Pubdate: Fri, 22 Sep 2006
Source: Rockingham News (NH)
Copyright: 2006 Seacoast Online
Contact:  http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/rock/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2958

IT IS TIME TO WAGE REAL WAR AGAINST DRUGS

"I lost kids I went to high school with; kids from Portsmouth High, 
Dover High, Kittery are dead. Most of my friends ... of the ones 
close to me, six."

Those are the words of a 30-year-old man from Portsmouth.

His friends were not killed in a war or in traffic accidents. They 
were killed by heroin.

And Steve (not his real name), says the use of heroin has not 
declined. If anything, it has gotten worse.

Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams agrees. It can probably be found 
at every high school in the Seacoast, he said.

And, for a number of years now, the problem has become quietly but 
surely worse because the purveyors of this insidious, deadly drug 
have made it much easier for young people to get hooked.

"In some ways, it's a silent epidemic," said Reams.

That's because the drug is readily available in a much purer form, 
one that can be snorted up the nose like cocaine. And it's inexpensive.

Gone is the forbidding image of straps around arms and needles being 
plunged into veins, but the addictiveness of the drug is just as 
strong, if not more so.

A trip of less than an hour to Lawrence, Mass., can produce a constant supply.

In New Hampshire, there have been 19 heroin-related deaths since 
2001. But, even worse, during the same time there were 178 deaths 
related to illegal use of methadone -- the medication used to treat 
heroin addiction, according to the state Division of Vital Records.

A number of those deaths have been Seacoast teens.

But what can be done about this silent epidemic?

Steve is lucky. After 10 years of using and dealing the drug, he is 
alive thanks to the support of his fiancee and methadone treatment. 
He says he has been "clean" for three years, and has a job, a house 
and a future.

But, what about others? How can they get help?

Methadone treatment centers are few and far between.

The first such clinic on the Seacoast didn't open until two months 
ago in Newington. Previously, clients seeking help had to drive to 
Somersworth to get methadone -- if they had a car or some other form 
of transportation.

Reams said jail is not the answer. It is expensive to taxpayers and 
is ill-equipped to deal with such addictions.

He noted that the Legislature cut a huge chunk of money slated for 
drug treatment programs out of the budget a few years ago, something 
that would have cost less in the long run than prison time.

He also said that half his budget goes to drug cases.

We all know, and have been told time and again, that education is 
key, that prevention is key, that the involvement of parents, schools 
and law enforcement is key. And there are people and groups out there 
that have taken these messages to heart and have tried to do something.

But they are too few. Most of us choose to ignore this silent 
epidemic until it touches our lives somehow, until we see a son or 
daughter or loved one become hooked, become a sick criminal, become 
overwhelmed by this drug.

There are still too few parents willing to believe it could happen to 
them to commit to doing something about it.

Our legislators are not willing to spend the money on prevention and 
treatment. Our economy suffers because of illegal drug abuse.

Our law enforcement alone cannot win this "war on drugs." After 30 or 
40 years, hasn't that become apparent?

Drug and alcohol abuse by teens, as young as middle-schoolers, is 
worse today than ever. And, with the rise of methamphetamines, there 
is the potential for a national nightmare.

When do we, as a society, finally face this reality, this epidemic? 
What will it take? We shudder to think.

We should be putting our priorities in order now and acting upon them.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine