WILLIMANTIC COP STUDIES ADDICT BEHAVIOR

WILLIMANTIC — Michael Cancellaro admits that he did not excel in high
school.

However, as an adult and a 12-year veteran in the Willimantic Police
Department, Officer Cancellaro has made the dean’s list at Eastern
Connecticut State University.

And a fairly rare opportunity for an undergraduate has come his way — this
morning, in Washington, D.C., he was to present his thesis on "Irrational
Belief Systems of the Drug Addicted Community in Northeastern Connecticut"
to the National Sociological Society.

What the sociology major has discovered in his interviews on the street with
heroin users and other drug addicts is a most unusual phenomenon.

"If a heroin addict overdoses while in a group of other heroin addicts, they
will not call 911 immediately," Cancellaro explained. "Instead, they try a
home remedy."

The home remedy, which is simply packing ice on certain parts of the body,
does not work. Eventually, when the ice treatment fails, a call to 911 is
usually made.

Police and an ambulance then arrive and the victim is transported to a
hospital where the drug Narcon is administered to immediately reverse the
symptoms of the heroin overdose — if the victim arrives in time, that is. An
overdose shuts down the body, leading eventually to the lack of a pulse or
other vital signs and to death.

After interviewing approximately 20 heroin users, Cancellaro found that 50
percent experienced at least one non-fatal overdose; many had overdosed
twice.

"They are aware of the risks," he said. "But 85 percent of those I
interviewed believe the ice myth."

Heroin addicts are not the only drug users out on the street. However,
Cancellaro noted that different groups react differently. Those who use
cocaine and other types of drugs that produce a high, are in a sense of
denial; they do not believe anything will harm them.

"Heroin addicts, on the other hand, know that every time they use, they are
rolling the dice," he said.

The underground marketing of heroin seems to play on the deadly risk. The
drug is often packaged in bags marked with skull heads or similar symbols,
and when a user overdoses, that particular brand becomes in high demand.

"They reason that the overdose resulted from the drug’s strength and if they
use less of that particular brand, they can still get high," Cancellaro
explained. "Their outlook is so bleak, they need something to latch onto."

Statistics show that in 1999 there were 130 heroin deaths in Connecticut.
Experts say that this year that number could climb to 160.

Cancellaro is still handing out surveys and expects to gain additional
input.

The Windham native graduated from Windham High School in 1983 with the goal
of joining the Willimantic Police Department.

"At that time, I never even thought of going on to college," he said. As a
police officer, he attended Manchester Community College, gaining an
associate’s degree in criminal justice.

When he transferred to ECSU he changed his major to sociology.

"I figure that writing and publishing a thesis as an undergraduate is a good
way to go," he said.