Students' Take: Drug Story Resonates With Teens

Former National Basketball Association player and recovering drug addict Chris Herren spent two days at West Morris Central High School, speaking with students and families about his addiction, what it did to his life, and how it affected those around him.

Long Valley Patch reported on Herren's presentation to the community, but his talk with the students the following day was designed to hold much more weight. Herren began drinking and smoking as a teen, and that age group has become his primary target to speak to.

The following is an article written by two of those students – Courtney Chase and Pat Barron, staff members of The Paw, the student newspaper – who spoke with Herren following his presentation and give their readers a teen perspective.

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There is a way out. That is the overall message that former professional basketball player Chris Herren resonated to the students of West Morris Central High School when he spoke about his former drug and alcohol addiction on Tuesday, May 7.

The presentation, put together by the efforts of the Washington Township Municipal Alliance Committee and many other co-sponsors, enthralled students from beginning to end.  Students in grades 10-12 were seated in the gymnasium where Herren spoke, while eighth and ninth graders were telecasted the presentation in the auditorium.  Although it is nearly impossible to keep a large group of teenagers quiet, students hung on every word of Herren’s story, creating an almost tangible silence. 

Herren, once a standout high school and college basketball star, spoke of his 14-year battle with drug and alcohol addiction that only began with a little drinking and smoking on the weekends in high school.  While it may have seemed harmless at the time, that drinking and smoking soon turned to cocaine at Boston College and a little yellow pill of Oxycodone the summer following his drug-free rookie season with the Denver Nuggets.

After being traded to his hometown Boston Celtics in the offseason, Herren’s addiction only worsened.  What at first seemed like a dream come true, quickly turned to a never-ending nightmare.  Living closer to home, his hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts an hour outside of Boston, only increased the ability of the newly drug-dependent Herren to obtain more little yellow pills.

The next eight years of his life would bring pain and turmoil on both himself and his family and friends alike as Herren lived a lie of addiction.  However, he eventually persevered through these struggles on August 1, 2008, the date of his sobriety.  What may have helped Herren the most in this time of difficulty was where it all stemmed from: basketball.   

“I think my time as an athlete and the work I put in played a big part of me getting sober,” commented Herren, “In order for me to become a pro I had to have an extreme work ethic, I had to put many, many hours in the gym and I applied that to my recovery once I got there. This doesn’t happen overnight, a lot of work and groundwork has to be laid to get to this point and I held that same type of concept and principles in my recovery.”

That recovery has led to what now is Herren’s passion, speaking to teenagers and parents across the country to help both those struggling with addiction and others prevent it before it starts.

“I just want them to know that there’s a way out of it," said Herren, “Sometimes we don’t hear enough about the good stories, we hear the bad story and there’s people that have a good side to it. I want kids to know that there’s a way out if they do struggle and I want kids who don’t struggle to see what could possibly be.”

What could possibly be seemed to remain in students' minds as they left the presentation Tuesday morning. Tweets and Facebook statuses about the presentation flooded the newsfeeds of West Morris students, many thanking Herren for sharing his story and others quoting parts of his presentation that stood out to them the most.  One is also more than likely find posts from the “Chris Herren”, “The Herren Project” and “Project Purple” pages on the newsfeeds of every WMC student, a prominent sign that Herren’s message resonated with all.