OXYCONTIN, ALCOHOL MAY BE BIGGER WORRIES HERE

Both a therapist and a school counselor feel that marijuana and alcohol are
by far the drugs of choice in Marblehead, but they say heroin use does
exist here.

"Marblehead has its share of kids who do illicit drugs and alcohol. We have
good things in place to help them," said Marblehead High School adjustment
counselor Judy Luise.

When parents come to her with suspicions that their child may be abusing
drugs, she often refers them to an expert in the field.

"We make an intervention at times," said Luise. "That would mean working
with the family and getting them to the expert in substance abuse to
evaluate where [the child] is in the spectrum; early, moderate or severe
[abuse]."

The expert would make recommendations to the family "because nothing will
change until the child stops using [the drug]," said Luise.

Students are sometimes referred to Alcoholics Anonymous, or Narcotics
Anonymous, but it is difficult for the youngster when his or her friends
are all imbibing, said Luise.

She praised the many parents here who are alert to changes in their child's
behavior and who come to her when they believe their child may be in trouble.

"It is most important not to wait. Parents should not say it's a phase and
it will pass. They shouldn't be hysterical and overreact, but pay
attention. If you feel your child is in trouble, get an evaluation and rule
it out," she said.

Parents miss the signs for many reasons, she added. Children are "like
elastic bands" and can use drugs up to two years without detection.

Paul Crosby of the Marblehead Counseling Center has seen more use of the
cancer drug OxyContin than heroin lately. He has also seen cases where
youngsters purchase the drug Ritalin from those who have prescriptions for
it. While it slows down people with ADD or ADHD, it will have the opposite
effect on youngsters who do not have the condition, said Crosby.

Getting off addictive drugs is a three-step process, he said. First is
detoxification, getting off the physical addition, which can last up to
five days.

"That's the hardest time to go through," but other drugs may be
administered to ease the pain of withdrawal, he said.

The second step in shaking the substance abuse habit involves changing
one's behavior and changing the patterns around usage. A person who is
accustomed to an active nightlife may need to change.

"If you get them working again, they change their clock and who they
associate with," said Crosby.

Addicted persons may enter a halfway house, get partial hospitalization or
be placed on a methadone maintenance program, he said.

CAB Health and Recovery is a detoxification center with locations in
various North Shore communities. Patients may be sent there for a 21-day
program, or they may receive outpatient treatment. A person can sign
himself or herself into the detoxification center or be referred, said Crosby.

The third phase of recovery, after the physical and behavioral changes, is
to alter the attitude of the substance abuser. This typically involves
mending fences with family members as much as possible, said Crosby, or to
reconnect with AA, NA, or support groups that CAB may be running.

Just getting through one day at a time becomes the focus, he added.

"It works. It gets them from focusing on the negative to the positive,"
said Crosby.

The Marblehead Counseling Center gets involved after a person has gone
through the three steps outlined above. MCC helps them "keep sober and
clean," helps with marriage counseling and assists the partner in making
changes.

If a partner is used to doing all the jobs around the house, including the
finances, "they'll want to hold on to it as part of their security. They
have to slowly let go and share," he said.

While it takes time to develop an addiction to alcohol, OxyContin addiction
takes a short time, said Crosby.

Like Luise, Crosby is troubled that youngsters' use of alcohol is not
viewed as severely by parents as it should be.

"There is an air of acceptance, especially around alcohol use by teens.
They sense this is a rite of passage. They feel 'we did it,' so it's OK for
kids to experiment," said Crosby, adding that parents are not so worried if
their children don't drive when they drink.

To avoid risky behavior, Crosby recommends building resilience through four
components: schools, churches and synagogues, family, and community
involvement.

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FORUMS

Two upcoming forums will address substance abuse and related problems.

On Feb. 1, Harvard University psychiatrist Richard Kadison will talk about
the stresses of adolescence at the Marblehead High School theater from 7
p.m. until 8:30 p.m., with students and parents invited.

On March 1-3, the Marblehead Veterans Middle School and MHS will run
workshops on substance abuse with consultant Michael Nerney.

Watch the Reporter for further details.