Saturday, September 6, 2008

Man to tell of his experience with meth

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

aduncan@dchieftain.com

A former methamphetamine addict is set to show Socorro the ravages of the drug firsthand, as well as giving signs of meth use and other information.

David Parnell, who spent 23 years using drugs with seven of those on meth, is scheduled to give a public presentation in Socorro, and speak to middle and high school students in Socorro, Magdalena and Reserve. He is also slated to appear in Sierra and Torrance counties, which are also part of the Seventh Judicial District.

Parnell said the public presentation at Macey Center would take an hour or an hour and 15 minutes.

"As far as the kids go, one of the messages I hope the kids get is drug addiction is going to rob them of their hopes and their dreams — whatever they want to do," he said.

Parnell also wants to give both addicts and the people around them hope for their recovery.

"I feel like if I can recover and get to where I'm at, anybody can," he said.

At age 13, Parnell began using marijuana with his father, who died of complications from meth use two months ago. Parnell progressed to alcohol, cocaine and eventually methamphetamine.

"And I talk about how I physically abused my wife at times and neglected my children," he said.

During his addiction, Parnell also sold drugs.

After years of drug use, he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the face with an assault rifle, according to his Web site. His injuries were so severe that sheriff's deputies thought he would die on the way to the hospital, and his face is scarred.

However, Parnell survived and his life changed due to a religious experience. He said he would talk about God a little bit in the presentation outside the schools, but not a lot.

"I really found God on the way to Nashville in the back of an ambulance," Parnell said.

The man's heart stopped on the way to the hospital, and paramedics revived him. When he woke up three days later, Parnell said, he knew God had given him a second chance and he asked for forgiveness.

When Parnell attempted suicide, he thought God would never forgive him and his family would be better off without him. However, now he tells people God will forgive anything if they're truly sorry, and his family has also forgiven him.

Parnell's presentation starts with general drug information and ends with before-and-after photographs of meth users and tips on how to handle them safely. The information includes names of meth, methods of using it, national statistics on meth use and child abuse, and the dangers of meth labs.

Parents can also learn what paraphernalia to look for in their children's rooms so they can catch the addiction in its early stages and get treatment for the youth.

Also, Parnell plans to show photographs of abused children and injuries from meth labs.

"It's not going to be any more graphic than them watching CSI on TV," he said.

Parnell takes his seven children, ages 15 to 5, through the presentation, but he says the decision of whether to take children is up to parents.

The District Attorney's Office, New Mexico Tech, Healthy Families Initiative and the City of Socorro are sponsoring the Macey presentation. The District Attorney's Office organized the presentations as part of a meth awareness campaign, which also includes newspaper and radio ads.

The project is similar to one in the Fifth Judicial District, composed of Chavez, Eddy and Lea counties.

"What we're hoping is that we can prevent some people, particularly some kids, high school and college age, from experimenting with meth," said District Attorney Clint Wellborn.

Meth is so addictive that many people try it one time and are "hooked," he said. Users keep trying to achieve the same high but can't, and may never be the same even if they quit using the drug.

"We see so much of the crime coming with the meth use, it's just affecting our communities," Wellborn also said.

Many of the people in legal trouble because of such crimes wouldn't have normally gotten into the judicial system.

"They just get desperate to get some funds to get the drug, and they do things they wouldn't have done before," Wellborn said.

Keri Penner of the District Attorney's Office said people needed to know how meth use affects everyone in the community whether each individual is involved or not.

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