Pubdate: Sun, 05 Jun 2005
Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
Copyright: 2005 The Herald-Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.hdonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454
Author: Jean Tarbett

TREATMENT EFFORTS HELP REDUCE MARKET FOR DRUGS

HUNTINGTON -- While police and FBI continue to focus on a Detroit connection
with the slayings of four local teens, and Fairfield West families rally
support to slow the Detroit crack cocaine trade on their neighborhood
streets, counselors and support groups battle drugs in a different way.

One by one, they help the victims of drug abuse move through the process of
detoxification and fighting their addictions.

Federal surveys estimate that 3.6 percent of the over-12 population in the
U.S. has tried crack cocaine. In a community the size of the Tri-State, that
could mean almost 10,000 people. But counselors say it's difficult to gauge
the scope of the problem here.

Kim Miller, manager of Women's Addiction Services at Prestera Center for
Mental Health, said Prestera probably treats a couple thousand people a year
for various types of substance abuse, including alcoholism, cocaine,
painkillers, methamphetamines and others. She didn't have a breakdown for
those addicted to crack cocaine, she said.

Sharla Meade, the chemical dependency coordinator at River Park Hospital,
also said it's hard to determine the exact number who get treatment for
crack cocaine.

"A lot of my patients come in for other things, and then we discover that
they have a chemical dependency," she said. The two most common addictions
that she sees are alcoholism and crack cocaine, she said. Methamphetamine
use is rising as well, she said.

River Park's clinical coordinator Karen Yost said it's hard to isolate the
number of people with substance abuse problems because so many patients are
dealing with other mental health issues as well.

Last year, 61 people were treated just for substance abuse at River Park.
This year, there have already been 54, she said.

"But that doesn't come close to who we've had from our admissions," Yost
said. Many of the people have psychological problems as well, she said.
There were 20 children admitted into residential programs last year for
mental health and substance abuse treatment.

"Some of the substances are (their attempt to self medicate)," she said.
"Not many people are straight substance abuse. Who wakes up and says, `I
want to be addicted today.' "

Profile of a user

When it comes to crack cocaine abuse, the drug does not discriminate, Meade
and Miller said.

"With alcoholism and drug addiction, it's anybody and everybody," Meade
said. "It depends on where they're living. As long as somebody is paying the
bills and still living at home, they still look OK on the outside.
Eventually, (they burn all their bridges). You can't keep a job and have a
habit of crack cocaine."

It's used among wealthy, middle class and low-income men and woman of all
ages from all throughout the Tri-State. They drive anything from an
expensive car to a minivan, Miller said.

How people get started is hard to tell, Miller said. Many women in her
program are introduced by their male partners, she said.

The effect of the stimulant drug is an immediate heightened awareness or
euphoric feeling, Miller said. It dulls the appetite and makes it hard to
sleep.

When crack cocaine is smoked, it goes directly to the lungs, the bloodstream
and the brain and is a very quick high. But it only last 20 minutes or so,
she said. Users then want to chase that high again and begin the cycle of
addiction to get it back.

"They chase that intense euphoric feeling as they build up a tolerance to
the effect of the drug," Miller said. "It takes more and more."

Then it costs more and more. The addiction is so strong that it leads users
into uncharacteristic and sometimes criminal behaviors -- robbery, selling
their body or selling drugs to others, Miller said.

"It's very powerful," she said. Some people control their addiction so they
only use on the weekends, but "I've had people tell me that they've been
hooked since the first hit. People don't go into it knowing that this could
lead them to rob or steal."

Battling addiction

There are two ways that a person might land in a drug treatment program --
voluntarily or involuntarily.

Prestera offers services for those who are going to make an effort, Meade
said. There are residential programs, such as the Renaissance program, a
six-month program for women and their children. It has 31 beds and a 60 to
71 percent success rate, Miller said.

There is also detoxification programs and outpatient paths to take, such as
12-step programs and counseling.

River Park Hospital accepts both voluntary patients, as well as involuntary
patients, who are there because someone else has filed an order, whether it
be someone they know or law enforcement.

They might stay a week or be referred to Prestera for a month-long program,
Meade said.

"(For the involuntary patients), a court order says they have to be here for
10 to 15 days," Meade said. "If after 15 days we don't consider them safe to
go out, we can refile them."

Whether a month is enough depends on their motivation and the support
they're getting, she added.

"If someone came here who truly hit bottom and wants help, and does what we
ask them to do, that's going to help," she said. "Recovery is hard work. Can
you get over it and live with the consequences of drug addiction? Yes. But
you will have that pull in your head."

Many people can't stay in treatment as long as they need for it to be
effective, Yost said. The insurance won't pay for it, or they can't get the
28 days they need off work.

"I think people need more time in treatment than they get," Yost said. "When
you're talking about substance abuse, you're talking about a lifestyle
change. Detox isn't enough."

But there are changes that the user can make, too. When you walk down the
same streets where you used to buy drugs and run into the same people you
used with or bought from, it's extremely difficult to win the fight. Relapse
is never an "oops situation," Meade said.

"Some patients definitely need to move," Meade said. "You can't stay clean
and sober and live in a crack neighborhood. You can't set yourself up for
failure."

River Park does have a high rate of repeat patients, she said. They might
not come back in the next week. It might be a year later.

"This is still a disease that has a high rate of relapse," she said. "That
doesn't mean that anyone failed. Sometimes a bump in the road will get them
back into (using drugs), and they come back to get back on track. Sometimes
they didn't try hard enough in the first place.

"I tell them when they're here, `This could be your last chance.'
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