Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jan 2001
Source: Rutland Herald (VT)
Copyright: 2001 Rutland Herald
Contact:  P.O. Box 668, Rutland VT 05702-0668
Fax: (802) 775-2423
Feedback: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/Opinion/Letters/
Website: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/

NOW IS THE TIME

It is time for Vermont lawmakers to take the initiative in pushing for a 
comprehensive anti-drug program that will respond constructively to the 
increased use of dangerous drugs in Vermont.

Major drug busts in the Rutland area, as well as a rise in crimes related 
to drug addiction, have pointed to the heroin problem in the region. City 
leaders have taken needed steps to bolster efforts by city police to 
address the problem, and Mayor John Cassarino has offered a tax proposal 
that would provide necessary funding in the future.

Statewide, the use of heroin has probably doubled in the past three years. 
The number of Vermonters seeking treatment rose from 164 to 344 in that 
time. That number doesn't take into account the users who don't seek treatment.

The Vermont State Police have made a compelling case for boosting manpower, 
which has eroded substantially in the past eight years. And Gov. Howard 
Dean has made the fight against heroin one of his priorities.

But so far Dean has not come up with resources for a long-term attack on 
the problem. The Legislature ought to use this moment to take Dean's 
initiative further.

Dean is well known for his punitive attitude toward drugs and for his lack 
of faith in the efficacy of treatment for drug users. But aggressive 
treatment, combined with aggressive law enforcement, has not been tried. 
And at this late date in the war on drugs, we ought to realize that law 
enforcement alone has not done the job.

Law enforcement agencies at the local and state levels can use a boost in 
resources and manpower. But so can agencies that treat addictions. 
Effective treatment is labor-intensive and could be made available to 
people both inside and outside of the state's corrections system.

Mental health workers know that drug addiction is not an easy affliction to 
cure. Addicts sometimes want no part of treatment. But the state could 
establish institutions that would respond more effectively to people who 
need help. Drug courts could establish a regimen of treatment that would 
expose people in state custody to the kind of help they may never have seen 
before.

Dean has promised to move quickly to set up clinics for drug treatment, 
following passage last year of legislation allowing for methadone 
treatment. But as Dean has often said, methadone alone will not solve the 
problem. Methadone needs to be part of a larger program of treatment.

As of last week, only two hospitals in Vermont had expressed firm interest 
in establishing methadone clinics. Rutland Regional Medical Center is 
waiting to determine what resources will be available and what kind of 
program the regulations will establish. Health care facilities such as RRMC 
need to be given the support and the resources to do the job.

Vermont is a small enough state that it could pioneer methods for treating 
drug problems that go beyond the obvious first step of locking people up. 
It would be in the state's interest to do so both to prevent the kind of 
crime and dereliction that is a drain on any community and to rescue 
Vermonters who succumb to the deathly appeal of drugs.

A package that included both law enforcement and treatment measures might 
draw bipartisan support. Vermonters are not helpless before the scourge of 
drug addiction if they have the will to act.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom