Teen, mother give personal warnings about drug abuse
Corey McNeill, a De Pere High School senior and standout wrestler, left a mourning family behind. The 18-year-old died of an overdose during an October 2006 party after taking a combination of Xanax, methadone and Vicodin.
Matt Danen, 19, is also suffering the consequences. He provided the methadone and is now serving a jail term in Brown County. Upon release, he will still have the ramifications of having two felony drug convictions on his record.
He said he never considered just how severe the consequences could become.
“Everything I did backfired on me in the long run,” Danen said.
McNeill’s mother, Karen Falck, and Danen spoke Monday night to a crowd of several hundred people at Kimberly High School, providing their personal warnings to parents and students on the danger of prescription drug abuse.
Falck reminded students that they aren’t invincible. She told
parents to follow through on their suspicions. Falck suspected drugs and confronted her son, but said she didn’t push hard enough.
He could just wrap up that whole conversation with a smile and a hug, and I’d believe him,” she said.
