PLAN OFFERED TO DEAL WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE

With substance abuse reaching epidemic proportions in Massachusetts, Lt.
Gov. Kerry Healey has unveiled a plan that funds additional treatment
services, targets methamphetamine sales and calls for assistance to school
districts that test students for drugs.

Massachusetts is among the top 5 percent of states with the highest drug
and alcohol abuse rates. The Bay State ranks number one for Oxycontin and
heroin use. In 1996, there were 200 opiate-related fatal overdoses, a
number that jumped to 449 statewide in 2003. And among teens admitted for
substance abuse treatment, they were experimenting with the drug at an
average age of 13.

Healey and other public health officials said there is no single reason
behind those unwanted rankings, but said a persistent denial of the problem
likely fuels its prevalence.

Healey shared the administration's plan with members of the Legislature's
new Committee on Mental Health and Substance abuse Monday morning.

"One thing that came out of my discussion with committee members that
occurred earlier this morning is the urgency of this problem," she said.
"We cannot afford to wait any longer to take action on these items."

The administration's 93-page strategic plan focuses on identifying,
treating and preventing drug use in schools, something which Healey and a
bipartisan group of lawmakers joining with her said has been overlooked.
The plan calls for the state to assist communities with the implementation
of drug testing on high school students and establishes two "sobriety high
schools" in Boston and Springfield, where students recovering from drug
addiction can continue their rehab while finishing their education.

States such as Minnesota have run sobriety high schools for more than a
decade, said Sen. Steven Tolman, D-Brighton, co-chairman of the committee.
Tolman, who two weeks ago demanded that the administration set a date for
releasing its long-awaited plan, joined with Healey to support the
proposal. He commended the administration for including in the plan the
establishment of sobriety high schools.

"Anybody who wants to pretend that we don't have a problem in every one of
our communities with Oxycontin and heroin belongs on Mars," Tolman said.
"It is outrageous. Most of the children that are coming out of detox, we're
finding, when they're put back in their environment, are failing."

According to Healey, 90 percent of students who attend a sobriety school
after rehab graduate. Ninety-percent of those who come out of treatment
programs and go back to their old schools fail, she said.

The strategic plan is predicated on legislative approval of $9.1 million
included in a supplemental budget filed by the administration earlier this
year. Healey said the money would help 6,000 to 8,000 more drug users in
need of rehab services, and attract $14.5 million in federal matching
funds. Tolman said he expects lawmakers to approve the funds within the
next two to three weeks. The state spends more than $250 million a year on
substance abuse treatment programs, with prevention accounting for just 11
percent of those funds. But the state's existing system of prevention and
treatment is haphazard, Healey said, spread across 13 state agencies that
don't communicate with each other.

More than 82,000 Massachusetts residents received drug abuse treatment
services last year. It's estimated another 40,000 sought treatment but were
denied because of a lack of resources, according to a recent Brandeis
University study. Salem Schools Superintendent Herbert Levine attended the
press conference and lauded the administration's proposals, adding that
Salem is close to implementing its own drug-testing program. Levine's
20-year-old son Joel is a recovering Oxycontin addict, who told his father
he would have never tried the drug if the schools he attended had randomly
tested students.

"I don't think that student drug-testing is necessarily the answer to all
the problems," Levine said. "We know that that's not the case. But it's an
answer. It's another arrow in the quiver for us in education to be able to
help parents. "

As part of the plan, Gov. Mitt Romney also filed legislation that gives
prosecutors new tools to crack down on methamphetamine. The bill contains a
list of chemicals that can be used to manufacture meth, as it is known, and
possession of any one, or combination of, these chemicals with intent to
manufacture or distribute will constitute a felony offense punishable up to
five years in prison and up to $20,000 in fines.

"I think all of you probably know the devastation that methamphetamine has
been causing in other parts of the country," Healey said. "It has been
marching toward us from the West Coast. It's currently devastating the
Midwest. We can see that it will soon reach our borders."

The plan also includes the creation of an Interagency Council on Substance
Abuse and Prevention to coordinate the state's anti-drug efforts. Healey,
who will chair the council, said members will convene before the end of the
month. Other provisions of the plan include:

Implementation of a overdose tracking system in the state's hospitals to
determine how many people are in need of services;

Expanded detox, step-down, transitional, and residential treatment programs;

- - A statewide education campaign to educate the public on the risks of
Oxycontin and other such drugs;

Counseling programs in emergency rooms, community health centers, and other
state agencies;

Expanded treatment services for incarcerated individuals.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporations of Massachusetts, Inc.
(MHSACM), a statewide organization of more than 100 mental health and
substance abuse service providers, applauded the strategic plan.

"Now the challenge will be to quickly and safely implement the service and
capacity enhancement recommendations so that families waiting for services
get their loved ones into treatment as soon as possible," said Elizabeth
Funk, President & CEO of MHSACM.