VERMONTERS GATHER IN BURLINGTON TO DISCUSS HEROIN PROBLEMS

BURLINGTON - Anthony Reed knows it's a problem because he's heard
classmates talking about it: heroin, marijuana and other drugs. He's an
eighth grader at Edmunds Middle School in Burlington. He's 14.

"Yeah, it's scary," said Reed. "You never know, a friend or someone else
you might know might come up to you and ask you if you want do drugs, or
something at school."

Reed was one of several students, and at least 120 adults, who gathered at
Burlington High School Monday night to talk about Vermont's growing heroin
problem.

Hosted by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the freewheeling discussion touched on
problems faced by parents of drug addicts and former drug addicts, to the
problems of funding increased law enforcement, youth programs and treatment
centers. Monday night's meeting was the second of two town meetings Leahy
has held in Vermont; the first held in Rutland in February attracted nearly
200 people.

"What we are seeing is not only the ugly face of heroin," said Leahy. "But
the violent crime that comes with it."

Leahy has introduced a bill that could bring up to $7 million to Vermont
over the next three years to help fight the heroin problem, set up
treatment programs and fund prevention efforts.

Rosalind Richard of Barre, attended the meeting because her 18-year-old son
Joshua had been in and out of three rehabilitation programs for heroin
addiction. She spoke of how expensive the treatment process can be, and how
difficult it was to deal with insurance companies in paying for treatment
programs. She said Vermont needed more treatment facilities, particularly
long-term facilities.

"My son did not wake up one day and say 'I want to be a heroin addict
today' " Richard said.

Gov. Howard Dean attended the meeting and took the opportunity to pitch his
proposal for a 2-cent-per-bottle beer tax, to help fund prevention and
treatment programs in Vermont. That tax would raise roughly $2.4 million.

"We can't expect that the state government, the local government, the
federal government is going to come in and fix the problem," Dean said.

"This problem is only going to be fixed in the community," he said. "We can
only do this if all of us do this."

Leahy plugged his efforts to keep more than $1.5 billion in funding for
state and local law enforcement in the federal budget. As well, he made
passing criticism of federal drug policies in South America, where millions
of dollars of military aid is being sent to eradicate drug-producing crops.

Debbie Papin of Burlington, knows first hand the dangers of heroin, and not
just from the perspective of addiction. Papin is the mother of Shanna
Jacobs, 18, who overdosed on heroin while with friends last Tuesday at a
Burlington motel and nearly died.

Papin said she hoped having public figures like Leahy and Dean speaking out
on the problems of heroin, that would encourage parents to start talking
with their children, and encourage parents of addicted children to speak
out and find help.

"This is a start, absolutely," she said. "This isn't politics as usual.

"This is destroying the area, the area where these people grew up. I think
this will help," said Papin.