Our Story
 

HE WAS ONLY 12 YEARS OLD- DISABLED BY MARIJUANA

By David and Beverly Kinard

We share a story about our son, hoping you will see the tragedy that marijuana can inflict on a family. My husband, David, is a retired Denver Police Detective. For  almost 28 years, he and I have been volunteers fighting the illegal drug scene and its destruction. In providing drug education across the nation, we also referred over 2800 families to treatment, sixty-five of those young people lived with us temporarily to receive love and support during recovery.

Our son was only twelve years old and had gone forward in church three months before and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.  He didn’t have decision-making tools or life-coping skills.  He had attended  Sunday School since he was 18 months old.   However, he had a bad day and he didn’t have the spiritual tools to deal with it.   Someone gave him a marijuana cigarette, saying it would make him feel better. This "gateway" drug led him down a path of destruction. The psychoactive compound in marijuana (THC) collected in the fatty tissue of his brain, causing a behavioral change reflected in failing grades, rebellion, dishonesty and self-destruction.

The specialists' mistaken diagnosis in the early 70's was "normal adolescent behavior." At age 17, he told us he couldn't live a lie any longer, he had been doing drugs and needed help. We went to support group meetings for 15 months.  We, as a family learned how to trust and rely on God.  Our son had additional treatment but the damage was already done. He had a complete mental breakdown and suffered severe psychosis (belief system that was not based on reality). He was labeled "permanently disabled" and, at the request of his doctors, we became his caregivers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Did we just rely on doctors?  No, we even  took him out of state for prayer and healing services.  Numerous evangelists spoke words over him and said he would be in a healing ministry for the broken hearted and the mentally ill.  That was wonderful to hear but it didn’t change the pain and suffering he was going through.  Sleepless nights came often and the voices he heard kept telling him he was going to Hell and that God didn’t love him.  We called upon many spiritual advisors, we listened to tapes, and we called people over for prayer.  We never gave up hope.  Many times we had to stay home from church because the attacks were so bad once he entered the church property.  Many descriptions and diagnosis were given but we always knew it was a spiritual battle.  We had very poor results with the first doctor ordered by the insurance people.   Our son injured himself because of frustration and anger and poor medicine management by the doctor.

We finally ended up taking him to someone else and paid the bills ourselves so he could have someone who cared.  The next doctor was a Christian but believed what the drug companies told him.   We took the 18 weeks of classes he offered to teach us about the brain and to teach us how to be a good support person.  The doctor finally told us that we could start using scripture to counter the negatives thoughts and feelings.  Because of medication concerns and the side effects, we chose to change doctors.  That was in 1992.

Our son’s present psychologist is a devout Christian who really believes in praying with his patients if they will allow it.  The Christian  psychiatrist who handles his medicine management is a wonderful man.  It was a joy for us to have someone we could trust and both doctors were willing to talk with us.   The days and nights of lengthy discussions to ease his fear and terror went on year after year.  We hurt for him and we prayed.  We can’t even begin to tell you how many times he has been on prayer chains.

Every time there was a medication change, 25 more pounds went on.  Side effects of medication are things we can only pray about.  He didn’t have any friends and loneliness and isolation were a big part of his life.  We heard so much about unconditional love but it was  the senior citizens in our church in Denver that showed that tremendous love of Jesus. 

When we moved to Canon City six years ago, the quiet town seemed to help.  We ended up going to a small church that was led by a former addict.  He counseled our son weekly and taught him about how much God loved him.  Even when we went to California for almost three months for my husband’s cancer treatment, this gentle spirit called him every Sunday afternoon and counseled him for one full hour.  That church leader moved out of state and we still communicate with him.  Our son is now settling in with good fellowship at our present church.  He is receiving a tremendous amount of support and is learning how to overcome in spite of the attacks. 

 He recently went through six biopsies on his kidneys and was told that he had lost 47% of the kidney function.  We heard every curse that was pronounced and then had to go to the car and cast it down and call it null and void.  Many drug users have kidney problems but our son’s problem was caused by a natural mineral the doctors had him on to balance the chemicals in his brain.  The natural mineral was Lithium and he was supposed to be on it for the rest of his life.  Unfortunately, the Lithium caused a toxicity and we now have another spiritual battle.  It isn’t even worth putting all the information down on paper because our son is God’s child and God has responsibility for him.

As of January 1,2006, your tax dollars will pay approximately $670 per month for his medication and now there is more medication for the kidneys, heart, etc.  We thank God for the tax dollars and we thank the citizens who pay it.  

No child or adult should ever suffer as our son has suffered. His decision to use marijuana resulted in impairment of the development of his central nervous system which we now know doesn’t finish developing until about 24 years of age.   His future was stolen from him for a good long while.   We still believe that this ugliness that he has suffered will be used to help others in the future.  The battle is the Lord’s and the victory has already been won. 

Contact us at 729 Frankie Lane, Canon City, CO 81212 Email: christiandrugeducation89@msn.com   phone 719-275-3222    We operate Christian Drug Education Center as volunteers.  Our website is just being completed.  www.christiandrugeducation.org