THE HORRORS OF INADEQUATE TREATMENT

I read with great sadness the front page article, The Horror of Heroin.
Working in the addiction treatment field, I am fully aware of this
"horrific epidemic" and yet I have seen little change in access to free or
affordable treatment, particularly for teens and young adults. Last year
treatment dollars from the Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance
Abuse Services (BSAS) budget were actually cut. A small percentage was
recently restored.

Even when services have been more fully funded, there has been limited
money allocated to adolescent addiction programs. The very nature of heroin
addiction and poly-substance abuse, so common among our teens and young
adults, is that the onset of addiction is so much quicker than with
alcohol, marijuana and even cocaine. Access to early treatment is
essential. And it is not there. It is barely there for those blessed to
have "good insurance" policies. When my own daughter came to us several
years ago and told us about her substance abuse, the best we could find for
her using our insurance was a group counseling program that terminated
after three weeks for lack of "billable" hours. Good treatment services are
available, but most are unaffordable for most of us.

Enforcement and interdiction are important, as is education. But all the
billions of dollars spent on these over the past 20 years have not
appreciably reduced drug use, particularly among teens and young adults.
Schools, in particular, have little or limited ability to really address
the issue. Suspending a kid for drug use basically gives him more time to
seek out drugs and use. Jails and juvenile lock-ups throw your child in
with more hardened drug users. What we really need to do is put our money
and our efforts into increasing access to counseling, support and treatment
services in our schools and communities. We need to get creative and
"sentence" more first time illegal drug offenders to meaningful and
mandatory community service and to educate their parents. If a teen, or
their parent or teacher, begins to recognize he/she has a problem with
drugs or alcohol, there needs to quick, free or affordable access to
counseling and treatment. We need to let our governor and our legislators
know we see this as a priority.

Bob Ferris

Blaisdell Terrace