DRUG FORUM ON HEELS OF POT BUST

HAMPTON - Winnacunnet High School's planned drug forum in January
seems all the more appropriate following this past week's seizure of
400 pounds of marijuana that was headed for the Seacoast and southern
Maine.

"We see a lot of it in the area," said Hampton Police Chief William
Wrenn on Thursday. "It's not surprising the police recovered that
amount of marijuana and that it was headed to the Seacoast area."

Marijuana and heroin are the two most common drugs in the Seacoast,
according to Wrenn.

Seabrook has long been a focus of many drug discussions. Last year,
State Police Sgt. Ellen Arcieri of the Narcotics Investigation Unit
called Seabrook's heroin problem "epidemic."

This year, the drugs of choice have changed to cocaine, marijuana and
prescription drugs, according to Seabrook Police Chief David Currier.
It depends on whatever is readily available and cheap, he said.

To combat drug use and to give family members of an addict a support
network, the Seabrook Police Department organized a drug coalition
following a heroin forum held last February by former police chief
Bill Baker.

The coalition came down to a few core members, said retired Sgt. Mike
Frost, its organizer. When Winnacunnet High School administrators
began talking about forming their own group to address teenage
drinking and drug use, Seabrook joined the larger coalition.

The new Seacoast Safety Net of an estimated 20 to 30 members includes
the superintendent of SAU 21, principals from schools in the four
towns in the school district plus Winnacunnet, police chiefs from all
four towns, members of all of the boards of selectmen and the town
managers.

The larger coalition will aid Seabrook's efforts in combating the drug
problem, Chief Currier said on Thursday, not dilute it.

"Our children in Seabrook attend Winnacunnet High School," he said.
"The key to making an effective drug program is making it effective at
a young age."

Next year, Seabrook is looking to extend its fifth-grade DARE (Drugs
and Alcohol Resistance Education) program into the sixth and seventh
grades, Currier said.

"The idea is to work together trying to get to the root of the
problem," he said. "The middle school will carry over to the high school."

There are more resources in having the coalition become bigger,
Currier said. "Seabrook police cannot solve the drug problem by
themselves."

The Seacoast Safety Net has gotten numerous drug and alcohol experts
to attend the drug forum at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10, at the high
school. The forum will be taped for broadcast on local cable access
stations.

Joe Harding, director of alcohol policy in the state, will welcome
parents and the community. Speakers include a representative from the
Rockingham County attorney's office; members of Narcotics Anonymous;
Peter Swenson, director of the state Teen Institute; two students from
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD); and administrators from
the Salem school district, which has begun a Safe Home Program, a
network for parents.

All parents in the SAU 21 district will be reminded of the forum in
notices sent home with students both before and after the holiday break.

Seabrook is also initiating a support group which will be held on
Thursday evenings, possibly at the Seabrook Library, Sgt. Frost said.

Seabrook police are dedicating a full-time detective to drug
enforcement, if the money is approved by voters in March.

"At any time, we're the one place in Seabrook that's open 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," Frost said.

Currier was asked if all of this education actually helps an addict or
prevents someone from becoming addicted.

"A number of years ago, I had a selectman tell me, 'Show me how DARE
helps,'" Currier said. "You're never going to eliminate the drug
problem. .. When I first came on (the department), we made two to
three DWI arrests a night. With strict enforcement, people like MADD
(Mothers Against Drunk Driving), we limited the problem. You're never
going to eliminate it. If we reach one child, every bit of effort is
worthwhile. If the result of the coalition on the 10th is one family
comes away with an education ... one individual hooked on drugs asks
for help ... it's a success."

Staff writer Patrick Cronin contributed to this story.