Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jun 2006
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Copyright: 2006 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/897
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE

The Berkshires, in the words of singer-songwriter Neil Young, have 
"seen the needle and the damage done." The heroin plague, as revealed 
in Benning W. De La Mater's three-part series, is not just a 
Pittsfield problem but a problem for the bucolic Berkshires, one that 
is tough to address because the drug is so addictive, the market for 
it so substantial, that law enforcement and the medical community are 
all but overwhelmed by it.

Popular beliefs to the contrary, heroin is not just the drug of the 
down-and-out, as it reaches all levels of the social ladder. It 
destroys families, and by doing so undermines communities. It is not 
a problem that will go away, but acknowledging it and fighting it are 
necessary if the Berkshires are to reach their full potential, 
socially, culturally and economically.

There will never be unanimity as to the best method of attacking the 
problem. It is simplistic to assert that marijuana is a gateway drug 
to heroin as the number of marijuana users who go on to heroin is not 
in the same ballpark as those who don't. People who for whatever 
reason have addictive personalities are most susceptible to this 
powerful drug, and their inability to shake it is not a sign of a 
lack of will. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program is a 
sacred cow that can't point to clear documentation of its success. 
Unless and until it does, it can't be described as a key element in 
the fight against heroin.

The importance of treatment is one aspect everyone should agree upon, 
and state budget cuts that gut treatment programs will cost 
communities far more in the long run than the amount of money saved 
on Beacon Hill. A six-to-10-day inpatient stay for graduates of the 
McGee Unit of Berkshire Medical Center was lopped from the state 
budget four years ago, which means graduates of the unit's detox 
program are tossed back into society without an adjustment period. 
For those who are homeless, without jobs and plagued with bad 
influences, there is a strong likelihood that they will go back to 
using a drug that is so pleasurable it is difficult to resist even by 
those who know first-hand the high cost of using it.

Throwing money at a problem won't make it go away, but providing 
inadequate funding for organizations targeting a problem will assure 
it doesn't go away. Tuesday's Eagle identified 10 Berkshire 
organizations that are at the front lines of confronting the heroin 
curse. They are there to help. And they need state help to provide 
that assistance.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman