Kent Obert: Phoenix, Arizona

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, Kent Obert, 18 years old, died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2003. One night during his sophomore year of high school, Kent called his mother to say that he was out with some friends and wasn't coming home that night. He was calling because he didn't want to worry his mother, but when they hung up she knew something was wrong. Kent's mother waited for him when he came home at 6:00 AM. Life changed for the Obert family that morning. Kent went to the doctor and tested positive for substances. His family restricted Kent's computer time and monitored his activities. They made a lot of changes that next year and Kent adjusted fairly well. He transferred schools and graduated with ease. Kent got a job he loved and spent time with his friends and family. His family thought they had dodged the bullet-- Kent didn't want to be addicted to drugs so they mistakenly thought they were out of the woods. It seemed that all was well, but Kent's family didn't know any better. Before Kent turned 18, he was scheduled to have his wisdom teeth removed. His mother filled the prescription before his surgery and as she was looking at the bottles, she noticed that one of them had fewer pills in it than the other. When she confronted Kent about it he admitted to having taken some. She asked Kent why and his answer was chilling. He asked his mother to think about a time in her life when she had felt ``Great''--``The Best.'' When she nodded Kent said, ``The first time you get high, it's better than that. It feels so good that you want to feel that way again--only it's physically, chemically impossible.'' He explained how the drugs alter your brain chemistry and why people take more and increase their frequency of use in an attempt to get back to the feeling of that first high. On a Monday in September, 2003, there was a knock on the Obert family's door and soon they heard the words: ``Your son has died.'' Kent and two other kids crushed some Oxycontin and washed them down with beer. Kent got sleepy and the other two left. As Kent slept, the drug slowed his respiratory system down until it stopped completely. His roommate found him the next day--already gone.

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