There is terrorist activity going on in Nashua, and it's aimed at our teens.

Hijackings are occurring every day. These activities are happening in the brains of our teens. Our teens are having their neuroreceptor sites hijacked by psychoactive substances.

This may sound like an updated version of the infamous H.G. Wells broadcast of "The War of the Worlds," but rest assured, what I'm describing is for real.

Teens are much more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and other drugs. Their brains and other anatomical systems are still in the process of development. Their sensitivity to alcohol and other drugs is more acute as a result. This means the addictive process happens faster and with less frequency of use and quantity of use than in adults.

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County Attorney Jim Reams sees the March death of 18-year-old Caitlyn Brady as an example of the need to stop drugs from coming into Rockingham County.

"With Interstate 95, Interstate 93 and Route 125 drugs are coming out of Massachusetts and into New Hampshire," Reams said during a press conference Sept. 1. "There is a constant flow of drugs into New Hampshire."

Reams hosted a press conference at the Rockingham County Superior Court to discuss the cases of Brady of Kingston, who died in March from a heroin overdose, and Ryan Scamman-Rawson, 18, of Stratham, who died in April after swallowing Oxycodone and overdosing.

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BRENTWOOD, N.H. - Months of work by an undercover police officer helped authorities catch an accused drug dealer and his driver as part of their probe into the overdose death of an 18-year-old woman, according to Kingston police Chief Donald Briggs.

One of Kingston's four undercover operatives had been buying drugs from 23-year-old [Name redacted], Kingston, even before former Sanborn Regional High School student Caitlyn Brady died of a heroin overdose last March, Briggs said.

[Name redacted] faces a felony charge of providing a controlled drug that later proved fatal. No one in the case has been charged with sale of narcotics at this point in the investigation.

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BRENTWOOD - Caitlyn Brady's former boyfriend could face life in prison for providing the heroin that killed her and hiding the evidence, according to authorities.

"It's malicious disregard for the consequences of drugs like heroin," said Jim Reams, the county attorney.

Two men were arraigned yesterday on charges they were directly involved in a heroin overdose that, on March 15, killed Brady, 18, a former Sanborn Regional High School student.

Two other local men, arrested at the same time on Tuesday, face secret indictments on "heroin-related" charges, Reams said. Those charges will be made public in the next few days, he said.

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PORTSMOUTH -- Flanked by area police chiefs, Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams vowed Friday to make those responsible for supplying drugs to two Seacoast teens who died from overdoses pay for their crime with significant jail sentences.

"We're not going to forget these kids that died," said Reams, adding the flow of drugs to the county is constant. "And we're going to do everything we can to prosecute these people."

On March 14, 18-year-old Kingston resident Caitlyn Brady died of a heroin overdose. Exactly one month later, 18-year-old Stratham resident Ryan Scamman-Rawson died from an Oxycodone overdose. Police have since tracked the suspected suppliers of those drugs, and this month, a grand jury indicted four Seacoast residents on drug charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

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BRENTWOOD -- The moment when [Name redacted] of Newton allegedly provided heroin to his girlfriend, Caitlyn Brady, he took away "a smile that would melt your heart," said the victim's mother.

[Name redacted], 21, Newton, was arraigned in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood Wednesday for allegedly dispensing a controlled drug -- death resulting, and falsifying physical evidence. [Name redacted] was indicted Aug. 1 by a Superior Court grand jury on these charges.

Caitlyn Brady, 18, of Kingston, died March 15 of a heroin overdose at [Name redacted]'s home.

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Brentwood - Four men who investigators say are responsible for the overdose death of an 18-year-old Kingston woman March 15 could face life in prison if prosecutors can prove the charges against them.

Secret indictments against three men were revealed yesterday, in connection with the overdose death of Caitlyn D. Brady, 18.

Prosecutors said a fourth man would be arraigned this morning. Brady died of an accidental heroin overdose, allegedly administered by her then-boyfriend, [Name redacted], 21, Newton. [Name redacted] was charged with one count of dispensing a controlled drug, resulting in a death, which carries a potential life sentence. [Name redacted] was also charged with one count of falsifying evidence, for allegedly trying to hide the syringe used to inject the drugs, in a dumpster.

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BRENTWOOD -- The moment when boyfriend [Name redacted] of Newton allegedly provided heroin to girlfriend Caitlyn Brady, he took away "a smile that would melt your heart," said the victim's mother.

[Name redacted], 21, Newton was arraigned in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood Wednesday for allegedly dispensing a controlled drug, death resulting, and falsifying physical evidence. [Name redacted] was indicted on Aug. 1 by a Superior Court grand jury on these charges.

[Name redacted] was the boyfriend of 18-year-old Caitlyn Brady of Kingston, who died March 15 of a heroin overdose at [Name redacted]'s home.

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Screening An Option For Students' Parents

Winnisquam Regional Middle School will give home drug-testing kits to parents at an open house this month. Distribution of the kits, donated by an Arizona nonprofit called NotMYKid, will follow a slide show advising parents on how to talk to their kids about drugs, according to Dave Tryon, the district's "chemical-free adviser."

Also on the agenda for the back-to-school open house are a spaghetti supper and parent-teacher meetings.

Tryon said he wasn't sure about the drug tests, but he liked that the kits are optional. He said the kits can be used as tools for parents to talk to their kids about drugs - and as an excuse for kids who don't want to try drugs.

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HUDSON - Superintendent Randy Bell is drafting a policy that would allow the police drug-sniffing dog to be used at Alvirne High School, he said.

The issue has come up before but was revisited at a school board meeting last week, Bell said. The discussion came two weeks after The Telegraph published an article detailing the concerns of a parent who believes the school has a drug problem and wants the dog to be allowed inside for random searches.

According to board member David Bouchard, police have offered to make the dog available in the past for school searches, but high school administrators haven't taken advantage until now.

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Roxanne and Barry Fritz, whose daughter Bethany died of a heroin overdose in June 2004, have filed a lawsuit in York County Superior Court against a family in whose home Bethany spent the day before her death.

The Fritzes allege Amanda Corey, a friend with whom Bethany was staying on the night of June 26, 2004, and parents Cynthia and Eugene Corey acted in a "careless and negligent" manner, leading to Bethany's death.

According to the lawsuit, Bethany, 17, spent that night at the Coreys' with Amanda, also 17. According to criminal documents filed in connection with the case against Bethany's boyfriend, Scott Fisher, Fisher gave Bethany heroin that resulted in her death. Fisher was sentenced in connection with those charges on Monday.

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When Joann Auclair found a stash of pot in her teenage son's bedroom, she immediately wanted to know where it came from. She didn't expect her son to say that drugs are always available for sale at Alvirne High School. Marijuana and illegal prescriptions are especially easy to get, Auclair said the teenager confessed.

Alarmed by the news, Auclair said she sat down with a guidance counselor to find out if the Hudson police drug dog could be used to search the school. The counselor told her the idea had been discussed, but administrators and the school board wouldn't have it, she said.

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When a child is arrested inside a Nashua school, chances are it's for one of three reasons: fighting with a classmate, getting caught with drugs or acting out of control.

Assault, drug violations and disorderly conduct are overwhelmingly the most common offenses inside the city's public high schools and middle schools – or at least the crimes that staff and police are picking up on.

However, students are arrested at some city schools more frequently than others. Five years worth of school arrest statistics from the Nashua Police Department reveal which schools have the highest arrest rates, what students are doing to get arrested and which crimes almost never take place in city schools.

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Re "N.H. overdose deaths skyrocket" on page B5 of the June 25 Sunday Monitor: As the amount and frequency of alcohol use increase, the physical ability to tolerate the drug also increases. Impairment and health problems logically ensue.

The use of any illicit drug is a choice that places the user at risk for health and impairment problems. One terrible outcome is physical addiction, but a person can also abuse alcohol or other drugs one time and experience a life-altering impairment problem, like a car accident that takes a life.

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PORTSMOUTH -- The school district hopes to expand its search-and-seizure policy by spelling out that students can expect their cars, lockers and desks to be searched at any time, and that police canines will be used on school property.

The School Board's policy committee reviewed a draft of the new rules Monday. The current policy is brief and addresses inspection of student lockers only to safeguard students' "well-being."

Assistant City Attorney Kathleen Dwyer presented the committee with a draft of the expanded policy, which will go before the School Board for approval at a later date.

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It's long past time the Portsmouth School Board began to deal realistically with the problem of drugs in city schools. That's why we are pleased to hear the board's policy committee is considering broadening the current search-and-seizure rules.

The new policy would not only allow for searches of student lockers, as is currently the case, but would add student vehicles and other items to the list of things police or school officials could view without the consent of the students involved.

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CONCORD, N.H. --A steep rise in drug overdose deaths has state health officials worried.

Dr. Thomas Andrew, the state's chief medical examiner, said his records show 39 drug overdoses in 1995 compared with 153 in 2005.

"There was a time when we thought drug overdose deaths were going to exceed traffic deaths in New Hampshire, but drivers sort of sunk to the challenge," Andrew said, noting the increase in motor vehicle fatalities, which hit 171 in 2004.

Opiates remain the leading cause of fatal overdoses, and methadone has become the single biggest killer, topping even heroin, Andrew said.

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Drug-overdose deaths have climbed sharply in New Hampshire over the last 10 years, and they show no sign of slacking.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Andrew has compiled statistics on fatal drug overdoses in the state for several years, and his records show drug overdoses have risen steadily, from 39 in 1995 to 153 last year.

"There is a 150 to 175 percent increase in drug-related deaths over the past five years in New Hampshire," Andrew said.

"There was a time when we thought drug overdose deaths were going to exceed traffic deaths in New Hampshire, but drivers sort of sunk to the challenge," and motor vehicle fatalities have increased, as well, Andrew said. (There were 171 traffic-related deaths in the state in 2004.)

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OUR ELECTED officials say they are just like the rest of us. But that's a myth.

"The king can do no wrong" is often closer to the truth.

Consider drug use. In 1992, when Presidential candidate Bill Clinton was asked about his, he said, "I have never broken the laws of my country." It was one of those lawyerly language tricks, which was revealed when a reporter later asked him about laws in other countries.

"I have never broken a state law," he said. "When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale."

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To the Editor:

According to letter writer Larry Seguin, of Lisbon, N.Y., our hearts should bleed for the "victims of the war on drugs (aka drug users)."Seguin then expresses agreement with letter writer Kirk Muse of Mesa, Ariz., (to whom I responded previously) that the current "medical marijuana" debate is too limited, that marijuana should be legalized for recreational use as well.

The agenda of a self-indulgent and muddle-headed minority is exposed for what it is in these letters. That both these writers believe drug users are a "victims group" comparable to the true victims of the Holocaust (as Muse has flatly stated, and for which Seguin has expressed support) displays a complete detachment from reality.

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