Pubdate: Thu, 07 May 2015
Source: Penticton Herald (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.pentictonherald.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/664
Author: Joe Fries
Page: A1

GRIEVING DAD DOESN'T WANT OTHERS TO FEEL HIS GREAT PAIN

Shy, anxious, depressed 18-year-old accidentally overdosed on
heroin

Heroin killed his daughter, and now a grieving Penticton father is
sharing her story in the hopes it will save a life. Coroners have
tentatively determined Chloe Highley, 18, died on April 26 after
accidentally overdosing on the drug, according to her father, Danny.
"Young people need to be aware of the potentially fatal effects of
heroin," he said in an interview Wednesday at the family's spacious
Pineview-area home.

He believes Chloe, who loved music and the outdoors, had only used
heroin four or five times before taking the fatal dose, although she
had experimented with other drugs.

"She wasn't using drugs every day or anything. It wasn't your picture
of a full-blown addict. It was sporadic," he said.

Danny believes his daughter smoked a fatal hit that was given to her
by an acquaintance and ingested at an estranged family member's apartment.

Chloe had always been shy, but was suddenly crippled with anxiety and
depression during the last few months of her life, he said, and
despite trying some prescription medications for relief, she
unfortunately found solace in heroin.

"She was in so much sadness and so much anxiety that that drug seemed
to have a draw for her," he said.

A few weeks before she overdosed, Chloe was admitted to Penticton
Regional Hospital for stabilization. A transfer to a specialized youth
mental health program at B.C. Children's Hospital was arranged, her
father said, but was later cancelled because her case wasn't acute
enough.

The children's hospital has since publicly denied that it cancels
intakes, but Danny wishes he would have lobbied harder. In hindsight,
he would have also tried to watch Chloe more closely.

That said, "She was 18 1/2 years old. We couldn't tie her up in her
bedroom."

The head of Pathways Addictions Resource Centre agreed parents should
keep a close eye on their kids, and urged them to educate themselves
about what drugs are prevalent in the community and take precautions
at home.

"I think they need to be sure that they are locking up any
prescriptions that they might receive and make sure that if their sons
or daughters receive any kinds of prescriptions that it's really
monitored," said agency director Daryl Meyers.

She said heroin use is "very rare" among her clients, and appeared in
only about one per cent of the approximately 70 youth cases Pathways
handled last year. Kids don't usually start out on heroin, she
explained, but often become hooked on opiate painkillers and then turn
to the street drug when they can't find or afford pills.

Although he was unable to provide statistics, Penticton RCMP spokesman
Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said crystal meth appears to be the current
favourite among the city's hard-drug addicts, but confirmed that
"splattered in among them, we start hearing about some heroin users."

"Anything's available in Penticton if you want it," he said. "To think
otherwise is only fooling yourself."

That's a fact the Highley family, including the three sisters Chloe
left behind, is painfully aware of now, though they're healing with
the help of others.

"We're getting through," said Danny. "We've got lots of love, lots of
support and a great community and great family and great friends, and
that's the only thing that carries you through."
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MAP posted-by: Matt