friends or in my child's schools.

"The key is prevention. If we can keep youth from using and abusing, we have a much better chance as a society of keeping them from ever getting addicted."