NARCOTICS AGENT: DRUGS ARE EVERYWHERE

Several parents, spurred by the recent Operation Raw Deal that
rounded up 21 local drug dealers, listened intently during a parent
night at Cranberry Elementary School to an Attorney General's office
narcotics agent talk about how to keep their children out of harm's
way. Elaine Surma, senior supervisory narcotic agent of the
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General in Erie, told parents drugs
are here to stay in Venango County.

"You're here because you want to know what's really going on in
Venango County. Anything and everything," Surma said.

Surma told the Cranberry group she spoke earlier at a local middle
school where syringes and razor blades used for injecting heroin were
found in a girls bathroom.

Heroin is the number one drug in Venango County, Surma said.

Most heroin is processed in Afghanistan and the drug trade directly
ties into terrorism, Surma said.

"Think about it. What is our most precious resource? Our children. If
they ruin our youth, what do we have?" she asked.

Drugs are an international crisis, not just kids on a corner, she said.

Children are often targeted by drug dealers first as couriers rather
than users, then they are lured into using the drugs later.

Surma said drugs like LSD, ecstasy and heroin are often stamped with
friendly images of cartoon characters.

"Tell (your children) there are things that mirror things that you
like, but they are dangerous," she said.

Children do not understand serious illness, Surma said.

"When they're sick, you take them to the doctor and they get better.
They don't realize the first time they use drugs could be the last
time they do anything," she said.

Children are exposed to drugs through school, television and the Internet.

"I am constantly surprised at what elementary students know," Surma said.

Surma said children should be taught about the dangers of drug use
from the time they can walk.

Setting a good example for children at home is just one way to help
keep children away from drugs, as children take in more of the advice
and actions of their parents than most people think. Parents and
older kids in the community are the biggest influences on kids, Surma said.

"You need to educate your children. We have a problem in this county
and it's not going away," she said.

Children must be warned of the dangers of drug use while parents need
to be alert for warning signs their children have been exposed to
drugs, Surma said.

Drugs generally fall into the categories of either depressants or stimulants.

A child using depressants may become withdrawn and quiet, while a
child abusing stimulants could become agitated and hyper.

Children abusing drugs will often seem aloof about things they
previously loved, fall out of favor with longtime friends, become
secretive, and lose their appetites and senses of hygiene, Surma said.

Eyes are the mirrors to the soul, Surma said, and many drug users
exhibit what she called the "10,000-yard stare," with glazed-over
expressions and dilated pupils.

Surma said the most common drugs abused by elementary students are
tobacco, alcohol and inhalants, but other drugs are becoming
prevalent. She said the youngest heroin addict she has encountered as
a narcotics officer was 10.

When asked why drugs are so prevalent in the area, Surma offered some
possible explanations.

She said increased gang activity and a decline in police protection
are factors in economically depressed areas, but drug activity is not
particular to any municipality or economic area.

"Trust me, it's everywhere. It's just in a smaller population; you
tend to notice more," she said.