A LONG WAY TO GO

For a growing number of local mental health and substance abuse
professionals, elected officials and those familiar with how powerful
crack's grip can be, it's no mystery. What Guilford County needs to
combat the devastation of crack cocaine, the crushing cycle of
addiction, violence and crime, has long been identified -- long-term
drug treatment.

Perhaps the most critical question to emerge from consultant Jim Van
Hecke's report, then, is why aren't programs of the county's Alcohol
and Drug Services agency meeting more of that need? The report,
commissioned by the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition, states
that ADS typically houses addicts in its drug-treatment program for
less than a week, the News & Record reported Saturday. And only about
half of the program's 55 beds are occupied. ADS is contracted to
provide substance abuse services through Guilford Center, the
county's mental health agency.

Van Hecke's assessment of the ADS drug-treatment program suggests it
is a woefully inadequate response to a crack epidemic that costs
Guilford County tens of millions of dollars each year. In addition to
high costs for local law enforcement, there are vast human costs --
shattered families, the spread of syphilis and HIV, and lives cut
short by senseless killings among them.

That's the grim and frightening reality of the scourge of crack in
the county -- documented in a 2004 News & Record series. And
apparently it isn't getting any better. In the series, Stan Swofford
reported that crack is linked to at least 70 percent of homicides in
Greensboro and High Point, and most robberies, aggravated assaults
and larcenies. Recently released 2005 statistics show that homicides
in Greensboro more than doubled from 2004. It's fair to note the 2004
rate of 15 homicides was the lowest since 1985, but aggravated
assaults, burglaries and total offenses also rose in 2005.

Also, in his report, Van Hecke says the cost of substance abuse in
North Carolina has soared from about $3 billion a year in 1994 to $10
billion a year. Those costs are likely to climb as methamphetamine,
which now has a foothold in western North Carolina, moves closer to
Guilford County.

The Guilford coalition will present its own report on local substance
abuse services, including some of Van Hecke's findings, to county
commissioners Jan. 19. With an unlikely pair of commissioners -- Skip
Alston and Linda Shaw -- in agreement about the need for long-term
drug treatment, it should get careful consideration.

Certainly, the question of how to pay for such long-term care will
again be raised. Van Hecke's idea to establish a treatment facility
on land that's now part of the county prison farm could well be part
of the solution. Such a facility could house a residential program
similar to Durham's TROSA, or Triangle Residential Options for
Substance Abusers, which raises much of its $6 million annual
operating budget through residents' employment in TROSA-owned businesses.

Though many more questions must be answered, it is already clear that
the costs of addiction in Guilford County, particularly crack
addiction, are far too high to continue with business as usual.