PARENTS WARNED ABOUT TEEN HEROIN USE

Drug is easily available

Heroin is cheap and readily available, so the substance-abuse problem among
youth in Carroll County isn't going away soon, a state police drug expert
told parents last night at a Sykesville forum.

Teen-agers and young adults today are more mobile, can slip into Baltimore,
buy whatever they want and get back without a parent knowing, Sgt. Mike
College, a parent and county resident, told the gathering of nearly 200 at
Sykesville Middle School.

Sponsored by Junction Inc., a nonprofit treatment and prevention center in
Westminster, Community Forum No. 3 was one of two held in the county last
night. The other was in Hampstead. Two other community forums about
drug-related issues have been held this year.

In Hampstead, Thomas J. Zirpoli, professor of education at Western Maryland
College, simultaneously addressed concerned parents at North Carroll High
School about effective communication techniques with their children.

College and Zirpoli approached the heroin problem from different
perspectives. They concentrated on their areas of expertise in the
continuing four-pronged attack against drugs -- enforcement, prosecution,
education and treatment -- promoted by addictions counselors, police,
educators, prosecutors and county residents.

The anti-heroin crusade in Carroll County was sparked by the high-profile
overdose deaths of four young residents, including three this year.

The common goals are to stop the deaths and stem the flow of drugs in the
county.

Offering practical examples of signs to look for that a child might be
involved in drugs, College warned the audience to be aware of their
environment and be more cautious in protecting their possessions.

All a heroin addict looks for is the next chance to steal something to sell
for money to buy drugs, he said.

College warned parents to lock their vehicles, sheds and guard their
videocassette recorders. Any item worth $100 can be pawned for $10 or $20
to buy more heroin, he said.

Education and the family are key elements in this cooperative effort,
College said. Police can't arrest the problem away and prosecutors can't
jail every addict, he said.

"This is not merely a case of dealing with an addict who has a drug
problem," he said. "Drug abuse has a negative impact on addicts'
communities and their families."

He said people need to be aware of the pain that parents like Debi Curran
of Hampstead are going through. College introduced Curran, whose
20-year-old son, Justin Lee Dalcin, was found dead of an overdose Sept. 9
in Wyman Park in Baltimore.

College asked Curran to attend last night's meeting.

College, whose task force work puts him in frequent contact with users and
dealers, said ways have to be found to reach school children at a young age
to "make them realize that drug dealers who would get them hooked on heroin
are no friends at all."

The availability of drugs is only part of the problem, he said. "Kids
between 14 and 22 are exposed to a lot more than their parents ever were,"
he said.

Parents who allow their children to smoke need to realize that tobacco and
alcohol, often within easy reach at home, are gateway drugs, he said.

"Addicts I've interviewed did not start on heroin," he said.

For Linda and Marvin Combs, Eldersburg parents with children in grades six,
two and kindergarten, last night's presentation was a learning experience.

"I was surprised to learn how many [drugs] are here and how addictive
heroin can be," Linda Combs said.

College shuddered as he told the group that heroin used in the 1960s was 1
percent to 10 percent pure, but heroin is 70 percent to 90 percent pure now.

"Our kids don't know what they are buying out there. It's so scary," he
said.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski