Pubdate: Sun, 24 Oct 2004
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Copyright: 2004 The Standard-Times
Contact:  http://www.s-t.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/422

STRIVE FOR LABEL WORTH HAVING

Is New Bedford the "heroin capital" of New England, as Fox News talk show 
host Bill O'Reilly dubbed it while interviewing Emilio Cruz?

The city is probably not the capital just because it is so much smaller 
than places such as Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Boston.

But there is no doubt that New Bedford has a major heroin problem and is 
considered by federal officials to be a major hub for distribution of the drug.

And there is no doubt that the city has been slow to face up to its drug 
problem. Denial is deeply woven into the political fabric of the city.

The recent spate of murders has forced the city to begin to face up to the 
drug problem. The Jericho marches through neighborhoods these past three 
Sundays, the plan to bring warring youths to the table, and the 
announcement that the Police Department will institute community policing 
are all immediate reactions to this rise in drug-related crime. All the 
actions are overdue as the city faces the harsh reality that has been 
building for more than a decade.

Heroin is not a new problem here. At least two Standard-Times reporters 
have done articles in recent years about the high number of babies born at 
St. Luke's Hospital who are addicted to opiates. One generation is passing 
addiction to the next.

A higher number of addicted babies are born at this small, regional 
hospital than at Women and Infants in Providence, a large obstetrical hospital.

Treatment providers estimate that the city of less than 90,000 has 4,000 
heroin addicts. More than 1,200 addicts attend one of two methadone clinics 
in the city. And within those clinics, the addicts are given higher doses 
of methadone to combat purer strains of heroin than the average clinic in 
the nation.

New Bedford might not be the New England capital, but it is a place where 
heroin is as deeply embedded as anywhere in this region.

New Bedford and communities across New England must fight to lower the 
demand for this life-sapping drug. Young people must be educated to turn 
away from it and other harmful drug addictions. The police must work 
closely with residents to root out the distribution networks hiding in our 
neighborhoods, and the district attorney and courts must use every tool 
available to put the major dealers and distributors behind bars.

New Bedford can turn the unhappy label bestowed by Mr. O'Reilly into a new 
label. The Whaling City of old must become the city that fought hardest, 
with all the available allies and resources, against the scourge of this 
addiction. That is a label worth having.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens