Pubdate: Thu, 24 Mar 2005
Source: Sentinel And Enterprise, The (MA)
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Mid-States Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://sentinelandenterprise.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2498
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

ADDICTION HURTS ALL OF US

There's nothing pretty or glamorous about drug addiction. If you don't 
believe that, we urge you to take the time to read today's installment of 
"Decades of Addiction-Drugs in North Central Mass."

The fifth part of our special 10-part installment focuses on A Day in the 
Life of the drug problem in North Central Massachusetts. It includes the 
story of Scott, a Leominster man who told us he starts every day by 
shooting heroin.

Scott, 42, who agreed to speak to the Sentinel & Enterprise if his name 
wasn't revealed, has used heroin on and off for 14 years. "The van is a 
good thing to get high in," he said, locking the doors, shortly before he 
shot up. "I can't believe this ... this is what I do every day, just like 
you guys brushing your teeth."

Scott described in detail how once he became addicted to heroin, he has 
been unable to stop for good.

"It's really kind of a sad existence, it really is," he said. "I regret it. 
I got reeled right into a full-blown junkie, and I knew nothing about it. I 
knew nothing about sick or having to get that rush again." Scott is just 
one of the many heroin and cocaine addicts who call North Central 
Massachusetts their home, often stealing, selling their bodies or borrowing 
from friends to pay for their fix.

And while people like Scott illustrate how dangerous and addictive heroin 
is, Polly Blodgett, a resident of Leyte Road in Fitchburg, has to live with 
the violence and lawlessness that illegal drug use and trafficking brings 
with it. It's not uncommon for Blodgett to hear "screaming and hollering" 
or even gunshots right outside her front door at the Green Acres housing 
complex in Fitchburg. "The scariest thing I've heard is gunshots. You can't 
go out in the front yard or back yard without wondering who'll get shot 
next," Blodgett told the Sentinel & Enterprise at her home in December. 
"You just hope you're not in the crossfire."

And this installment shows how drugs can hurt people in good neighborhoods 
too. Highland Avenue resident Catherine Aldrich experienced a scare last 
summer when a 50-person melee broke out in front of her house. "We were 
watching a movie, and I heard a sound come up, I thought it was the 
surround sound," Aldrich told the Sentinel & Enterprise at her home in 
January. "I went to the window, and I heard yelling. People were pushing 
and shoving, and then there was a gunshot. Then everyone scattered." 
Aldrich, who moved with her family from North Andover to her new home near 
Fitchburg State College, said she's was surprised by the amount of drug 
crime in the community.

"I knew it was going to be a city, but I was so naive about it. I never 
heard anything about Fitchburg. I wasn't aware how much crime there is 
around here, and it's such a small city," she said.

We hope that as we give people an in-depth look at just how serious the 
problem is, officials and residents will join together to commit to winning 
the war on drugs.
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MAP posted-by: Beth