TOWN USES FORUMS TO DETER DRUG PROBLEM

EAST HADDAM - Among ideas passed around at a drug forum Thursday was
one for parents and children to have secret codes.

Erinn Knoll, community liaison for the Middlesex County Substance
Abuse Council, suggested encoded messages could be a good step toward
preventing drug and alcohol use in youth.

If a teen, out at a party, calls home and says to her mother, "No, I
didn't get the laundry done," Mom's ears may perk. It could be an
encrypted message allowing the teen to say in a manner her friends
will not understand, "I do not feel comfortable here, come and get
me."

On the other hand if the mother calls and says, "Um, honey, you didn't
do the laundry," that child knows the party, at least for her, is
over, and she had better say her good-byes and get home soon.

Drug addiction does not start with heroin, Knoll told the
approximately 25 parents gathered in the gymnasium at the East Haddam
Middle School. She and several other speakers reiterated repeatedly,
"prevention is the most important step."

"We definitely advocate telling your kids what you expect from them,"
Knoll said. "If I told you you have to be home at 12 and you're not
home at 12, you're grounded."

Empty threats are ineffective and ultimately dangerous. If a child
knows he or she will not suffer consequences for breaking the rules,
he or she will keep breaking them, setting a path toward possible
alcohol and drug abuse.

Alcohol drinking is happening in younger and younger age groups and
"is the biggest problem and biggest gateway" to drug abuse, said Toni
McCabe director of Youth and Family Services.

"Heroin specifically appears to be a drug used by the 18-
to-25-years-old age group," she said, "but appears to be trickling
down."

Preventing alcohol and drug use through high school is one key in
overall prevention, said Sheryl Sprague, prevention manager at the
Rushford Center in Middletown.

"If we can hold somebody off until the age of 21, then we have a much
higher success rate," Sprague said.

Sprague spoke of heroin use, which she said has increased in Middlesex
County.

"It is hitting some of the more rural and suburban communities," she
told listeners.

She also spoke of a newer phenomenon - children experimenting with
prescription drugs in medicine cabinets and even finagling doctors and
dentists to give them strong and sometimes addictive drugs for pain,
including Oxycodone.

Sprague described a scenario in which a parent she knew had her home
broken into.

"The only thing that was missing was prescription drugs," Sprague
said. "The cops told her, 'somebody, whether it was your child or not,
stole those drugs,' and she was appalled."

The mother swore it was impossible; her children could not be involved
in such a thing, but Sprague made it clear that parents need to know
who their children are associated with, who their friends are and what
types of rules they live under.

"Parents have to talk to other parents," Sprague said. "You have to
ask those hard questions. Is there going to be alcohol? Is there going
to be drugs?"

Parents spoke up during the session, asking questions and sharing
ideas.

Resident state troopers Jeff Rhoades and Steve Bellandese gave
information, including statistics on crime and the connection to drug
abuse.

"Is there a drug problem in East Haddam?" Rhoades asked. "Sure there
is. It's not more significant than other towns, but it kind of stands
out because of the size of East Haddam."

First Selectman Mark Walter wants the small community to take action
and said he hopes the monthly forums will be a step in the right direction.

"Help stem the tide so you can know what's going on and how big the
problem is," he said. "I want East Haddam to be known as the community
that is out in front of this."