OPIATES IN OUR TOWNS: SHERIFF'S DRUG-ABUSE FORUM DRAWS
CAPACITY CROWD

NORTH ANDOVER - More than 500 people packed a gymnasium at Merrimack
College yesterday, trying to make sense of the area's OxyContin and heroin
epidemic. The turnout was overwhelming and some people had to be turned
away at the door. "It really shows that people realize the problem we
have," said Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, "and it
really shows a community response to the problem."

The event, the first of its kind to address the widespread abuse of
OxyContin and heroin among young people, was organized by Blodgett and
Sheriff Frank Cousins. Both men said they were pleased the room was filled
with people from many backgrounds - parents, teachers, mayors, probation
officers and doctors - not just police.

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey came, promising more state money for the treatment of
addicts. She also announced the state Department of Public Health will soon
require hospitals to give daily reports of overdose incidents.

The numbers should help everyone get a more accurate and timely picture of
the problem. Yesterday's speakers included the head of a hospital emergency
room, an attorney, a minister, a police officer and the father of a child
who died from a heroin overdose.

No one claimed to have the answer, but after listening to speakers discuss
the toll the drugs are taking on Essex County, participants said they were
committed to working together.

One parent drawn to the conference was Charles Rosa, who lost two sons to
heroin overdoses - 20-year-old Vincent, who died in October 2003, and
23-year-old Domenic, who died last November. The West Peabody father
carries laminated pictures of both sons inside a tattered plastic bag in
his pocket. Rosa still has four children, he said, including twin
8-year-old boys. When he asked them what they wanted for Christmas this
year, one said, "I want my brothers back."

"I can't bury another kid," Rosa said. Rosa was not certain what he would
get out of the event, but he hoped he would meet someone who would give him
an opportunity to make a difference in the region's fight against cheap,
potent and prevalent heroin. During the past few years, it has become clear
to law enforcement and medical professionals young people are becoming
hooked on opiate-based prescription drugs such as OxyContin, and then
moving on to heroin, which at less than $10 a bag is cheaper, more readily
available and so pure it can be sniffed. Last year, there were nearly 5,000
admissions to Essex County treatment facilities for heroin and other opiate
abuse, said Dr. Stephen Valle, president of AdCare Criminal Justice
Services. At least 8 percent were between 18 and 20. During the panel
discussion, Valle talked about the need for more money to treat addicts.

He noted that even before the budget cuts began in 2002, state treatment
centers were underfunded and beds were at a premium. "We must recognize
that the base we are trying to get back to was the base that was inadequate
five years ago," Valle said. "What we need to do is start treating
(addiction) as a disease.

No other disease in America will you get so many blocks and challenges to
getting care as you will an addiction problem." Overwhelmingly, the most
common theme of the day was the value of education. There appeared to be
agreement that schools aren't doing enough to warn students about the
dangers of drug use.

"We eliminated DARE in our schools because somebody decided it was too
expensive or ineffective," said Patrolman Larry Wentzell, the student
resource officer in Lynn. "But what do we replace it with? Nothing?"
Patrick Larkin, the Peabody High principal, said the school began a program
last summer to get athletes to talk about the drug problem.

Unfortunately, he said, little has been done to get non-athletes involved.
"We will go to any measure to keep kids safe," he said. "We are open to any
suggestions."

While the crippling effect of opiates is sad and overwhelming, the speakers
said it was important to have hope. People have survived addiction and
lived to tell how.

There may be problems with money and getting access to treatment beds, said
Paula Perlmutter, of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at
Children's Hospital in Boston, "but what we do have is people - neighbors
and friends who have faced this problem and overcome it. "Often we
complicate things, but it comes down to one human being helping another
human being."