"We found this marijuana cigarette in David's drawer during the cursory search of the dormitory in anticipation of the Parents' Day Open House." "Well, are you really sure that it's David's?" "I've been at Cambridge for 23 years, Mr. James." "Each boy is like a son to me." "David is the first that I've ever had to discipline for drug possession." "There's no mistake." "It's his." "I can't believe it." "I just can't believe that our son" "Dr. Windsor, if you could know us a little better, the kind of people we are, the kind of values that we've instilled" " in David since he was a baby." " I'm sure that's true." "Will the police have to be called in on this?" "Oh, I don't see how the situation should become as drastic as all that, Dr. Windsor." "I'm a public personality." "And, well, that kind of thing with police can't help but bring down some very unfair publicity on David." "And, of course, also on the school." "Yes, of course, you're quite right." "That kind of thing would be most unfortunate for David." "And, as you say, the school does have a reputation to maintain." "A responsibility to the other students and parents." "Because of that, David's gonna have to be disciplined as an example to the other students so that they'll realise the gravity of the situation." "You're not gonna expel him, are you?" "Well, if it happens again, I'll have no choice." "But from now, my recommendation will be that he be confined to campus and denied privileges for the next four weekends." "Well, Dr. Windsor, that seems very fair." "Well, it will give him a chance to reflect on his problem and keep him away from the crowd he sees on weekends." "Do you think that David got the marijuana from his friends at home?" "Well, he certainly didn't get it here." "I knew sooner or later something like this would happen." "I've asked two officers from the Narcotics Squad to come over here this afternoon, talk to the students about drugs." "We're not going to have this kind of thing at Cambridge." "Of course, there will be an additional fee for keeping David here with the weekend boarders." "We'll bill you with next term's tuition." "Of course." "Well, I want to thank you, doctor, for your understanding and for your discretion." "Drugs are for losers." "And Cambridge doesn't graduate losers." "Oh, we know that, doctor." "Yes, well, let's hope that David does too." "Thank you." "Hi, Mom." "Hi, Dad." "One question." "Just one, yes or no." "Was that your grass?" "Your marijuana cigarette?" " Yes, sir." "But" " Save it." "Save your excuses for your mom." "She may be interested in them." "I'm not." "You let me down, pal." "Betrayed all of us." "You are a profound disappointment to me, my son." "I have to get back to the studio." "I have to go to work." "Diane..." "I'll see you at home tonight." "So, what's gonna happen?" "Dr. Windsor's been very understanding under the circumstances." "You'll be grounded, but you are going to get another chance." " Mom, a lot of kids" " I don't wanna hear it, David." "Just say no." "It's as simple as that." "From now on, just say no." "Okay." "Don't disappoint us again." "And at 8:00 in the morning, the 14-year-old girl turned in her stepfather for using cocaine." "Police confiscated several grams of the drug, and the youth authorities say that Rita and her mother and stepfather will be joining a family counselling programme this week." "Rita's story isn't the first drug-related news item this reporter's filed this year." "Nor, unfortunately, will it be the last." "Both you and I know that the drug menace has invaded every level of society, contaminating everything it touches." "My fervent hope is that because of girls like Rita," "America will have the fortitude and the resolve, finally, to stand up to this drug menace." "Sometimes, it is our children who have to lead the way." "You tell them, Dad." "I am not standing up here to talk to you about the facts of life." "You're all a little bit too old for that." "But as you prepare to go on to college," "I would like to talk to you about the facts of death." "Last year, thousands of teenagers died on our highways in traffic accidents." "In most cases, those accidents were caused by other teenagers who were either too drunk or too stoned to know how many people they murdered until they woke up in the hospital the next day." "If they woke up at all." "You, what's your name?" " Me?" " Yeah, you, what's your name?" "Bradford Dietrich." "Well, am I boring you, Mr. Dietrich?" "Oh, no, sir, I find this simply fascinating." "It's just that no one at Cambridge uses drugs." "And you're quite sure of that, Mr. Dietrich?" "Quite sure." "Drugs are for losers." "Cambridge graduates winners." "It's your decision to make." "I mean, you know who among your friends are using drugs." "It's your choice whether you hang out with those guys." "On the news today, there was a story about a girl who turned her parents in for using drugs." "Yeah." "I'm sure there are some of you here today whose parents are using drugs." "Maybe more than we think." "I mean, they might even lecture you on the dangers of drugs, then go right in the other room and pull out their own stuff." "Guys, you gotta call them on it." "If they're gonna be hypocrites, you gotta let them know that you know." "What if they deny it?" "If they don't admit it?" "Guys, listen to me." "Drugs are against the law." "But more importantly, they can kill you." "And if your only choice to keep your parents from killing themselves is to turn them in to the police, then you have got to make that call." "You've got to." " Aren't you going home this weekend?" " I'm grounded." "You know, I can't believe your parents." "What a couple of creeps to let Windsor do that to you." "They could have handled him." "I better take my stash." "Windsor's probably gonna have dogs in here this weekend, sniffing for the old devil weed." "Hey, take it easy." "It's a little late to be getting rid of the evidence, isn't it?" "Hey, Brad." "I just come by to see if you need a little something for the weekend, and here you are flushing my primo stuff down the toilet." "I'm not gonna be doing drugs anymore, Brad." "Those narcs didn't scare you, did they?" "Some of the things they said, they made sense." "No, you're just a little frazzed because you got busted." "Don't worry." "The store will be open for you when you get back." "Now, look, I gotta make tracks." "Leah and I are going to the movies tonight." " It's my birthday." " Happy birthday." "Thanks, kid." "What is it?" "What's happened?" "Is my wife all right?" "Your wife's fine." "You'd better go inside." "What happened?" "Was it a robbery?" "No, it wasn't a robbery, Mr. James." " Are you in charge?" " I am." "What's going on is that you and your wife are under arrest, Mr. James." "Under Section 1132 of the state criminal code, possession of controlled substance." "What are you talking about, controlled substance?" "We found this in your garage." "It was next to your skis, but it isn't the kind of snow that you ski on." "That's a mistake." "Do you know who I am?" "My wife watches you every night." "Well, you don't have any right to come into my house and treat my wife and me like this without a warrant." "I hope you've got one." "We don't need a warrant, sir, we have probable cause." " What probable cause?" " We received a tip." "Tip?" "From who?" "From me." "What the hell is going on here?" "Gentlemen, would you excuse me just for a minute?" " Let me talk to my son." " I can't do that." "We have to take you and your wife down to the station." " That's insane." " Who's gonna take care of our son?" "Officers Smith and Gordon will be taking the boy to a county shelter till this matter can be cleared up." "Well, anybody could have put that stuff in, whatever it is, in the garage, and you know it." "I know that, sir." "But your boy told us where to look." "You have the right to remain silent." "If you give up the right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." "You have the right to speak with an attorney and have the attorney present during questioning." "If you so desire and you cannot afford, an attorney will be appointed to you without charge before questioning." "He didn't have to stay in this place." "Well, for some kids, it's their only chance." "Maybe for some kids, but not for David." "What do you mean?" "I mean, I am the one who gave him the big pep talk on turning his parents in." "What, now you're not so sure?" "You gotta admit, Jonathan, the Jameses didn't look very guilty." "I mean, I should know." "I was a cop." "Well, let's see what we can find out from him." " Hey, David, how are you doing?" " Did you come to take me home?" "No, no, son, you can't go home yet." "But I talked to your mom this morning." "She and your dad are gonna stop by later today." "Well, will they take me home?" "I'm afraid they can't take you home until after a juvenile court judge decides whether they're fit to take you." "There should be a hearing on Monday or Tuesday." "Fit?" "They're my parents." "Who've been charged with a serious crime." "Listen, son, we know you were being disciplined by Dr. Windsor and your folks." "If there's anything you wanna change in your story, let's do it now before anybody gets hurt any worse than they are." "You don't believe me, do you?" "Son, this is serious." "If your folks need help, let's get it for them." "But if you're just trying to get back at them," "I think we ought to know so this thing doesn't go any further." "I told the truth." "Don, if I'm guilty, there's no way in the world you can keep me on air as an anchorman." "I know that, that's flat." "But as it happens, happily, I'm not guilty." "Just let me go on the air this afternoon." "I can straighten out this whole mess." "You're gonna have to use the story between now and then." "Just make sure you say I'll have a full statement to make on the 6:00 news." "At least we can get some ratings out of this thing." "Thanks, Don." "Yeah, okay, bye-bye." "Did you mean what you told the station manager about being able to straighten things out?" "I better mean it if you would like to go on living in this house." "Son or not, truth has to come out." "Why would he do this?" "He was caught with marijuana in the dorm." "We grounded him for four weekends." "This is his way of getting even." "I just can't believe David would do something like that to us." "That's what drugs do to people." "It was David who made the phone call to the police." "David who knew where the drugs were." "What are we gonna do?" "The only thing we can do." "He needs help, he's going to get it." "But I'm not going to sit here and watch everything we've built destroyed because somebody in this family is a drug addict." "Look who's here." " How you doing, Brad?" " Hi, Mr. Smith." "I should have known you'd be a Clint Eastwood fan." " This is my girlfriend, Leah." " Nice to meet you." "I've never met a cop before who doesn't wear a uniform." "Are you on some kind of assignment?" "Yeah, you could say that." "Can I talk to you for a minute, Brad?" "Sure, always have time for the police." "I'll be back in a minute." "So you heard about what happened to David's parents?" "Yeah, who would have guessed?" "Ronald James, Mr. Clean." "Doc Windsor's probably crossing his name off the alumni roster as we speak." "Well, I'm more concerned with David right now than I am with his father." "What does this have to do with me?" "We know someone's dealing drugs at Cambridge." "Not just marijuana." "Speed, coke, you name it." "And you want me to help catch him?" "No, I want you to retire him." "Today, before I have to." "It sounds like you think I'm some friend of his." "You're more than just a friend, Brad." "You better have some proof before you go around accusing people of dealing drugs." "This is America." "Even cops have to have proof." "I've got my rights." "What about the rights of the kids you're poisoning?" "Hey, I don't need this." "You wanna search me, go ahead." "You wanna search my room at school, get a warrant." "Ten." " Sure you don't want some dinner?" " I told you, I'm not hungry." "They should have been here by now." "Hey, don't worry, they'll come." "Hello?" "Yes, he is." "David, it's your mom." "Mom, where are you?" "At the station?" "Is everything all right?" "I mean, Dad didn't get fired or anything." "Officer Gordon, can you turn on the television?" "My dad's gonna make a statement." "Okay, I'll call you right after." "It's just sort of instinctive." "I guess we all think that this country's drug menace is the other guy's problem." "Well, as you may have heard on this newscast, last night, that problem came to my house." "It started yesterday afternoon when the headmaster of my son's school told us our son, David, was a drug user." "Now, last night, the police came to our house and more drugs were found on the premises." "My wife and I were understandably shocked, until we discovered it was David who phoned in the drug tip in a desperate attempt to draw attention away from his own guilt." "David has started seeing a drug counsellor this afternoon, and my wife and I will join him later this evening." "Like any parents, we've been asking ourselves where we went wrong." "But I'm not sure that there's a true answer there." "So many factors" "That boy's father's got a lot of guts." "It wasn't easy for him to make that statement." "You know, David, what your dad did today, he did for you and for other kids like you." "You know, you're pretty lucky to have him for a dad." "So he tells me." "How much longer till we get there?" "Another half-hour." "I'm sorry, Mom." "I'm so sorry this happened, but..." " I just had" " It's all right." "We know now that by calling the police, you were really crying out for help for yourself." "It's good to have you home." "We'll beat this business together." "It wasn't my coke." "Well, let's talk about it later." "It's been a long day for everybody." "Just because you said it on television, doesn't mean it's the truth." "Honey, why don't you and I go up to your room now?" "I want to thank you two gentlemen for everything that you've done." " If it wasn't for your support" " We're both very fond of David." "Well, we are too, ordinarily." "The drug counsellor said that denial is common in young drug users." "It's supposed to be the first sign of addiction." "Yeah, well denial is very common among all drug addicts." "Both young and old." "Well, we'd better be going." "Good night, sir." "Good night." "Mr. Dietrich, I'm Officer Smith." "I spoke at your son's school last Friday." "Oh, yes, you're the Vice cop that Brad talked about." " Come in, officer." " Thank you." "Is something wrong?" " This is Mrs. Dietrich." " Hello." "Well, Brad's not home, officer." "I think he's out with his girl." "I didn't come here to talk to Brad, Mrs. Dietrich." "Why don't we go into the living room?" " Make yourself comfortable." " Thank you very much." "What can we do for you, officer?" "Mr. Dietrich, I wish there was an easier way to say this." "But I have reason to believe that your son, Brad, has been dealing drugs at Cambridge." "Brad?" "Mixed up with drugs?" "That's impossible." "Brad could never be involved with drugs, officer." "He's the most popular boy in the school." "Your son is popular, Mrs. Dietrich, but I guarantee you, it's not because of his personality." "I tried to talk to him yesterday, and I didn't have any luck." "I thought if he heard it from his family" "His family doesn't believe you, officer." "His family knows him a little better than you." "Now I think it's time for you to leave." "I'm sorry that's your attitude." "And the next time you come in the house and accuse my son of peddling drugs, you better have a warrant." "You know, it's really funny, that's what your son said." ""Get a warrant."" "Look, Mr. Dietrich, I didn't come here to bust your son." "I came here to help him." "I was hoping you'd feel the same way." "We'll take care of our son, officer." "Well, you better because, otherwise, I'm going to." "And then it's gonna be too late for your son, Mr. Dietrich." "I'll show myself out." "Got a minute?" "What do you want?" "I wanna talk." "You already did." "To your viewers." "I came home early so that we could discuss this, as they say, man-to-man." "It was your coke." "I did it so it wouldn't kill you." "Yes, it was my coke." "And I know that what you did, you did out of love." "And I love you for it." "I just did it so that you would stop." "I know." "I know." "But now, you've got to grow up very fast because this is the real world we're dancing in here." "This is not the hypothetical speech you got at school." "Drugs can kill." "Cocaine kills, Dad." "I know what cocaine does, my son." "Yes, it kills people who can't" "Who don't know when to stop." "Young people." "But I can handle this substance." "David, try to understand." "Some days, I'm working 16, 17 hours preparing, just to get ready to do the 11:00 news." "And I gotta go on looking fresh." "That's the name of the game." "Well, I" "That doesn't mean I-- I'm not an addict." "Then quit." "All right." "All right." "Maybe it is time I quit." "Do you mean that?" "I promise." "But if I get busted for coke, my boy, we lose everything." "I lose my job." "We lose this house." "We lose it all." "That's the real world, kiddo." "But if you'll help me out of this jam that you got me into without even talking to me first..." "If you'll tell a judge that the coke was yours, the worst you'll get is a slap on the wrist and maybe a week or two in drug school." "Won't even go on your record." "If I say it was mine, promise me you'll stop?" "I promise you before almighty God." "Now, let's go down and tell your mom." "And let's not tell her about our arrangement." "Because she doesn't know anything about this, about me." "You know, now that I'm gonna quit anyway, there's no sense in upsetting her." "I love you, Dad." "I love you, my boy." "Hey, bro." "How's the Abominable Snowman of Cambridge Prep?" "Knock it off, Brad." "Hey, I just came by to give you your books." "That is, in case they ever let you back." "I'm not coming back, but thanks." "Sure." "What are friends for?" "I also figured, since they got your stash, maybe you need a little more." "It wasn't mine." "I told you that before." "It was my dad's." "And you're gonna take the rap for him?" "Look, I've never even tried cocaine." "Well, then, don't you figure he owes you?" "What do you mean?" "If you're gonna do the time, you might as well enjoy the crime, you know." "How about a little toot?" "No." "Listen, thanks for bringing my books by." "But why don't you take off, okay?" "Sure thing." "But just remember, if you ever need a little something, don't go to a stranger." "Know what I mean?" "Later, bro." "Then you have proof of this prevalent drug use on campus?" "Yes, I can give you proof, but I'd rather not get involved that way." "What's important right now is that the parents realise what's happening." "I'd like you to call a special parents assembly so I can talk to them." "I'm afraid that's impossible, Officer Smith." "We don't like to involve the parents in these matters." "That's why they send the boys to Cambridge so that we can teach them the discipline and values that are needed in the world." "That's just my point, Dr. Windsor." "I mean, no school can deal with this country's drug problem without involving the parents." "I mean, parental example and concern is at the heart of the solution." "You have to admit, even Cambridge, with all of its ivy and tradition, can't replace a boy's mother and father." "I must say, Officer Smith, you have a lot to say about a world you obviously know nothing about." "Are you telling me you won't call that assembly?" "I can't unduly alarm the parents." "You know, you say you treat each one of these boys like he was your own, and yet you'd let them destroy themselves rather than offend their parents." "I think you're more concerned with your endowment fund, doctor, than you are with your boys." "David, you surprised me." "I can't get used to the idea of you being home in the middle of the day." "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "What does it look like I'm doing?" "Nothing." "What does that mean?" "It means nothing." "Nothing means nothing." "Nothing does." "Brad, it's David." "Yeah, listen, why don't you come over this afternoon?" "My parents are gone." "Hey, like you said, he owes me one." "David?" "David, let me in." "David, what's going on here?" "You're not back on drugs again, are you?" "No, Mom." "Some friends dropped by." "We had a few beers." "Well, you're gonna have hell to pay when your father comes home." "We're not sending you to a drug counsellor so you can become a drunk." "Don't worry, Mom." "It'll be all right." "We'll see how all right it is when your father gets here." "He won't be mad, believe me." "Dad's real understanding." "Ronald, thank God you're home." "I can't stop, I left part of my lead story." "I've gotta get right back." " David is back on drugs." " That's nonsense." "No, Ronald, just please go talk to him, will you?" "I'll be with you in a minute." "Okay, let's make it quick." "David, what is this your mother's telling me?" "You're doing drugs?" "Dad, oh, no, we just had a few beers." "You didn't act like someone who had just had a few beers." "Dad, we had our talk." "We both know the importance of being honest with one another, don't we?" "Don't we, Dad?" "Yeah." "Yeah, we do." "He's just had a few beers, that's all." "It's nothing to get all upset about." "Ronald." "I've gotta go." "I'm gonna miss the broadcast." "Told you he'd understand." "Baker 2-4." "Baker 2-4." "You have a message from Mrs. James to call her." "She said it's urgent." "Baker 2-4, roger." "Let's get to a phone." " Hello?" " Mrs. James, Officer Smith." " Officer Smith, thank God." " What's wrong?" "I've been trying to reach my husband, but they won't interrupt him on the air." "It's David." "He's locked in his room." "He's swearing and acting crazy." "I'm sure he's back on drugs." "All right, you take it easy." "We'll be right there." "David?" "Officers Smith and Gordon are here." "They'd like to talk to you." "Come on, open up the door, David." " You don't look so good, son." " I don't feel so good." "David, we wanna know what's going on." "He promised me." "He promised me he'd stop." " I should have known." " Promised?" "Who promised?" "My dad, my dad, that's who." "What's he talking about?" "What's happened to my son?" "Diane?" "David?" "Ronald?" "Diane, where the hell are you?" "Ronald." "What is that police car doing outside?" " David is back on drugs." " What?" "He's up there mumbling things about some promise that you've broken to him." " Promise, what promise?" " The promise that you made to him." "That if he took the blame for the cocaine we found in the garage, you'd stop using drugs." "He said that?" "I don't know what he's talking about." "Oh, yes, you do because it's the truth." "Oh, that's ridiculous." "Ronald doesn't use drugs, Officer Smith." "He hates drugs." "Ronald, tell them that it isn't true." "Of course it's not true." "He's under a great deal of stress." "He's had a relapse or something." "Oh, come on." "Your son didn't have a relapse." "He never used cocaine until today when he saw you doing it." "I don't have to put up with this." "It's very easy to prove me wrong." "Just show me the contents of the vial you have in your jacket pocket." "Okay, that's it, Smith." "You don't have probable cause and you don't have a warrant." "I want you out of here, now." "Jonathan, you can't bust him." "It'll never stick." "I said out." "There's nothing more we can do tonight, Mrs. James." "But just remember, you don't need a warrant to save your family." "What are you looking at me f--?" "You don't believe that--?" " What's in your pocket?" " What are you doing?" "What's in your pocket?" "What's happening to you?" " You" " What's in your pocket?" "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to knock..." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." "Your own son." "You betrayed your own son for what's in here?" " Get out of here." " Diane, listen." "Go to your station, read your news." "Go do your drugs." "Just get out of here." "Get out!" "Get out!" "Get out." "I still can't believe it." "A father doing that to his own son." "It's cocaine, Mark." "It changes people." "The drug becomes everything." "Their friends, their family, they don't mean a thing." "Code 3, Code 3 at the parking lot on 14th and Broadway." "A girl has passed out, possible drug overdose." "All units in the vicinity, proceed." "Let's hit it." "Out of the way, out of the way, out of the way." "Get back, get back." "What happened?" "I don't know." "She must have just passed out or something." "Did she take any pills?" "Is she on drugs?" "No." "No, there was nothing." "If she's gonna have a chance, you're gonna have to tell him." "I'm getting a faint pulse." "It's going quick." "Tell him." "It was cocaine." "You okay, Ron?" " Yeah." " You sure?" "I'm okay, get away from me." "All right." "All right, I just asked." "New lead story just came in." "Another kid OD'd." "Places, please." "Places, Ron." "And now, the Action Witness News at 6." " Stand by." " With the most respected newsman," " Three." " Ronald James" " Two..." " and the Action Witness Team." "Something's wrong with him." "Punch up a slide." " I said, punch up a slide." " I can't." "It won't work." "A young girl is dead tonight from an overdose of cocaine." "I knew the girl." "She was a friend of my son." "But it could just as easily have been my child or yours." "And when you read about the death of Leah Barnes in tomorrow's paper, most of you will want to blame somebody." "The boy who gave her the drugs or the gangsters who brought the drugs into the country or the politicians who can't stop them." "And maybe you'd be right." "But it's also my fault that this child is dead." "Because I'm a drug user too." "You want me to pull the plug?" "Maybe I can shut off his mike." "No, push in closer." "I've been a cocaine addict for the past four years." "So..." "It was my money that helped to build the drug empire in this country." "And it was my habit that made me betray my own son because I couldn't admit that I'm an addict." "But you don't have to be a drug addict to be a part of the problem." "As parents, we can't depend on the police and the paramedics to save our children." "And your children can't just write off what they do as being cool or getting kicks." "The police, the courts, county social services." "These are second options." "The first option is you." "The families of this country." "I betrayed myself and my family." "Don't you do it to yours." "They're all you've got." "They're all any of us ever have."