Our Newshawk writes: "For those composing letters in response to this
editorial, keep in mind that the DFW was awarded $5 million as part of the
high intensity drug trafficking program. Not one penny of that money was
earmarked for treatment."

HEROIN TREATMENT: DENTON COUNTY TAKES A STAND

Sadly, a so-called mini heroin epidemic continues to devastate suburban,
middle-class families in North Texas. With another 15 fatal overdoses by
young people in the last year alone - along with a 300 percent increase in
the number of heroin addicts in Dallas - frustration continues to mount.

Yet before frustration gives way to despair, North Texans should evaluate
past efforts and make new ones. Instead of relaxing a drug education
campaign among the region's young people, they must reinforce it.
Simultaneously, North Texans should support enhanced treatment
opportunities along with law enforcement initiatives.

While North Texas and the state of Maryland have been identified as one of
two mini-heroin epidemic sites, the fact remains that increased heroin use
is part of a national trend. Only 2 percent of U.S. teenagers use the
potentially deadly drug. Yet as Lori Stahl and Kendall Anderson of The
Dallas Morning News point out, the number of high school seniors taking
heroin increased by 100 percent between 1990 and 1996.

Here are some initiatives that should be undertaken or reinforced:

* Treatment should be enhanced at the local level. The Denton County
Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is leading the way by crafting a plan
to offer long-term residential treatment to children who need it. Funding
the program through a proposed sales tax on alcohol and tobacco makes sense.

* The state Legislature should pass a bill requiring overdoses be reported.
If communities are to get a handle on the problem, they need information.
Physicians have noted increasing numbers of teens involved in drugs, but no
database exists.

* Schools should make expanded substance abuse counseling available.
Experts must be on hand to advise parents on treatment options in the
community.

* Teachers must be trained to spot substance abuse problems. Denton school
personnel are being trained to do that. Other school districts should
follow suit immediately. The argument that teachers already have their
hands full is unacceptable when the consequences of indifference include
death.

There are ways to confront the deadly heroin epidemic - doing a better job
of educating young people about the dangers of drug abuse, identifying drug
abuse once it has begun, and providing the necessary treatment to those who
want it. But it will take a sustained community effort over time instead of
a quick fix.


Checked-by: Mike Gogulski