ALARMED BY DRUG USE AMONG THE YOUNG, CHESTER PARENTS TAKE ACTION

CHESTER - "I always respect my enemy," New York State Trooper Steven
V. Nevel told Chester parents last week.

He was talking about the neighborhood pusher.

"Drug dealers aren't stupid," said Nevel, the school and community
outreach coordinator out of Troop "F" in Middletown. "They are good
business people. As everything in the country goes up - gas, food, and
other essentials - drug prices are going down. They have a product to
move, too. They are willing to cut the price to move it. Then, when
the demand gets better, they'll raise the prices."

Nevel came to the Chester Town Hall last Wednesday at the request of
some parents who want to be vigilant about this threat to their kids.
They want to know what to look for. Just like the technology that kids
use every day, like cell phones and iPods, drugs and their manner of
use have changed too.

Michele Deshler is a concerned parent who helped organize the
gathering.

"We just want to help educate parents on what's going on," she said.
"My father says it takes a community to raise children, and I believe
that."

She was surprised by Nevel's revelations. He talked of "pharm parties"
and "blunts," things she and most of those in attendance never heard
of.

"Lock up your prescription drugs," Nevel told parents. "Kids are
getting high from their parents' medicine cabinets. Ever hear of pharm
parties? Kids get a punch bowl, dump the pills in the bowl, and just
take them. Randomly. They don't know what they are taking."

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise, Nevel said. Kids think it is
safer to use prescription drugs than street drugs. But the truth is
that taking drugs not prescribed for you or mixing drugs can have
devastating consequences.

Blunts are marijuana cigars. Kids cut open cigars, empty out the
tobacco, and stuff them with pot.

Drugs on the ballfield

Steroids are big, too, Nevel said. And he doesn't blame the big-name
athletes like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

One kid at a gym told Nevel that it was his dad, not athletes, that
pushed him into steroid use. "His dad told him he's gotta get a
scholarship or go into the Army," Nevel said. Not wanting to go into
the Army, the boy planned to take steroids until he got his
scholarship - but Nevel said he might not be able to quit after that.

"Teenagers have very addictive personalities," he said.

Athletes may stay away from drugs and alcohol to keep their bodies
strong and healthy. But then, Nevel said, they see their friends
indulge and still perform well on the field, so why not try it? And
the first time they get home safely after drinking and driving, they
feel more comfortable about doing it again.

Heroin overtakes crack

The good news is that cocaine and crack are not as big in this area as
they used to be.

"Crack literally is a five-minute high," Nevel said. "I've worked
narcotics. An informant said crack was ten times better than the best
sex she ever had. But you are always chasing that same high."

The informant was an accountant and mother who tried crack once at a
party and was immediately hooked. Her entire life changed. She lost
her kids, her husband, and her job, Nevel said.

The bad news is that there is a lot of heroin out there, along with a
new product called "cheese" - a mixture of black tar heroin and
Tylenol cold medicine. It's cheap - about $2 a pack - and available.
Kids usually snort heroin or smoke it.

"Whatever is going on in the biggest city around you is coming to your
area," Nevel said.

But the biggest drug of choice can be found inside most homes -
alcohol.

"They are hiding it in their water bottles," Nevel said. "They are
walking around school drinking alcohol from water bottles."

"Kids think they are invincible," said Mary Luciana, a parent and
Chester Board of Education member. "That's been since the dawn of time."

'Kids lie'

So what can the community do?

"The community has to take it back from the kids," Nevel said. "A lot
of parents are in denial. Kids lie. We want to believe them. I have a
13-year-old daughter. I go through her room. We have a responsibility
to our kids. One counselor said the problem is parents - they are not
parenting anymore."

He tips his hat to school resource officers, police officers who are
in the school with them all day long and develop a rapport with kids.
Kids feel comfortable with them, Nevel said, and when kids are
comfortable, they talk. Opening up communication is vital, he said.

"Drugs are in the schools and don't let anyone tell you otherwise," he
said. "Some kids are using them and some aren't. Your kids know who
they are. Listen to them. Pay attention."