Donielle M. Maki Charged with Child Abuse After her Two-Year-Old Eats LSD-Laced Candy
In West Bend, Wisconsin, Donielle M. Maki, 23, and her friend bought 10 LSD-laced SweeTarts. Maki went home, and passed out on the couch after putting her two-year-old daughter to bed. When she woke up the next morning, her daughter was sitting with one of the drug-laced candies in her hand.
Seeing only eight pieces of candy left, Maki knew her daughter had eaten two of them. Uh oh! Maki and her sister, Tanya R. Maki, 20, tried to get the little girl to vomit. They then called the poison control center, who told them to get the toddler to the hospital. The child is recovering.
Police went by Donielle Maki’s apartment and found the remaining LSD-laced candies, almost four ounces of marijuana, a drug pipe, and some Vicodin. Whoopee, sounds like a party!
Donielle Maki is charged with four felonies: 1) physical abuse of a child, 2) possession of LSD, 3) marijuana with intent to deliver, and 4) possession of narcotics. Possession of a drug pipe adds a misdemeanor to her charges.
If convicted, Doneille could get up to nearly 26 year, which would make her daughter 28. Life without your drug addicited mom? Maybe that’s a good thing.
(Thanks to reader Katrina for the link to the story.)
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August 13th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Coworker-
I never said I was okay with my children doing drugs, and I never said I did drugs… I said, as an adult- we should be able to make adult decisions on our own. You cannot legislate morals. You should allow people (of a certain age) to make their own life choices. As long as it is not harming others.
And you’re right- there is a reason one is legal and one is not. Politics- no one has ever od’d on lsd- it became illegal because people were having these enlightening “trips” and starting to think for themselves- starting to say “hey, wait a minute- this war isn’t right!” And it scared the government- look it up.
Cocaine was primarily used by housewives and medicinally (as was heroine) until black people became associated with it and people were scared that they (I am not kidding here) were going to rape the white women and become “out of control”.
Marijuana is VERY effective medicinally, and -in my belief- this is only illegal because it can not be controlled. Any one, any time, anywhere can sell it and grow it. Therefore it cannot be regulated. Although the legalization of Marijuana is not far away.
And don’t get me started on the abolition of this- now legal- drug we call “alcohol”. You are right, drugs are illegal for a reason. Because they are “scary”, because they cannot make our government a finantial gain, because people like you who have no knowledge of the subject make assumptions and assume everyone who uses is an addict. Let me ask you- do you drink coffee every day? How about caffinated tea? Ciggarettes? You like alcohol obviously… How about pain medication? Sleep medication? Come on now…. think about what you blurt out. These are all legalized, deadly, profitable “drugs”.
August 13th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Oh, and let me mention that LSD (a mind-expanding drug) has been used by some of the greatest minds in science to broaden their minds. Double Helix (the structure of dna) was “discovered” by a scientist who was said to be using small doses of LSD to expand his mind….
And Ecstasy was used by Marriage Therapists- the tablets were given to couples to help them with their empathy issues. It was completely legal until the 80’s (I believe).
August 13th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Well You know again most of these brilliant people were also crazy… hence thats why they were brilliant.. I also dont find this therpay and X going hand in hand.. again if you need drugs to ehance those around you or your relationship theres nothing much there to begin with… in all of what you are telling me right now at some point these people have underlying psychological issues that they NEED to take these things.. HERS was not a psychological NEED.. ITS ILLEGAL and its not the correct thing to be doing with children.. END OF MY THOUGHTS ON THIS!
You are just in my eyes trying to justify being a lousy parent when your kids get into your stash (not specifically SAYING YOU, in general you know)
August 13th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I never wanted to justify her lousy parenting! From the beginning I have coencided and said that she was horrific! In no way was I justifying her actions! I was just hoping to help a stubborn person who thinks everything SHE does is right, and everyone who doesn’t is wrong, change her views and get some perspective. I obviously failed. Good day.
August 13th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
IM SUPPOSED to OPEN my mind to loser parents who completely have no regard for their children and if you USE drugs you have no regard for the horrible consequences that CAN and DO occur from accidents or mistakes and that makes it no regard for your children. Im sorry I do find myself to be above all the parents out there that go out to have a “good time” and use but hey the kids are safe.. NO sorry that will never be ok with me. Its disgusting and disgraceful.. If you feed your baby a bottle until their 5 hey thats your choice Im not going to sit back and say thats wrong, if you dont put your kids to bed at the same time everynight or make sure their homework is done I wont be judgmental, but I wont sit back and say you are a great mother because you make sure your kids are taken care of while you go TRIP and get HIGH ON LOVE! OMG that is ignorance to me sorry
August 13th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Ok comparing coffee to lsd.. come on. I dont drink coffee, I dont smoke, I drink OCCASIONALLY. Im a healthy person and I have to be because I have children and want to see them grow and do things and meet my grandchildren. Im not ignorant to drugs, i have done them, I have experienced what they do to peoples lives… once you make the crap legal this stuff happens more often and more dangerous things happen like death, I dont care if its not capable of killing you it damages your mind, your heart, your BODY.. Im not for legalizing drugs, Marijuana yes i am for the purpose of medical needs and nothing more. Sorry I guess Im a one of those snobby people who thinks shes better than other people (that was a joke) yea adult decisions if you dont have other people depending on you to take care of and provide for them. Sorry its not something I (and thats it, Im not saying what you believe is wrong) I think should be something parents should be doing… I dont want my children unhealthy and unintelligent, I want them strong and good additions to society and those people that are on drugs or do them socially are not strong and healthy sorry to say!
August 13th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Here I believe what I do and you have your own.. I dont think you can change peoples minds, like I cant change you to think that drugs are wrong… right. Ok then. Im just here for input on what the world thinks about this situation and how the world really thinks is scary…. I am not perfect as many people are not and i have done some things as a parent Im not proud of Im sure others would hang with mouths open when they see me lose my patience after a long week of work and kids and house work and everything else the world throws at me.. but this is beyond anything Id ever justify and say is ok.. well she was responsible and took her to the hosptial she was responsible and hid them at the bottom of her purse.. well to me its not ok.. Jessi we each have different views, but thank you for sharing yours with me.. It did make me think but it wont make me change my mind.
Its a lively debate that has been going on for years and we have 2 people right here right now on 2 different sides of this.. so it makes it fun to me
August 13th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
i have to say that i agree totally with coworker on this one!!!! no matter how you look at it …. ITs illegal!!! you could lose your kids over it , lose your job,etc. as a parent it should be your obligation to make sure that you will always be there for your children and i dont think you can do such a great job from jail.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:22 am
I enjoy talking with you too coworker. Sadly- it’s enjoyable to me as well, lol. It makes it fun when you have two people with OPPOSITE views, who don’t name call, and have respect for the other person.
Amy- that is probably the one reason that is not justified. It is illegal, and you may (variable word being “may”) go to jail. There is nothing you can do about that. That is the only reason why parents should not do drugs. lol- BUT (I had to throw one of those in there! lol), when I did smoke weed and what not, I never went to jail, no friends of mine ever even came in contact with the police- including the dealer. I know this sounds stupid but- we were responsible about it! We got it from/for close friends of ours. We weren’t out at 2 am at a parking lot, we didn’t drive while using anything… we got a small amount, from friends, to use at home, with friends. Even though I was young, I was smart about it. In fact, I had a 3.5 gpa, was involved in school, and carried multiple part time jobs as well. I just wish that “drugs” wasn’t such a scary word. I wish that irresponsible people (like this lsd mom) wouldn’t give it such a bad name…
I wish that acohol would be as scary as “drugs”. My friend Lindsay had to deal with an acoholic mom who would pass out on the kitchen floor, with foam coming out of her mouth… in front of all of Lindsay’s friends… and Lindsay was so used to it that she would just walk by her like nothing was wrong… Why is THIS drug legal… but Marijuana is considered a “Schedule 1: High Abuse, No Recognized Medical Use, Lack of Safety”? WTF?! HIGH ABUSE? um… non addictive…. NO RECOGNIZED MEDICAL USE?- umm… why are they prescribing it for cancer patients? LACK OF SAFETY?! I’m pretty sure that DUI’s cause far more deaths a year than smoking weed…. wouldn’t you agree that Alcohol should be in that category? High abuse- yes, that’s why we have AA, No medical use- one drink a day to help your blood- but you can take vitamins and be just fine, Lack of safety, need I bring up AA and DUI’s again? Please…
August 14th, 2007 at 6:55 am
I totally agree on the aspect of marijuana being something I am ok with. I mean I smoked it I held a good gpa, I had jobs I wasnt addicted to it, I dont believe you can become addicted to it at all. And yea I agree that as long as you are in your home safe and sound then fine. Again its like one person ruins it for everyone but there are certain things that I dont think are ok just for the fact that you have to keep yourself healthy for your children and you cant deny there are effects from long term use of things other than marijuana and that doesnt lead you to a healthy life with your childre I guess is what I am saying. You have to lead by example for your children.. So I must say you know debating your points with people who dont call out names and say YOU are wrong for your beliefs is so much fun! .. Jessi you have to be the first I have ever run into that I can do that with.. KUDOS to you
I enjoy it…
I agree drinking is far worse than the damn marijuana and I dont think I know to many people that dont have DUI’s and have almost hurt themselves or others.. so i agree that maybe that should be illegal or there maybe should be some amount of moderation businesses are allowed to supply when people are out, then bars would go out of business I guess..OMG something we can agree on! WOOO HOO its a miracle.. haha
August 14th, 2007 at 7:53 am
LMAO! At this rate we can solve all the worlds problems!… On to the next story!
August 14th, 2007 at 8:17 am
whats the next one? HAHA
August 14th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Well, you’re right, Anne Marie: That’s some parent really behaving badly!
August 14th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Has anyone heard this girls part of the story? or does anyone know her good enough to judge her!!! just remember the media likes to tear people down and make things sound much worse and change things around! ♥
August 14th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Umm, her baby got a hold of LSD that looked like candy, hmmmm. That is the simple fact, you cant sugar coat it, cant play it down and there is no way in hell to make the facts look any differently.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Im just saying that everyone here is really putting her down… for a mistake!! im pretty sure she didnt do it intentionally im not trying to sugar coat it at all. i know that she did wrong but we cant just sit here saying how much she is this and that if we really dont know her. they are wanting to give her 20 something years!! shit sometimes people get less then that for murder! how is that right?
August 14th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I do know her personally and have seen her behavior so yea I can step in and say what I think and can judge accordingly the media didnt hype nothing up they stated it plain and simple.
August 14th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
That was attempted murder in my eyes Amy- she needs to grow the fuck up…
August 14th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
WOW..I’m 42 years old and my mother who gave birth to me at 16 LOVED to party. I grew up in a drug infested home and was actually fed pot brownies at a young age..umm, I think at about 9 or 1o yrs old. She smoked “freebase” with me in high school(and all kinds of other “fun” stuff to try) and all my friends thought I was so cool to have a mom like her. NOT…I would never, ever have drugs in my home neverless do them myself. My kids (age 15 and 4) dont have any clue of a life style like i grew up in. Its all bad no matter what anyone thinks. I think if anyone has an opinion worth listening to..it is mine! No child should have to live in this environment EVER. This Mom is wrong..and even if she “loves” her child more than anything..she needs to learn NOW from her mistakes. Believe me..I love my mother even to this day but disagree with what I had to grow up with…you guys have no idea. I am so over all of it, hold no grudges or pity on my part. I just do the best I can to make sure MY kids NEVER have to have that in thier lives. Hopefully they will never themselves get involved with any of it and just have a wonderful fulfilling life. Hey, even though it was a vast part of my life I dont make it a part of who I am today. I am happy and have a great life..work hard and take care of what I need to! I also have an awesome husband wgho is as straight as they come (thank god.. LOL) Guess you have to just understand that part of it….Mabe that little girl will turn
out like me someday
August 15th, 2007 at 4:56 am
okay lets put aside the fact that drugs are illegal…….. i bet 80 % of mothers have not completly child proofed their homes!! i mean completly. away from ALL dangers….. there is no way of completly doing so. so if you forget to put ONE of those little thingys in the socket but all the others have one and your child puts a fork the only open one…… its attempted murder!!! whatever!
August 15th, 2007 at 6:11 am
Comparing electirc outlets to lsd laced candy COME ON PEOPLE! Get real here.. unreal.
August 15th, 2007 at 6:49 am
i think everyone is misunderstanding me!!! im not saying this woman shouldnt do jail time or lose her child. im not saying that at all. im also not saying what she did wasnt wrong because it was horrible what she did. im just trying to make the point that no parent is perfect. and i have seen stories that mothers have done much much worse and got away cause they are so say insane. like that crazy woman that drowned each one of her kids one at a freakin time… and they pretty much slapped her on the wrist cause she pleaded insanity. im really not saying that she is innocent and they shouldnt keep her kids away from her cause i think they should. i also agree that she isnt mature enough to be a mother. i am just trying to say that noone here really really knows what is going through this mothers head. she might just be mentally ill or something. if not then okay they should bury her under the jail but i just feel that it takes someone with not many screws to do that.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I agree with you Amy…..I feel the woman should be monitored by child services with ongoing drug tests and be required to take drug\parenting classes. Yes, she was extremely negligent and irresponsible, but maybe she needs help and education; not to be so severely punished that she never sees her daughter again and her daughter gets thrown into the foster care system , possibly into an abusive, sad situation. I am not condoning drug use or what happened to this child but she did not do it intentionally and did seek medical help immediately for her little girl. Should she really never have her child again? I think her history should be evaluated , as long as she hasnt committed any parenting offenses in the past and completes programs and is monitored for drug uses, she should have her child back. Sorry, guys but I think the problem, sucha s with this case is someone is young,immature, ignorant, perhaps,etc. That does not make her a bad person. Perhaps she needs help.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Kathy, I do realize what you are saying. there is a difference netween someone that knows what they are doing and doesn’t..However, we cannot compare the evil bitch that drowned her kids to this woman. THIS particular mom was negligent and irresponsible….she didn’t kill her child , and if her child, did die , god forbid from eating the drugs, it would have been a tragedy, perhaps , manslaughter but still not intentional. FUCK the moms\dads that kill their kids then cry insanity. It makes me so sick and upset I cannot even begin to describe it. Crazy thoughts or stressed out, I don’t give a damn….If you do, unfortunately, for some reason, have crazy thought to hurt your kids for some reason, you don’t act on it; GET SOME FRIGGIN’ HELP!! That bitch that drowned her kids drowned them one by one. That took planning and time. They suffered and I imagine they were very scared. I’m sorry, but it takes an evil person to do that. I believe that the woman that drowned her kids was perhaps mentally ill but so are alot of us. She knew what she was doing. I hate people that intentionallly hurt defenseless people. That is the problem with this country “the insanity defense”.. The only time that should be allowed is if , for example, someone molested your kid and you killed them. yeah, well , the, okay, then you were insane. Sorry, but I get very emotional on this subject.
August 15th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I agree with Larissa. I think that she should get some serious drug counseling, and probational period without her kids. It doesn’t necessarily mean her kid will get thrown into the system. I’m sure she has loving family that would be happy to have the child for a year or so. I deff. think she should serve some jail time. She needs some time without anything in her system- to think about maybe not what DID happen, but what COULD have happened. Her daughter could have easily freaked out and ran in the middle of the street… She needs to take classes and EARN this child back. EARN her rights as a parent back… imo
August 15th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Her kid is in the custoday of the father, she has supervised visitation and she is still more worried about partying and going out and having “fun”.. I mean she is trying to get her court issues situated but other than that from what I hear she isnt working on much more than that, supervised sure.. ever get her kid back maybe 2 years after shes been clean and held a job and an apartment a “clean” apartment….
August 15th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
In that case… she shouldn’t ever get her kid back. It’s pathetic that she’s in a situation that her story is nationwide… and she can’t even PRETEND to get her act together. I’m sure she’s happier that she doesn’t have custody. At least she’s only fucking up her own life and not her kid’s life anymore.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:26 am
I hope her father is caring for her properly
August 20th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
You people piss me off i am a close personal friend on doni and i know for a fact she it torn up about this she took insanely good care of her daughter there was nothing that daughter ever wanted she had everything she ever wanted!!!! and the way you bash her yes i am pissed at her for not puting the lsd someware where the kid couldn’t get to it but for one the lsd wasn’t just laying around like all the news reports would have you belive they ware buryed in her purse. The kid actully had to go threw her purse to get to the candys. The only reason doni delt pot was to help give her daughter all the things in the world she wanted, doni did everything for her kid, EVERYTHING!!! and i know she will do anything she can to try and get her back not that i think it could happen. don’t get me wrong this is totaly wrong and i don’t support the fact that the kid took the lsd but its not like she force fed her the lsd the baby went thru her purse and took it and the fact that she called poisen control proves shes wasn’t some dead beat mom. And being released to her dads the kid loved her mom more then her dad her dad barly payed child support much less ever had the kid i think if i remember right her dad only took her 2 days every 2 weeks and sometimes he didn’t at all you all piss me off show her some kindness i had to watch her break down infront of me over this this is horrible she loved her so much and for all this to happen is horrible i said my peice and i will stay anon and will not comment on this farther.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:58 am
This is coworker and if you are any thing like any of her other friends.. well I would listen to to much you have to say. Sorry but there are several people who have partied over by her that I am friends with that will vow and tell you her house was nasty, and there are other people who will tell you she wasnt a good mom, I have seen her mothering skills.. she may love her daughter I dont doubt that but there is a time to grow up and when you have children its that time. Hopefully this will wake her up and she will get her crap together but as of right now, guess what shes a bad mom in a lot of peoples eyes! So you wont get pity from anyone and the news stated it as plain as day there was nothing misleading in any of the information provided.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:15 am
Naikol-
Well, has she learned her lesson? Is she going to stay away from drugs and stop dealing pot? I have to provide for my daughter too and I keep a full time job, I don’t resort to illegal activities.
Making fast easy money is LAZY. If she loved her child so much, she wouldn’t have risked having her taken away. Now she has to pay the price.
Hopefully this is the wake up call she needed. She loves that child, she will do everything that is required of her to make sure she gets her back AND do everything to make sure that there is never any reason to remove her again.
You are pissed off we are talking about your friend. I am pissed off that she put a helpless child that she is responsible for caring for in DANGER. I can’t feel sorry for an adult that is free to make her own choices in life. She chose wrong.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:07 am
“daughter ever wanted she had everything she ever wanted”, “was to help give her daughter all the things in the world she wanted”, what a load of crap, WANTS and NEEDS are two separate things! The child NEEDS a mother who is going to watch (and protect her) what she brings around her, whether it’s people, objects, etc. The child NEEDS food, shelter, clothes, medical attention. The child NEEDS a responsible mother who will get a legal job and work hard like the rest of us…I’m a single mother of two children, and although we have had some VERY rough times to get through, I haven’t resorted to selling myself or drugs or committing other crimes to take care of my children! That’s a lazy poor excuse to say she sold drugs to take care of her child, let me guess, she was probably also milking the welfare system too right? That’s sad, because my children and I can’t get help through welfare although we pay into the system and some lazy, uneducated girl like this can collect, considering she’s never really paid ANYTHING into the system considering her age? The child DOESN’T NEED designer name brand clothes, fancy name brand shoes, more toys then she can play with, etc etc because now your creating a spoiled child…my kids aren’t afraid to wear “second hand” clothes, that’s what we can afford, that’s what they wear, and they don’t care who likes it, if you don’t like the “way they look”, look the other way! sounds like mommy in this story was too busy worrying about what SHE WANTED, not what the child “wanted” (plus, a child at 2 years old doesn’t know the difference between wants and needs, they usually learn that from those around them!). Now that she doesn’t have her kid, let’s hope that any of the welfare assistance she was receiving stops, and in turn, she has to get a REAL job now to pay the father child support since he has the kid now! Stupid girl, she got what she deserved, now she needs to grow up!!
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:09 pm
I have watched this post since the event, as I know the child, father and mother. I am happy to say the child is doing well and is happy in the custody of her father.
In terms to the father, he has always been a part of the child’s life, caring for the child at least 2 days a week, as well as paying more than the minimum percentage of court mandated child support to Donielle.
Whereas I know it isn’t easy to be a single mother, Donielle had lots of assistance available to her. She lived in low income housing, received food and health benefits and had her parents, sister and other family to help watch and care for her child (often I might add).
I also know that Donielle had not held a full time job in over a year. She once justified to me that if selling drugs is what she needed to do to provide for her daughter, there was nothing wrong with that. Over 4 ounces of marijuana were found in the home, as well as non-perscribed vicadin. She told the officers the LSD were for a cousin, but if this was true, what about the other drugs in the home? This wasn’t just a selling thing. She was using and obviously, catering to her own needs.
In knowing Doni and the child, I have always tried to believe that she was doing the best job she could. However, after this event, I know she was barely trying. The child is almost 3 and is not potty trained (even though I know each child is different). I know the father would often pick up the child and take her straight home, just to take a bath because the child would smell like smoke or be covered in old food and dirt. The child never had name brand items, unless they were gifts (not that children do need to, they grow so fast and get dirty), but the child would be in dirty clothes (that reaked of smoke or were filthy) on a continual basis.
I also know that since the event, Doni has not stopped her lifestyle. The weekend she was released on her bond, she went to Fond Du Lac to a hard metal concert! She also stated to the father that she hasn’t stopped smoking pot. If getting her daughter back meant that much to her, she would stop hanging out with the crowd she surrounds herself with (as well as the spelling genuis above) who believe that Doni has done nothing wrong and clean up her act.
And also, she (as well as some people on this chain) might think that she did something great by making the child throw up first. While she did take some action, she should have immediately called poision control and taken the child to the hospital. Doni and her sister tried to enduce vomiting first before they called poision control told her to take the child to the hospital (I have also heard that the ambulance was contacted by poison control and came to the apartment to get the child, not that Doni took the child to the hospital onher own accord). I personally believe she was simply trying to cover her own ass to avoid having to deal with the police and hospital. Current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend against keeping syrup of Ipecac in the home and in fact recommend disposal of any syrup of Ipecac present in the home as
there is no evidence that syrup of Ipecac actually helps improve the outcome in cases of poisoning, administering syrup of Ipecac can delay administering more effective treatments, such as activated charcoal and/or antidotes, syrup of Ipecac can change neurologic status, and so the effects of the Ipecac can be mistaken for the effects of the poisoning and accidental overdose of Ipecac can result when administered in the home.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 am
Thanks Liz. Its nice to know that there are some responsible adults around this child. I would like to ask if the father is applying for full custody of the child? Since this woman doesn’t seem to be trying, shouldn’t he see about making sure she has a stable and safe home environment?
August 24th, 2007 at 6:10 am
IN response to the above comment, yes. The father actually had been making arrangements since mif July to take full custody of the child at the time of the event actually. The child was to be in his full care by mid August, but this event expitited the timeframe.
August 24th, 2007 at 6:32 am
I think the father should go after her for full child support if he now has custody, as well as go in front of the judge questioning any and all child support money he has paid to her over the time she had the child, maybe he can file a civil suit against her to get that child support money back from her since she obvousily wasn’t caring for the child and was obviously using the money for other things not related to the child! He may never collect his money back from her, but with a judgement against her,he can then put liens against her, report it on her credit, etc! I would do that if it was me because obviously she just doesn’t get what it means to support a child properly!
April 13th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I think that the real issue here is of society in general not dealing the right way with people that need help! Instead of helping and healing people, with addiction, society has a “DO NOTHING UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE ATTIUDE!” I can speak of this from experience! When my child was behaving very unusual and there was major concern and proof that he was making dangerous decisions I called the crisis hotline in our town and the police. I asked them to have him drug tested because I knew he was somehow getting drugs. They said that they could not do anything because he was sixteen! I was (and still am) furious! So, even when a person does have troubles and their loved ones know about it there is nothing one can do but pray! That is ridiculous! We should be able to better help people, I mean we are the most advanced nation in the world for cripes sake! I would think that we could have some sort of system that would rehab them and then a follow up system that would require random drug testings with penalties for not staying clean. I know that the system of ‘wait until bad stuff happens’ and then either ruin more lives by throwing troubled (and usually poor) people away in jail, or causing more distress to their already poverty stricken lives by buring them with fines and records that label them useless and unemployable for the rest of their lives to the point that they are completely paralyzed for the rest of their life. I just know that our nation can do more to help with our one chance here on earth. Including the innocent life of the toddler, whose life was hanging in balance after eating the drugs. I am sure that if there were better programs that actually helped people and interveined these kind of cases there would be a lot less! Instead society just shrugs and says “We can’t do anything when they are sixteen”, how ironic, since that is the age when there is the most confusion. They are not yet adults (even though they think they are) and are struggling to become more independent from their parents. Duh, this is the time that society should be doing the most for youth. They are going to make mistakes, all people do with new big tasks, and there is not much greater task than being a teenager in a huge high school with not a few but a few hundred influences. Current statistics state that one in ten people graduating from high school will go to prison. It is a public service announcement. I do not know about all of you but that is a very sad and scarey outook for our youth, and a number that I will not accept! I firmly believe that is because we do not have enough preventative measures to keep our kids out of jail! We need to help intercept those dangers. Just look at the D.A.R.E program that was trying to teach youth about the real dangers of drugs, it is being cut. So, we cannot educate about drug dangers, we cannot intercept with testing and treatment, but we condone publicizing and glamorizing drugs, violence, and sex all over the airwaves; on television, radio, internet, cell phones, MP3s, literature, and in fashion. Even if you do not condone it, it is everywhere and no matter how hard one tries to protect their families from negative influences it is a GINORMOUS industry! We support it without even knowing, and it is only getting worse! We will only see the one in ten rise and that is unacceptable, unless we help. Help by demanding better help! By this I mean vote for the politicians who want to help the people grow strong instead of weak. Vote for those that support education over incarceration. Vote for little guy instead of the big guy who could care less becasue they just buy their way out of trouble, and steal from the little guy by selling the addictive infesting materials. Help those in need by showing that you care and never give up! “A success was once a failure as a failure was once a success.” Help create more successes through intervention, prevention, and will, instead of ‘waiting’ until something happens or knowing something may happen, and waiting til it does like our government does. Just look at healthcare. If you do not pay boo-ku bucks, you do not have health care, another HUGE loss chalked up to the non-prevention mentality (think about it – if we prevented these issues it would mean less money for those that really should be preventing so why would they. I will tell you why, if they prevented drug addiction and provided better health care, people would be healthier and prevention can be the new business instead of prisons, funeral homes, high cost health care, and so on. It is really fairly simple.) Instead of preventing health ailments our country is allowing health ailments as ok. It is just sooooooo frustrating. Ok I have gone on about this but these are facts and my beliefs. The topic is vast and deserves and even demands attention. Today I attended the funeral of a twenty one year old girl related to the toddler that ate the drugs and feel that after such a tragedy I owed it to her, my son, and all that loved her for her. Kind and thoughtful words in memory of a beautiful angel. Hopefully, there is hope!
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:47 am
Blue-
I hear you on this.
As an update, sentencing has been delayed due to a horrific tragedy. The lifestyle of drug use, that almost sucked this baby in, has taken the life of Donielle’s sister Tanya. Tanya was charged with obstrcution of justice for lying to police officers regarding the child’s drug exposure.
Tanya was found shot to death outside her home. They have no suspects, no leads, but her peers say she was killed in revenge for her boyfriend doing a bad drug deal.
Donielle will probably never have her child back, and now will have to mourn her sister from jail.
Drugs suck.
October 24th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I was a good friend of Tanya’s through middle school and beginning of high school, and I hung out with Donielle occasionally.
The first time I met Donielle she was 17, told me she’d fucked 8 guys, and was on acid and thought a blanket was staring at her.
I’m sad about Tanya. We went our separate ways, because she became far too interested in drugs and I didn’t want to go down that path. I mourned the loss of a close friend way back then. I made the right choice. She was smoking crack at 17.
When we were younger though, she was so much fun. She just succumbed into peer pressure too much, hence why she went down the path she did. She was a painfully insecure teenager, and not many people saw that. She used to be an amazing person.
I can say that if Tanya and her sister had stayed away from drugs, their lives would be so much better. Both of them were cool people when they weren’t high, and it makes me so goddamned heartbroken to see what has happened to them.
They both fucked up, royally, and now are paying the price for it. I just hope Donielle gets her life straight and stops doing so many damn drugs before she ends up dead like Tanya. Even though I haven’t talked to either of them in years, I do still care about them and their family.
Drugs do suck.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:34 am
ok lets get this straight 1) the kid isnt going to die from 2 lsd-laced candies 2) she might love candies now if she had a good trip, hate them if she had a bad one, or neutral if the lsd didnt get into her system. Weed doesnt ruin your life, crack and laziness does. the mom shouldnt be doing all those drugs if she has a kid tho, just doesnt mix.
March 29th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Does anyone know if Tanya’s case was ever solved…? Was anyone ever arrested for her murder? Drugs do suck but what sucks worse is a beautiful person having to lose their life before they figure out how bad drugs really are. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last year thinking about Tanya and thinking about her family and any info would be appreciated. It’s hard to put such a senseless crime to rest without answers.