THIS IS YOUR CHILD ON DRUGS

People have asked Chief Rick Smith why the department is holding a
series of drug recognition classes, and why it is aimed at adults.
The answer, to Smith, was clear. Last year, police in nearby Essex
County seized 56 kilos of cocaine and 101 tablets of the
often-abused narcotic painkiller OxyContin.

The national number of OxyContin abusers (not prescribed the drug)
jumped from 11.8 million in 2002 to 13.7 million in2003.

"That's a big jump in one year ... Drug abuse not only ruins the
life of the user, it ruins the lives of the family, friends and the
victims who get involved with the users," Smith told about 50
parents, teachers and drug counselors gathered in the public safety
building on Feb 9. The six-session course is designed to educate
adults to recognize illegal drugs and the signs of drug use and
abuse. Later courses will address prescription and over-the-counter
drugs, club drugs like Ecstasy, drug-related sexual assaults and
coalition building.

Round one was an overview of the way young people use drugs, and
particularly plant-based drugs like heroin and cocaine and how they
affect Massachusetts.

Particularly in Middlesex and Essex counties, "Massachusetts is one
area where Oxys (OxyContin) are king," said Smith, noting that young
people commonly abuse the drug, which is a synthetic opiate that
often leads to heroin use. Smith introduced the lead speaker for the
next few sessions, Marilyn Belmonte, a member of a Burlington
anti-drug coalition who specializes in community awareness and gives
training seminars across the country. Kids on E - and plenty more
Belmonte stood before a table filled with pacifiers, lollipops and
over-the-counter cold medicine.

These items, she said, can be used as drugs or paraphernalia, but
most parents have "no clue" about them.

"These kids - our kids - rely on us not to have a clue, so they can
use drugs," she said.

Take, for example, the photo she showed the group of two children in
"rave" style clothing. One girl wore a homemade necklace that said
"one." Look closer, Belmonte instructed. The "o" and "n" are small,
and the "e" is big - it really says "on E," slang for the club drug
ecstasy. Teens sometimes wear the coded word on clothes and
accessories, partly for show. Partly, said Belmonte, they do it so
people know what drug they're using, in case they pass out or
overdose - that way, their friends know what to tell the EMTs. It's
one of the many bits of misinformation and bad advice teens get from
pro-drug Web sites, Belmonte said.

"Our kids get a lot of bad information on the Internet," she said.
One lesson is gateway drugs: Most kids start with cigarettes, a drug
that's illegal for them, according to Belmonte. A drug dealer is
logically more likely to approach a group of smokers than
non-smokers, she said, and "many people believe if you can stop
that, you stop all drug use (in a particular child)."

The Biggest Drug In Massachusetts And What's Next

Drug use follows trends, Belmonte said. In Massachusetts, for a
reason no one is sure of, abusing OxyContin pills is a huge problem.
The painkiller is highly addictive and much more potent than
Percocet or Vicodin, and it can saddle teens with to a hard-to-kick
habit, painful cravings during withdrawal and even overdose.

Young people often crush them up and sniff them to get higher
quicker, which intensifies the problem. When teens run out of cash
for the costly pills, they turn to crime or the cheaper substitute -
the similar narcotic, heroin. Both OxyContin and heroin stimulate
the "happy" chemicals in one's brain. A detox counselor who attended
the session said her Oxy patients describe it as "the absolute best
feeling in the world."

Belmonte said "the brain does not know the difference" between
plant-based opiates like heroin and the synthetic versions like
OxyContin. Heroin is more than 10 times as pure as it was in 1980,
according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and at only a few
dollars per hit, it's even cheaper than in the '80s. That means
today's heroin can be sniffed to get the user high - and some teens
who would never consider using a needle have gotten into the drug by snorting.

Abuse of the club drug crystal methamphetamine is a near-epidemic in
other parts of the country, and is now "marching its way" to New
England, Belmonte said. The drug is cooked from over-the-counter
products, smells foul, and comes in powdery or sticky form depending
on the recipe.

Crystal meth and ecstasy will be addressed in future sessions of the
drug class.

Reading The Signs

Every drug has different telltale signs, Belmonte said. When it comes
to narcotics like OxyContin and heroin, a user's pupils shrink to
pinpoints - usually about 2.9 millimeters - and they don't respond
to light. A person using heroin or Oxy will often have droopy
eyelids, and appear to be "nodding off." Their muscles are relaxed,
their skin is cool and clammy and they scratch because their arms
and faces are often itchy. Many heroin users wear long sleeves even
in warmer weather to hide the track marks from needles. Heroin can be
china-white, brown or "Mexican black tar," which is growing in popularity.

In contrast, users of cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy
usually have dilated pupils. All three are strong stimulants -
cocaine is a whitish powder made from coca leaves and its
crystallized counterpart, crack, comes in hard, whitish chunks.

Irritated nostrils, sniffling and bloody noses can be byproducts of
coke use, as can be loss of appetite, poor hygiene, paranoia,
violence and reduced sleep or odd sleeping habits.

Crack is a more potent and highly addictive cooked version of coke.
Crack requires different pipes than marijuana, often metal or even
constructed out of light bulbs. Crack users often have blisters on
their fingers from burning the substance, and display many of the
habits of coke users.

"This is a violent group," Belmonte said of coke and crack abusers.

Both drugs are often sold tucked into the corner of a small baggie or
in a balloon.

The good news, according to surveys conducted in Massachusetts, is
that children say their parents are the number-one reason for not using drugs.

"They're giving us the answer," said Belmonte.