EDITORIAL: OPIATE SCOURGE IS A DIFFICULT FOE As a series of stories today shows, a year after Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co. first exposed the opiate epidemic in Essex County there has been some progress toward ending it, but in incremental strides only. That's not a surprise. It would be unrealistic to expect an easy victory over an enemy that gained strength by flourishing in the shadows for years. This problem won't be solved overnight. Local police departments continue to report increases in home invasions, shoplifting and armed robberies - the kinds of crimes that produce quick cash to feed drug habits. Lawrence police Chief John J. Romero says heroin abuse continues to drive crime in the city. The Essex County drug task force confiscated substantially larger amounts of OxyContin pills and heroin in 2005 than it did the previous year, which raises the question of how much more is out on the streets. The public commitment to helping those who would end their addictions through treatment - voluntarily or otherwise - could be stronger. There are only four government-subsidized treatment centers for drug-addicted teenagers in the entire state. The private commitment to stopping OxyContin abuse has been lacking as well. Purdue Pharma, the Connecticut-based manufacturer of the painkiller, said in a meeting with Eagle-Tribune Publishing editors last year it was committed to fighting abuse of its product through community education. We've seen little to no activity by Purdue Pharma in Essex County. Purdue Pharma has also been promising a version of OxyContin that is more difficult to abuse. Now it looks like a competitor's product may be first to the market. We congratulate the public officials and private citizens who have given of their time and encourage them not to be disappointed if tangible results are slow to materialize. Yet it remains an open question whether education alone can stem the tide of drug abuse. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the well-known DARE program, has been around for 19 years but didn't prevent the rising tide of opiate use. Activists hope that specifically targeting opiates will be more effective than crusading against drug use in general, but it will be years before we'll know whether they are right. The disease of addiction is hardly a modern phenomenon, but understanding and controlling - let alone preventing - it have proven complex challenges. Most researchers believe alcoholism and drug addiction share many similarities, so consider these findings: Generations of high-schoolers have engaged in illegal underage drinking, but the majority don't become alcoholics. Why some and not others? Researchers aren't sure. While they've been unable to identify an "addictive personality," they have found substantial evidence that like so many problems, this one is rooted in our genes. Studies have shown that children born to alcoholic parents are more likely to become alcoholics themselves, even if adopted and raised by nonalcoholics. More research is needed to identify practical means to put this knowledge to use, including the most effective ways to use education in the war on drugs. But unlike some genetic diseases, merely carrying the genes for chemical dependency doesn't mean a child will become an addict. The harder it is for them to get their hands on legal or illegal substances, the less likely it is they'll get hooked on them. So continuing the fight to get drugs off the street should remain a high priority for law enforcement. And an involved and educated community - particularly parents - should continue to search for effective ways to augment that effort, as long as it takes.
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