'DESPERATE NEED' FOR DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS

Waiting Lists As High As 130

BELLEVUE--Mac McArthur has seen just about every type of drug addiction in
his 15 years as executive director of Transitions Inc. The Bellevue-based
substance abuse treatment facility for men helps clients battling powdered
cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, marijuana and assorted
prescription drugs.

But the common denominator connecting most of those men, said McArthur, is
a chemical dependency on alcohol. Although legal and not usually associated
with drug rehab centers, alcohol remains a very powerful drug affecting
more people than all illegal drugs combined.

"Alcohol is the worst one. Alcohol never gets any press or publicity, but
it kills four times as many people each year as hard drugs," he said.

McArthur says Northern Kentucky's drug situation has remained fairly
constant for years. The region's most prevalent drugs, he added, are
marijuana, OxyContin, heroin and cocaine.

To combat those addictions, Transitions clients undergo treatment programs
(30 or 90 days) incorporating detoxification, assessments, education, and
support groups.

Self-sufficiency and independent living are Transitions' ultimate goals for
clients. The need for more treatment programs remains high, said McArthur.
Transitions has a current waiting list of more than 130.

Ken Easterling, chief prosecutor with the Kenton County Attorney's Office,
agrees more treatment opportunities are needed.

Money And Drugs

"We are in desperate need for treatment programs in this community," he
said. "It all boils down to money. It's not a popular thing to throw money
at people who are addicted to drugs."

Detoxification and treatment are the first steps, but after-care is also
crucial, said McArthur. Most recovering addicts require multiple treatments
before they are clean and sober.

While drugs have often been labeled as something to which people can "Just
Say No," there's growing perception of addiction as a treatable disease.
But more education is needed, said McArthur.

"People don't understand that it's a disease of brain chemistry," he said.
"For people who are predisposed to addiction, their brain chemistry gets
altered."

Amy Weber, director of NorthKey Community Care's regional substance abuse
prevention program, says treatment is one of the three areas of fighting
substance abuse, the others being prevention and law enforcement.

"It's kind of a revolving door if they're not getting treatment services or
they're not being prevented in the first place," she said. "So it has to
happen in all three places."

OxyContin Changed The Market

As NKY's population grows, so too does the amount of drugs and the numbers
of drug users and drug pushers. In 2000, OxyContin hit the market, an
innovative--and highly addictive--prescription painkiller drug with a
time-release component that distributed its pain-relieving effects
throughout a 24-hour cycle.

Drug abusers, though, soon discovered that crushing the pill before
ingestion provides an immediate high. Illegal use became rampant.

"In terms of painkillers, that drug changed the nature of narcotics in this
country," said Weber.

A new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found
that the number of Americans abusing prescription drugs nearly doubled in
little more than a decade n 7.8 million in 1992 to 15.1 million in 2003.

"I'm not surprised by that," Weber said.

Neither is Mark Toennis, co-owner and executive director for Commonwealth
Abuse Specialists. The private practice offers outpatient substance abuse
education and treatment in four clinics across NKY.

Toennis said his offices encounter a variety of addictions. Though most of
his clients are court-referred for DUI offenses, prescription drugs are
clearly on the rise, he said.

"There doesn't seem to be any one drug that stays on top," he said. "There
seems to be either access to or popularity to certain chemicals at certain
periods of time."

Treatment specialists agree n drug addiction is an equal opportunity
disease. Black and white. Rich and poor. Rural, suburban and inner city.

"There's no demographic type limitation," said Toennis.

There are slight differences when treating different types of drug
addictions, depending on the individual, said McArthur.

"But addiction is pretty much addiction," he added. "The approaches have a
lot in common. Depending on the drug, there are things that you emphasize.
But no, there isn't a radical difference in treatment."

Majority Stay Clean After A Year

The latest numbers released by the state show that 63 percent of former
drug addicts stay clean and sober after a year following treatment, said
McArthur. He's encouraged by those statistics, compiled by the University
of Kentucky's Kentucky Treatment Outcome Study.

"People have this idea that you can just go somewhere and get cured, and
it's just not true," said McArthur. "It's like any other healing and
maturation process. It takes a little time."

Drugs are tearing the country apart and more needs to be done to curb this
growing problem, he said.

"It's a crying shame that when people want to get into treatment, there is
no place for them to do so," he said. "And as bad as the drug problem is,
it looks like we would be doing more about it."