[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 137 (Monday, September 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      KENT OBERT: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID SCHWEIKERT

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 2016

  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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