Apathy
04-04-2003, 02:20 PM
I saw this on another thread and thought i might put it on here..
http://www.newmassmedia.com/cgi-bin/showimage.cgi?id=5974&nocache=1049479931
"All in the Family
A father takes ecstasy with his children in a new HBO documentary.
By Christine Stuart
Published 04/25/02
When Director Jay Blumenfeld and his camera crew set out to document ecstasy use in America they didn't expect to find Scott Meyers, a friendly, middle-aged father-turned-raver. Meyers invites the crew along as he attends raves with his children in HBO's documentary Small Town Ecstasy, which airs April 28.
As the film opens, the family is reeling from a recent divorce. Scott and his ex-wife, Sheri, were high-school sweethearts who married young and started raising a family soon after graduation. Scott, the son of a local minister, was an average suburban father until a midlife crisis sparked his interest in drugs like ecstasy.
"I never been drunk before, until about four months ago. I never smoked pot before four months ago. I just went off the hook. I'm middle-aged crazy or something," says Scott standing outside a rave in Northern California with his 18-year-old son Craig, who introduced his father to ecstasy.
Taken in pill form, the effects of ecstasy last about four to six hours and produce positive feelings, empathy for others, elimination of anxiety, and extreme relaxation. It also suppresses the need to eat, drink, or sleep, enabling users to endure two- to three-day parties, or raves.
Craig lives with his roommate Joe in Sacramento. He moved there to attend college, but dropped out. Right now he has no idea where his life is going and parties seem to fill the void. For the most part, Craig is an average teen who is taking a few risks.
In order to survive -- since both Joe and Craig are unemployed -- they deal small amounts of drugs.
Scott follows the same lifestyle as his son Craig. He dyes his hair blond, wears baggy clothes and attends raves. When the documentary begins, Scott has custody of his 15-year-old daughter Heather, a cheerleader and a decent student who loves her father. She openly discusses wanting to try ecstasy with him and is no stranger to the rave scene.
When Sheri hears rumors of Scott's drug use she begins to worry and asks that Heather return home to live with her. Instead, the film follows Heather as she decides to make her last weekend with Dad memorable. She suggests that after the high school football game, they go back to Craig's apartment and drop ecstasy. Once back at the apartment, Heather and her younger brother Sam, Scott's 13-year-old son, ask their father for $40 to buy the drug.
This will be Sam's first time. Scott thinks it's a good idea and he gives them the money. "Aren't we all gonna roll tonight?" asks Scott.
Craig, despite his own drug use, is opposed to the idea. "Ecstasy is a big drug and Sammy is a little guy," says Craig. Scott believes the children should decide, but his encouragement is a little disturbing. "Dad funded the project," Craig explains, as Sam sits on his lap already limp from the effects of the ecstasy.
"I wanted to make it a family thing. All four of us, but Craig did not do it," says Scott.
When Heather returns home to Sheri after her weekend at Craig's apartment, she refuses to eat and throws up. Worried that Heather's doing drugs, Sheri intercepts a letter from Heather to her older brother Job, who is in the military. The letter details the night at Craig's apartment and talks about Heather and Sam taking ecstasy with Scott. Sheri has no choice but to ask for full custody of Heather and Sam.
After the custody hearing Scott returns home and finds police searching his apartment. He's arrested for drug possession and released on bail. The children begin to sense there's something wrong with this kind of behavior as it becomes evident Dad has a drug problem.
Heather says, "I'd ask him would he rather do E or see us."
Throughout the documentary there are some very interesting conversations about the drug. Craig's drug dealer roommate Joe says, "Ecstasy's not like smokin' weed. You can smoke weed everyday and still be cool, but you can't roll everyday and still be cool. You'll fuck your life up." Craig worries about his younger siblings and in a conversation with his dad talks about ravers he knows who started to take drugs at the early age of 13. "They have to have some fucked up shit in their lives," says Craig.
In an attempt to prove that drug use is bad Craig agrees to undergo a brain scan to show the effects of his drug use. The neuropsychiatrist who conducts the scan points out some dehydrated areas of his brain. He says the part of Craig's brain that controls memory and mood have been affected. "As it is your brain looks like you're 45 years old," says the psychiatrist. But the good news is Craig is young and has time to recover from the damage if he stops now.
As the film comes to a close, Craig says he's stopped using drugs except for pot.
The same can't be said for Scott, who is still using while awaiting the consequences of his drug possession charge. "
Small Town Ecstasy airs on HBO April 28 at 10 p.m.
Christine Stuart can be reached at cstuart@hartfordadvocate.com
(IM not sure if this is old or new)
http://www.newmassmedia.com/cgi-bin/showimage.cgi?id=5974&nocache=1049479931
"All in the Family
A father takes ecstasy with his children in a new HBO documentary.
By Christine Stuart
Published 04/25/02
When Director Jay Blumenfeld and his camera crew set out to document ecstasy use in America they didn't expect to find Scott Meyers, a friendly, middle-aged father-turned-raver. Meyers invites the crew along as he attends raves with his children in HBO's documentary Small Town Ecstasy, which airs April 28.
As the film opens, the family is reeling from a recent divorce. Scott and his ex-wife, Sheri, were high-school sweethearts who married young and started raising a family soon after graduation. Scott, the son of a local minister, was an average suburban father until a midlife crisis sparked his interest in drugs like ecstasy.
"I never been drunk before, until about four months ago. I never smoked pot before four months ago. I just went off the hook. I'm middle-aged crazy or something," says Scott standing outside a rave in Northern California with his 18-year-old son Craig, who introduced his father to ecstasy.
Taken in pill form, the effects of ecstasy last about four to six hours and produce positive feelings, empathy for others, elimination of anxiety, and extreme relaxation. It also suppresses the need to eat, drink, or sleep, enabling users to endure two- to three-day parties, or raves.
Craig lives with his roommate Joe in Sacramento. He moved there to attend college, but dropped out. Right now he has no idea where his life is going and parties seem to fill the void. For the most part, Craig is an average teen who is taking a few risks.
In order to survive -- since both Joe and Craig are unemployed -- they deal small amounts of drugs.
Scott follows the same lifestyle as his son Craig. He dyes his hair blond, wears baggy clothes and attends raves. When the documentary begins, Scott has custody of his 15-year-old daughter Heather, a cheerleader and a decent student who loves her father. She openly discusses wanting to try ecstasy with him and is no stranger to the rave scene.
When Sheri hears rumors of Scott's drug use she begins to worry and asks that Heather return home to live with her. Instead, the film follows Heather as she decides to make her last weekend with Dad memorable. She suggests that after the high school football game, they go back to Craig's apartment and drop ecstasy. Once back at the apartment, Heather and her younger brother Sam, Scott's 13-year-old son, ask their father for $40 to buy the drug.
This will be Sam's first time. Scott thinks it's a good idea and he gives them the money. "Aren't we all gonna roll tonight?" asks Scott.
Craig, despite his own drug use, is opposed to the idea. "Ecstasy is a big drug and Sammy is a little guy," says Craig. Scott believes the children should decide, but his encouragement is a little disturbing. "Dad funded the project," Craig explains, as Sam sits on his lap already limp from the effects of the ecstasy.
"I wanted to make it a family thing. All four of us, but Craig did not do it," says Scott.
When Heather returns home to Sheri after her weekend at Craig's apartment, she refuses to eat and throws up. Worried that Heather's doing drugs, Sheri intercepts a letter from Heather to her older brother Job, who is in the military. The letter details the night at Craig's apartment and talks about Heather and Sam taking ecstasy with Scott. Sheri has no choice but to ask for full custody of Heather and Sam.
After the custody hearing Scott returns home and finds police searching his apartment. He's arrested for drug possession and released on bail. The children begin to sense there's something wrong with this kind of behavior as it becomes evident Dad has a drug problem.
Heather says, "I'd ask him would he rather do E or see us."
Throughout the documentary there are some very interesting conversations about the drug. Craig's drug dealer roommate Joe says, "Ecstasy's not like smokin' weed. You can smoke weed everyday and still be cool, but you can't roll everyday and still be cool. You'll fuck your life up." Craig worries about his younger siblings and in a conversation with his dad talks about ravers he knows who started to take drugs at the early age of 13. "They have to have some fucked up shit in their lives," says Craig.
In an attempt to prove that drug use is bad Craig agrees to undergo a brain scan to show the effects of his drug use. The neuropsychiatrist who conducts the scan points out some dehydrated areas of his brain. He says the part of Craig's brain that controls memory and mood have been affected. "As it is your brain looks like you're 45 years old," says the psychiatrist. But the good news is Craig is young and has time to recover from the damage if he stops now.
As the film comes to a close, Craig says he's stopped using drugs except for pot.
The same can't be said for Scott, who is still using while awaiting the consequences of his drug possession charge. "
Small Town Ecstasy airs on HBO April 28 at 10 p.m.
Christine Stuart can be reached at cstuart@hartfordadvocate.com
(IM not sure if this is old or new)