Smith, Michael W. “Conquering Meth Addiction: Carren Clem’s Story: How One Young Woman Fought Her Way Back from Meth Addiction to Become a Mom and Help At-Risk Teens.” WebMD Magazine, 28 May 2010, www.wbmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/ conquering-meth-addiction-carren-clems-story?page=2
Fight the Dragon Michael W. Smith, M.D. wrote an article documenting an interview with Carren Clem and published the article on WebMD. In his article, Carren Clem, recovering Meth addict and contributor to The Montana Meth Project, tells an abbreviated story of her life. In the article, Carren goes from a happy-go-lucky middle school student to a full-blown Meth addict. Throughout the work, she expounded on the poor choices that she had made in …show more content…
I was fascinated by this fact, and began on-line research to discover more about Meth’s effect on the brain. Before reading the article, I was also unaware of the mission of the Montana Meth Project- to help teens avoid Meth usage through education, and to shatter the commonly-held teenage belief that “it [Meth addiction] will never happen to me.”
As a result of the brevity of this article, Carren had to leave out many of the chilling details of her life as an addict, and what it was like for her to live on the street. Additionally, Carren was not able to describe the detoxification process and the long treatment programs that she endured. Finally, she did not fully address the long–term damage caused to her body by the prostitution and Meth abuse, nor her constant battle to remain sober. These topics would have added to the overall effectiveness of the article since they are critical for one to fully understand the destructive power of …show more content…
First, I wished that Carren had cited statistics on the number of Meth users, the average age a person starts to use Methamphetamine, and the frequency of relapse upon completion of treatment for Meth addiction. Statistics such as these would help the reader realize the serious nature of Meth use/abuse. Second, on a more personal level, I wished that I had learned more about how parents can “learn to communicate” with their children to help their children make better choices in their lives. As a teenager, I often find conversations uncomfortable when my parents bring up adult subjects such as sex, drugs, and relationships. I am certain that I am not alone in this feeling. Carren’s article urges parents to “learn to communicate,” but then fails to give advice on how this can be accomplished. Someday, I hope to become a parent myself, and I would like to know the best way to communicate sensitive subjects to my children.
Despite the above-mentioned shortcomings in the article ‘Conquering Meth Addiction: Carren Clem’s Story,’ the underlying message about Meth is clearly conveyed to the readers; Meth is a dangerous and highly addictive drug that one should avoid at all costs. Parents can no longer assume that “it will not happen to my child.” If Carren Clem could fall victim to Meth, anyone could fall victim to Meth, and no one ever fully “recovers” from a Meth
Fight the Dragon Michael W. Smith, M.D. wrote an article documenting an interview with Carren Clem and published the article on WebMD. In his article, Carren Clem, recovering Meth addict and contributor to The Montana Meth Project, tells an abbreviated story of her life. In the article, Carren goes from a happy-go-lucky middle school student to a full-blown Meth addict. Throughout the work, she expounded on the poor choices that she had made in …show more content…
I was fascinated by this fact, and began on-line research to discover more about Meth’s effect on the brain. Before reading the article, I was also unaware of the mission of the Montana Meth Project- to help teens avoid Meth usage through education, and to shatter the commonly-held teenage belief that “it [Meth addiction] will never happen to me.”
As a result of the brevity of this article, Carren had to leave out many of the chilling details of her life as an addict, and what it was like for her to live on the street. Additionally, Carren was not able to describe the detoxification process and the long treatment programs that she endured. Finally, she did not fully address the long–term damage caused to her body by the prostitution and Meth abuse, nor her constant battle to remain sober. These topics would have added to the overall effectiveness of the article since they are critical for one to fully understand the destructive power of …show more content…
First, I wished that Carren had cited statistics on the number of Meth users, the average age a person starts to use Methamphetamine, and the frequency of relapse upon completion of treatment for Meth addiction. Statistics such as these would help the reader realize the serious nature of Meth use/abuse. Second, on a more personal level, I wished that I had learned more about how parents can “learn to communicate” with their children to help their children make better choices in their lives. As a teenager, I often find conversations uncomfortable when my parents bring up adult subjects such as sex, drugs, and relationships. I am certain that I am not alone in this feeling. Carren’s article urges parents to “learn to communicate,” but then fails to give advice on how this can be accomplished. Someday, I hope to become a parent myself, and I would like to know the best way to communicate sensitive subjects to my children.
Despite the above-mentioned shortcomings in the article ‘Conquering Meth Addiction: Carren Clem’s Story,’ the underlying message about Meth is clearly conveyed to the readers; Meth is a dangerous and highly addictive drug that one should avoid at all costs. Parents can no longer assume that “it will not happen to my child.” If Carren Clem could fall victim to Meth, anyone could fall victim to Meth, and no one ever fully “recovers” from a Meth