When you think of a recovering addict, you may not think of someone who is 17. But the onset of addiction is occurring at an increasingly younger age, according to Julie Weiner, program coordinator for Jewish Addiction Support Services (J.A.S.S.) at Jewish Family & Children's Service, which sponsored a performance of Clean and Sober Theatre (C.A.S.T.), a program of Compass Health Care, at the JCC last month. Teen C.A.S.T. members performed skits based on stories of addiction and recovery in their own lives.

"All you know is that an empty hole is filled. Addiction was my friend, until it was done with me," one girl told the audience of around 150, which included clients of JFCS, bar and bat mitzvah classes from Congregation Chaverim, and students from Flowing Wells High School. After the show, one performer offered this advice to parents: Establish a relationship that shows you're going to be there when your kids go to high school and have to deal with peer pressure. Don't hide the world from them as if drugs aren't there, because that only incites their curiosity.

In the skits, C.A.S.T. members offered perceived reasons for drug use. "Everywhere I go, people are getting high; maybe I should just give in and get high," reflected one girl. "I want to feel the way I did before," another said, to "just lie on the ground and watch the sky go by."

C.A.S.T. members reiterated many misinterpretations about addiction among addicts themselves, and in the community. "I have control, I'm no addict," said one performer, while another explained, "Real addicts are people who don't get their work done." In the three months of intense preparation for performances, C.A.S.T. members open up, confronting their own denial about addiction, said Susan Arnold, C.A.S.T. creative director. She noted that the group had 12 shows scheduled in one month for area middle and high schools.

The performers emphasized that addiction is a family health care problem. Even if only one family member is addicted, the entire family is affected, noted C.A.S.T. members. One girl's mother often offered her a drink because she didn't want to drink alone. "It's weird. I didn't want to drink with my mother," she said, but finally to pacify her mother, she gave in.
 
There is a strong connection between a family history of addiction and the predisposition to addiction, said Cynthia Klein, Compass Health Care community outreach coordinator for the C.A.S.T. program. During the question and answer period after the performance, a 10-year-old girl asked, "Did anybody start doing drugs because your parents told you not to?" A C.A.S.T. member responded, "Yes, but they were doing it, too."

"Drugs are everywhere," asserted C.A.S.T. members. And Tucson's Jewish community is not immune: "There's denial in the Jewish community that's phony and not true to say that Jews never get involved in drugs. We do have a problem in the Jewish community and we have the resources to deal with the problem," said Rabbi Richard B. Safran, who has received certification in chemical dependency and spiritual counseling. He is also hospital chaplain for the Tucson Jewish community and adjunct rabbi at Temple Emanu-El.

Children in Pima County take their first drink at the average age of 12, according to "A Call to Action: End Underage Drinking in Pima County," a report issued last August by the Pima County/City of Tucson Commission on Addiction Prevention and Treatment. That's the  youngest in the country, said Klein.

Education can promote understanding of teen addiction and play a role in thwarting its growth, said Klein, who noted that the Arizona state curriculum has standards for substance abuse education that begin in fourth grade, but there are some middle and high schools that won't let anyone younger than eighth grade participate.

In pre- and post-performance attitudinal surveys given to the JCC audience, the greatest change occurred in this perception: "It is rare for a teenager to have used drugs long enough to be considered an addict." Prior to the C.A.S.T. performance, 27 percent of audience members disagreed, while 48 percent disagreed after the performance.

C.A.S.T. members acknowledged the difficulty of staying in recovery. Attending weekly C.A.S.T. rehearsals, counseling sessions, 12-step meetings, and concentrating on hobbies provided the structure most helpful in maintaining recovery, some said. "I stopped using for the same reason I started," one C.A.S.T. member said. "I looked around me and saw what it was doing. One of my best friends killed himself." Another asked herself, "Would I rather have the ability to run a mile or be messed up?" It takes a lot of hard work, but C.A.S.T. members showed that individual commitment and support from programs like C.A.S.T. can turn lives around.