Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 Source: Rutland Herald (VT) Copyright: 2001 Rutland Herald Contact: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/892 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) COMBATING HEROIN The increasing use of heroin in Vermont has spawned a growing demand for expanded drug addiction treatment programs for both youths and adults in Vermont. It is noteworthy that one of the loudest voices promoting treatment for addicts is the voice of law enforcement. Rutland Police Chief Anthony Bossi and other chiefs from Rutland County have sounded the warning that the police alone are not capable of curbing the burgeoning use of heroin. The police are on the front lines of the battle against drugs; they are familiar with the people and the terrible pathology that keeps them in its grip. They understand the futility of a purely punitive response to the pull of drugs. They have watched people cycle in and out of prison, and they are forced to follow the trail of crimes people commit in order to feed their habit. The figures are inexact but shocking. Between 1998 and 2000 the number of arrests by the state drug task force for heroin possession or sale more than doubled - from 49 to 116. Those figures don't include arrests by other police departments. The number of Vermonters seeking treatment has also taken off. In 2000 the number was 357. During the first six months of the new fiscal year - from July to December 2000 - the number was 329. Those figures don't include Vermonters in private care or out of state. Six years ago the Health Department estimated that 2,000 Vermonters used heroin or another opiate. The doubling of arrests and treatment in the past year would suggest the number of addicts may be 4,000 or higher. The increase is due in part to the low price and ready availability of heroin. Law enforcement officials say trafficking in Vermont is not principally the work of large organized rings. Rather, it is often the work of addicts from Springfield, Mass., or other cities who are able to buy a small amount at a low price, bring it to Vermont, and sell it at five times the price they paid. And even after the price is quintupled, it remains inexpensive for Vermont addicts. Addicts who come into police custody often acknowledge their helplessness and express the wish for some kind of treatment that will help them get free of their addiction. One mother at a hearing held in Rutland by Sen. Patrick Leahy described how her son, a heroin addict who was in prison, was afraid to be released from prison because there were no treatment alternatives available to him. The plan being pushed by law enforcement officials and others calls for the creation of a drug court, with a pilot program in Rutland. Defendants with a drug problem would enter treatment as an alternative to prison. But in order to make the program work, the state and region would have to develop the necessary treatment programs. The state Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse relies in part on federal grants that are expected to dry up. It will be up to policymakers and legislators to take full responsibility for making drug treatment a priority in future budgets. The state is playing catch-up on the issue of drug treatment. Now drugs have caught up with us. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk