SOUTH SHORE TOWNS AWAKEN TO DEADLY DRUG PROBLEM IN THEIR MIDST

Suburban life is not what it used to be. Although real estate agents in
Massachusetts tout the benefits of life away from the dangers of the urban
environment, the small towns tucked away far from the mean streets of
Boston increasingly are finding that there is nowhere to hide when it comes
to crime and the drug culture.

Statistics from the State Police for 2002-2003 on violent crime and
property crime showed that of 36 towns in southeastern Massachusetts
reporting for a full 12-month period, only eight reported a decline in both
categories and 17 a decline in one category.

Some towns, such as Canton and Sharon, had whopping jumps in violent crime
(115 percent and 129 percent, respectively), while Scituate and Kingston
led the way in property crime increases, 29 percent and 25 percent,
respectively.

Many South Shore towns in the crime study took another hit as this
newspaper documented enormous increases in residents entering drug
treatment centers for heroin overdoses or addiction.

It is now undeniable that the urban drug culture has smashed its way into
the heart of these suburban communities. Heroin use has reached epidemic
proportions as teens, in particular, are switching from the high they get
with Oxycontin to the cheaper alternative, heroin. Heroin used to be
associated with big-city junkies living in dingy apartments, using dirty
needles and engaging in a range of petty crimes to feed their habit. Sadly,
heroin now is popular among a growing number of young people because it is
cheap, accessible and provides the desired high. Police, school officials
and parents are in full-crisis mode as they seek to stem the tide of heroin
use and the incidence of crime and anti-social behavior that accompanies
addiction. The explosion of Oxycontin and heroin use in suburbia has come
after years of drug programs.

From DARE, with its emphasis on police lecturing in classrooms, to health
education courses in schools to a growing number of state and private
initiatives on prevention and rehabilitation, young people have been
bombarded with information that drugs only bring misery and addiction is a
dead end street. Why have all these programs and all this effort led to an
explosion of new and more dangerous drug use? There are no easy answers.

Some point to parental neglect as a critical factor; others blame our
popular culture with its accent on having a good time and feeling good;
still others look to a breakdown in values and believe our society begins
to look like Rome before the fall. I have my own answer.

We live in a society where young people are surrounded by legal drugs.

Cigarettes, with their cancerous agents, are sold over the counter; beer
commercials are the heart and soul of sporting events; and pill popping by
everyone has become a national pastime.

Young people need only look at television, the movies, or mom and dad to
see that just about everyone is seeking ways to feel better, to adjust
their mood or just plain relax. Sure, there are restrictions on cigarettes,
alcohol and prescription drugs, but that does little to quiet the interest
of impressionable young people in finding their own route to an artificial
high. Throw in a good dose of peer pressure and the result is numbingly
high numbers of drug users and drug addicts. So what to do? The only way to
combat the drug culture gripping the region is constant vigilance.

Cigarettes, beer and prescription drugs, the real gateways to more serious
drug use, are not going to disappear, but constant vigilance by parents of
their teens remains the most effective way to respond to this latest wave
of drug use on the South Shore. This answer sounds like a repetition of the
old sermon that parents need to keep better track of their kids, which is
easier said than done. Yet, there are still far too many parents who have
little clue or little interest in finding out what their teenager is doing
away from home. There are still too many parents whose own behavior is a
factor in their child's drug use. And there are still too many parents who
are fearful of talking tough to their kids or engaging in some
old-fashioned household discipline.

The leafy suburbs on the South Shore have much to offer families seeking a
good life. But suburban life does not protect people from rising crime or
from the devastating impact of drug use. Whether it is the big city or the
small town, constant vigilance against the threats to family and home is
essential.