THERE ARE NO FENCES

"Once They Get That First Hit, They're Going To Chase It Forever."

WILMINGTON - It's called "chasing the dragon."

"Once they get that first hit, they're going to chase it forever,"
noted local Deputy Police Chief Michael Boyle.

"And then they'll try even more. Maybe start out with snorting it,
then go to shooting it to get more of a high.

"That's why they go to different levels and different drugs. They're
chasing that dragon - they're going after that feeling ... again and again."

Wilmington police made another drug arrest early today in their
crackdown on drugs during which heroin, cocaine, numerous pills, and
cash was seized.

Christopher White, 22, 34353 S. Lakeside Terrace, Wilmington, was
cited with two counts of possession of a controlled subject, a Class
4 felony, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Wilmington Police Chief, Lt. Wally Evans, said White had .8 grams of
cocaine in his possession, along with two hits of heroin and about 50
pills, some identified as Vicadin.

Police also confiscated $848 in cash and White's vehicle.

The arrest followed a report of a suspicious person at the apartments
on 130 S. First St. When police arrived, they saw White enter his
vehicle and hide a pill bottle.

Evans said White has a prior record of at least four arrests for
dangerous drugs, and is a person of interest in drug trafficking.

Interestingly, the chief said, White was seated in the front row
during the community's first public forum on drugs Aug. 22.

"We have a serious problem," Evans said Wednesday.

Illegal drugs are in every facet of society - rich, poor, in-between.
Every age. There are no fences.

Boyle's oldest son, at age 15, is just weeks away from getting his
driver's license. His dad will still practice the same routine when
his son comes home at night.

"When my son walks through the front door, I give him a hug - 'How
you doing, Buddy.' And he knows exactly what I'm doing - I'm checking
him for alcohol and drugs," Boyle said.

"This is what a parent has to do. You don't just allow your child to
walk into the house and go to his or her room.

"What's the first thing you're going to do as a kid when you come
home and you've been drinking or stuff. You want to sneak into your
room. I give my son a hug and check his breath. You can do that in a
matter of seconds. You can look into their eyes and see if their
pupils are dilated or constricted."

Alcohol on the breath is easily detected by smell, Evans said.

On the other hand, he noted, heroin users have a three-to four-hour
high, which leaves no immediate detectable after-effects.

"You take a youngster who has to be home by 11 p.m., and they do
heroin at 6 p.m. By 9:30 to 10 p.m., the effects of the heroin will
be wearing off, and they're going to go home and mom and dad will
have no clue this was actually taken," Evans pointed out.

A heroin user can function normally on the drug, Boyle said.

"Basically, all it does is give you a feeling. Some kids describe it
as a wonderful feeling. You lose track of two to four hours, and you
don't have a care in the world," he added.

"Somebody comes up to you and says, 'I'm going to give you something
that takes away all your cares, and you're going to feel great.
Here's what you take. Aw, c'mon. I do it. It's awesome.'

"You think, 'This person says I'm going to feel that good? Sure, I'll
give it a whirl.' But, they don't realize what's going to happen
after they do it the first time. It's like crystal meth - crack
cocaine. You don't know it the first time you do it you're hooked."

Statistics by the National Drug Institute indicate 314,000 youngsters
ages 12 and over used heroin in 2003.

"Twelve-year olds on heroin just blows me away," said Evans. "In the
age groups of 12 to 17, it absolutely surprised me more females used
heroin than males. I thought it would be males. Once you get into the
older age groups, though, it's the males."

Mark Shell, co-owner with Denise Issert and her husband, Rick Smith,
of the Mar Theater in Wilmington, and parent of what he says is a
household of girls, has the answer.

"It's quite simple. It's young girls trying to impress older guys.
Peer pressure. These peer groups are all intermixing. The
14-year-olds to the 22-year-olds, to the 25-year-olds. They're all
intermixing, and it's very unusual, in my opinion," he noted.

Parents should ask themselves why their 14-year-old is mingling with
the 21-year olds, said Shell.

"As the parent, you have to find out what the problem is," he added.
"You have to know who your kids are hanging around with."

Boyle pointed out the axiom, you are no better than the company you keep.

"If your kid is hanging around with a certain type of individual,
they are labeled as that. If they're hanging around with someone who
steals, eventually more than likely they're going to get involved in
something like that," he said.

"You hear names of kids involved in drugs - well, if you're child is
involved with that kid, they're either a druggie or they're on the
way. If they're hanging around with these people, this is their peer
group - the people they look up to. So inevitably, what's going to happen."

"That's why parents have to get involved. They have to know who their
kids are hanging around with," Boyle added. "You're known by the
company you keep. I've heard that since I was a child."