I feel so sorry for this mother

[Northstarmom]

<p>At first, I thought that by being his defense lawyer, his mom was enabling his obvious drug and other problems. However, now I figure that given what she has been through, the mother has simply been doing her best to try to put a halt to the train wreck that she sees her son’s life approaching. Given his behavior in court, I can only imagine what hell she has been experiencing.</p>

<p>I hope that someone connects her with one of the support groups for people whose loved ones have substance abuse problems. </p>

<p>"By Ernesto Londo</p>

[berurah]

<p>Wow…how odd. </p>

<p>I don’t know enough about this story to comment one way or the other except to say that I would not, as a mother, have considered representing my son because of the emotional issues involved in such an arrangement. I don’t think doctors should treat their own family members either because it is too difficult to keep the level of objectivity required.</p>

[Northstarmom]

<p>I agree that the mother shouldn’t have represented her S. I can imagine, however, that due to his behavior, she may be so distraught that she has not been able to make a thoughtful decision about legal counsel. Given his courtroom behavior, I can only imagine what he has been doing at home.</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>depending on how long and what sort of drugs he has been using- he may be able to grow out of it with frontal lobe development that affects decision making
however- if he has ADD or some other disorder that had been undiagnosed and treated and he has been using drugs for some time, he may not develop to his full potential and find it virtually impossible to be unmedicated.</p>

<p>We are finding out more about the brain- which is fascinating, but I wish I knew then what I know now- re addiction- it seems like the age at which someone starts using drugs, even tobacco & alcohol which some consider “harmless”, is critical, because their brain may never quite recover.
( this is from Science Daily- I can’t get the link for 4-16-06)</p>

<p>

Nicotine and alcohol are both addictive drugs," said Traute Flatscher-Bader, a postdoctoral research officer at the Alcohol Research Unit of the University of Queensland, Brisbane and corresponding author for the study. “They act on the same brain region, the ‘drug reward pathway’ or mesocorticolimbic system (MDS). The MDS contains the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter dopamine. Acute nicotine and alcohol cause an imbalance within the MDS by artificially increasing dopamine levels through direct and/or indirect modulation of dopaminergic neurons. While the long-term effect of alcoholism on the human brain has been investigated, surprisingly little is known about the long-term effect of nicotine on specific regions of the drug reward pathway in the human brain.”
“Studies into the molecular changes that alcohol and smoking have on the body and particularly the brain are crucial for understanding the disease state,” said Nikki Zuvela, a doctoral student in molecular neuroscience at The University of Queensland. “There are actual molecular changes to parts of the brain involved in developing addiction; most importantly, within those centres known to mediate desire, craving, pleasure, self control, decision making, fear and emotion.”
All of our cells have exactly the same deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which means they all have the same genes. Different cells can appear and work so differently with the same genes (giving us, for example, unique eyes, skin, hair, etc.) because only some genes are used or ‘turned on’ in each cell. This is called gene expression. The sequence of events is for DNA, or genes, to make ribonucleic acid (RNA), also called a ‘message,’ which is then used to make proteins. These proteins determine the appearance and function of each cell and, in turn, the proteins’ existence depends on gene expression. Thus, gene expression is a normal function of all cells and is well regulated by the body to avoid mistakes.
Zuvela’s expertise lays in the examination of changes to gene expression caused by consumption and abuse of alcohol and nicotine. “Some of these changes manifest in alterations to the most important and elemental system we have: the neurotransmitters of the brain which relay messages and information to every part of our brain and body,” she said. “Changes to the release or reception of neurotransmitters effect downstream functioning of these centres and, as such, play an important role in the development of addiction and tolerance, craving and loss of impulse control witnessed in so many drug-affected states. It also helps to understand on a physiological and molecular level why the behaviour may be difficult to stop, despite knowledge of negative consequences.”
For this study, researchers classified post-mortem brain samples (n=30) into four groups: nonsmoker, nonalcoholic; nonsmoker, alcoholic; smoker, alcoholic; and smoker, nonalcoholic. All of the brain-tissue samples were measured for mRNA expression of four genes or proteins previously identified as potentially alcohol sensitive: apolipoprotein D (ApoD), involved in the transport of small lipids; metalloproteinase inhibitor, member 3 (TIMP3), a secreted protein that associates closely with the extracellular matrix; glial high affinity glutamate transporter (GLAST1), a membrane protein that is vital for the removal of glutamate from the synaptic cleft terminating excitatory neurotransmission; and midkine (MDK), generally neuroprotective.
“Alcoholism and nicotine appear to have a higher number of genetic targets in common than previously expected,” said Flatscher-Bader. “While we know that alcoholism has a drastic effect on the prefrontal cortex, this study indicates that – while not as dramatic – the effect of chronic smoking on the prefrontal cortex may be stronger than previously expected. The study also indicates that the combination of smoking and drinking may aggravate the negative long-term effects of either drug on the human brain.”
“Future research of these dual effects in other brain regions may eventually lead to therapeutic solutions, gene therapy, or pharmaceuticals which may help decrease or reverse these effects,” said Zuvela, “ultimately helping people to stop drinking or stop smoking before it eventually impacts on their health. Hopefully this research will also help people realize that these addictions are physical diseases and that quitting is not as simple as being strong, because physical changes to basic systems underlay these states.”

</p>

<p>( yes I know I am not a neuro- but I am married to a man who has addiction issues- he is an alcoholic although he no longer drinks- and he is addicted to cigarettes & I have been slow to realize that he just doesn’t think like I do- & I read a lot )</p>

[calmom]

<p>Actually, its kind of an ethical problem for the mom to represent her son on serious criminal charges – I mean, one of those things that is generally considered a no-no with the state bar, and can be considered malpractice. Not absolutely prohibited, but one of those conflict-of-interest things to be avoided. Here in California, “robbery” is always a felony, so its serious enough for parents to bow out. The kid would be entitled to free representation from a public defender, if the mom couldn’t afford to hire a private attorney; and the mom would have been better off to use her legal knowledge to help her kid work effectively with an attorney who could remain objective. </p>

<p>One reason that there is a conflict-of-interest is that the mom’s subjective viewpoint takes over – the “brain-damaged” comment is telling. This is a situation where the kid deserves to have an objective person on his side to talk to, especially as there may be things that a young person is willing to disclose to a 3rd party but would not be willing to share with a parent. The marijuana in the courtroom is (in my opinion) either a cry for help or a manifestation of continuing conflict with the parent – what better way to thumb one’s nose at mom to accidentally-on-purpose bring pot to the courthouse? </p>

<p>What we don’t know is whether the robbery case could have been settled with a plea bargain before trial, with a better potential outcome for the kid. An objective, unrelated lawyer is much more likely to give a client good advice on whether to accept a plea offer than a parent; and as noted above, the client is more likely to disclose important but harmful facts to the outside lawyer than to his mom. Additionally, because of the dual role of parent and advocate, the mom’s credibility has now been totally undermined by the son’s conduct – the son would have been much better off with a “real” lawyer and his mom available as a supportive witness at sentencing. Instead, now it has been demonstrated to all that she has no control or influence over her son… as well as poor client control. </p>

<p>Anyway, a disaster all around, with the parent definitely contributing to it. So I don’t feel sorry for the mom at all. On the contrary, I see exactly where the son might have inherited his lack of good judgment.</p>

[wecandothis]

<p>Interesting thread, and emerald kitty- the article on brain research re: addiction was fascinating and new information for me; thanks for passing that on…</p>