A report by Jordan Gauna
On Wednesday, October 16, 2019, at Dominican University, David and Nic Sheff, a father-son duo, presented their co-written book HIGH and spoke about their own experience with drugs, alcohol and addiction.
Nic Sheff talked about how he started smoking pot at 11 years old and how that ended up spiraling into a full addiction. He spoke passionately about how he had been drawn to the drug because he didn't feel comfortable with himself, that despite the outward signs for a healthy kid (good grades, friends, playing sports) that he struggled with his self-image. Youth all over can relate to that.
David Sheff contributed the parent side of the issue. He spoke about the many different specialists he went to (how they only helped for so long), what it was like to not know where his son was for three days (and to find him in an alley in San Rafael), and the struggle to decide how to help (tough love vs. always being there to help).
The lecture spoke the truth of substance use, about the social pressure there is to use. It was a deeply touching interview, hitting home on so many concepts. Marin is rated a top healthy community in California except for a couple columns and one of them is substance use which is extremely high. People like to dance around the issue of drinking and smoking pot because it's seen by most as an inevitable part of life. But research shows that the earlier you are being introduced, the higher your risk is of becoming addicted and using harder drugs.
Both Sheffs stressed the point that to counter the isolation of those who suffer from substance abuse – relationships and a community effort are needed. Parents should be trying to postpone and prevent substance use as kids strive to be happy and self-sufficient.
I believe we need to look at how we all try to avoid the bad stuff, accept the 'inevitable' and recognize that we have an overall lack of understanding of the stress kids feel in this new over-stimulating world.
Visit our Marin Community Read page for more information on HIGH and the Sheffs.