Heroin Concerns Voiced

OPTIONS FACING ADDICTS ARE FEW

LONACONING -- They're lining up single-file, cash in hand, to buy heroin
from dealers on the streets of Baltimore, and some of those buyers are
selling their deadly purchases in Allegany County.

"In Baltimore there are bars on the windows and doors. They'll steal
anything to sell for heroin. Lock your cars and take the keys, nothing's
safe," Maryland State Police Detective 1st Sgt. Steve Vincent told a group
of Georges Creek residents at Westmar High School recently.

"The average heroin addict here is spending between $200 and $400 a day on
his habit. They have to have it every four to six hours or they get sick,"
he continued. "It's like the worst flu you ever had. They're more afraid of
getting sick than of going to jail."

But Vincent tells addicts and young people who may be considering heroin
use that the drug leaves them few options.

"Once hooked, they've got two choices, jail or death," he said.

Vincent, MSP's western region supervisor of narcotics enforcement, joined
representatives from the Allegany County Health Department, county schools,
and members of the local faith community to discuss the growing problem of
drug use in Western Maryland.

A rash of heroin-related arrests and at least two deaths attributed to
overdoses of heroin have been reported by the Cumberland Times-News since
January.

"First use of heroin by 12- to 17-year-olds more than doubled between the
1980s and 1995, and we're seeing a shift in use from older to younger
people over the past 10 years," said Jim Brenneman with the health
department's Outpatient Addictions Program.

"Ten years ago, 95 percent of the heroin was injected, but young people
don't like to inject," he explained. "But the purity of heroin is
increasing, and now the drug can be snorted.

"Adolescents progress through the addiction process in a much shorter time
than adults, and we believe that's because their bodies are not finished
developing," he said.

A Drug Education Guide that Brenneman distributed to the crowd says
physical symptoms of the heroin addict may include euphoria, drowsiness,
insensitivity to pain, nausea, vomiting, watery eyes and runny nose. Look
for needle marks on arms; pinpoint pupils; cold, moist skin; and the
presence of needles, syringes or spoons.

"We're fighting a war for our kids," said Cheryl Maistros, director of
Cumberland Street Ministries, and a former police officer in Baltimore City.

"Sometimes we think we're safe out here in the mountains and we're not
going to have to deal with this, but we can't bury our heads in the sand.
This is now a situation we have to deal with," she said.

Maistros added that it's discouraging to see that many area churches have
not risen to the occasion to reach out to addicts and young people who may
be predisposed to get involved with drugs.

"The churches need to learn how to embrace these kids," she said. "You
can't lock this problem up and throw the key away."

Eric Rosenberger, a former drug addict, shared his story with the group and
gave the Christian Teen Challenge program credit for turning his life
around. Now Rosenberger plans to open a branch of Teen Challenge to serve
the Hagerstown, Cumberland and Morgantown areas.

"The whole name of the game is early intervention," said Lorelee Farrell,
assistant supervisor of health and family life for the Allegany County
Board of Education.

"Heroin has the capacity to change the face of this community," she said.
"But because we're a small community, we also have an opportunity to stop it."

The meeting was arranged by the Rev. Richard Mortimore of the First United
Methodist Church in Lonaconing.

"The idea grew out of a meeting of the Georges Creek Methodist pastors
during a discussion on drug awareness," he said.

Brenneman noted that a group of citizens from Carroll County will discuss
how their community is dealing with similar drug issues during a public
meeting at 7 p.m. on April 30 at Allegany College of Maryland.

For more information or to seek help with a drug addiction problem, call
the health department at (301) 777-5680.