Melissa Gilbert Helps Parents Fight Kids' Addictions

(Dec. 15) -- By any account, Melissa Gilbert has had a successful show business career, from the time she played Laura on "Little House on the Prairie," to many successful TV movies to her two term stint as president of the Screen Actor's Guild.

However, her most personal job may now become her most rewarding: As the official spokeswoman for The Partnership at Drugfree.org, a nonprofit that helps parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children.

Gilbert wants to eradicate the stigma that surrounds addiction especially because of her own battles with addiction.

It's a daunting task for anyone, but one that Gilbert feels she had to take because of the ways drug addiction and alcohol abuse have affected both her and members of her family over the years.

"Our family has been through it with one of our kids pretty intensely," Gilbert said. "He got arrested, this quadruple-parented boy, my stepson, and we walked him through this process. I was really amazed. As a sober alcoholic and someone who definitely did drugs, we, as parents, can't say to our kids we never tried it or did it; that would be totally hypocritical.

"So, I just came to this epiphany that I had this kid who was addicted to cocaine and none of us had a clue, and if we were clueless, imagine how many other parents are clueless."

At the age of 46, Gilbert accepts that she is part of the first generation of people who grew up with drugs being around, but believes that requires more vigilance on the part of post-baby boomers.

"I'm part of the first generation of people who can't say they didn't know the dangers of drugs," she told AOL News. "But even though my stepson had four parents, all of whom had experience with drugs, we [missed] it! Kids are very crafty at hiding stuff. If we can miss it, anyone can."

Gilbert says the Partnership appeals to her because it is dedicated to parents of teens, children and young adults and being about intervention, prevention and help.

"It explains what to look for, when to intervene and how to navigate the health care system," she said. "That's a big one, because the health care system is so broken that it is so hard to get help. Also, kids are more at risk because there are a lot of more single parent homes these days, especially in poorer neighborhoods with more at-risk children."

But Gilbert is quick to point out that addiction can happen to anyone and she and her stepson are both proof of that.

"My son doesn't do cocaine anymore, but it was tough, and it's because the judge -- who also handled Robert Downey Jr.'s case -- put him on heavy duty restrictions."

In Gilbert's case, she realized she had a problem when she was 40 and was drinking a few bottles of wine a night.

"My youngest son asked me to stop drinking," she said. "My children are my No. 1 priority and I adore and worship them, but if I'm not sober, I'm unable to manage them day-to-day."

Interestingly, it was during a crisis period in her sobriety that she got the offer to become the celebrity spokesperson for The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

"I had come back from the musical tour of 'Little House,' and I had injured my back," she said. "It turned out that my back was broken. I had major surgery and was stuck in bed for eight weeks and painkillers, and dealing with trying to cope with the pain and an addicted brain.

"I was sort of coming out of my stupor and going out and about and trying to decide what comes next. And, out of the blue, I get this call from the Partnership: 'We're re-branding, we've never had a spokesperson, the board has met and they would like you to do it.' And I had just come through yet another challenge with my own sobriety," Gilbert said.

Melissa knew The Partnership at Drugfree.org because of the iconic brain on drugs commercial, so when she went to the website she was impressed – The Partnership had moved beyond prevention advertising to much more science-based, education programs and resources that cover the specter of prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.

"I wish this website was here when we had been going through it, maybe we would have seen it coming, maybe we wouldn't have, but at least we would have had the resources to really help this boy," Gilbert said. "Fortunately, I think he got scared straight. One of the things that was important was that I talked to all the boys and my husband [actor Bruce Boxleitner] to make sure it was OK with them that I do this, and they were amazing.

"My one son who had the problem said, 'As the cautionary tale of the family, tell my story.' And I said, 'Oh, I think I'm the cautionary tale of the family.'"

Although Gilbert says the Partnership wasn't aware of her son's problem, she says they knew she wasn't a shrinking violet and would speak her mind about addiction.

"They had been looking for a spokesperson for a long time, but no one would do it," she said. "They were afraid to speak out against the legalization of marijuana or strengthening the rules behind the medicalization of it.

"But I'm a loudmouth from way back."

She's certainly not afraid to speak her mind. For instance, Gilbert recently told AOL Weird News that Miley Cyrus' claim she was smoking the legal hallucinogenic salvia divinorum and not marijuana from a bong was "bull----!"

However, she also hopes that the general public can use the examples of Cyrus and other child actors who fall prey to drug and alcohol abuse as "cautionary tales."

Gilbert knows her views on drugs might not sound "hip" to some, but she's already happy with the one audience that matters the most to her right now: Parents of children who've died from drugs.

"I haven't been doing this that long, but the best moment came when I did a conference call with the Partnership's Parents Advisory Committee," she said. "Twelve of these members lost kids because of drugs and I could tell my efforts gave them a boost of morale."