Pubdate: Sun, 08 Jan 2006 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Section: Northwest Regional Edition, Front Page Copyright: 2006 Globe Newspaper Company Contact: http://www.boston.com/globe/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52 Author: Joyce Pellino Crane, Globe Correspondent Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) GROUP COMBATS DRUG USE Abuse Panel Gains Residents' Support It wasn't the discovery of a methamphetamine drug lab in town or any troubling drug statistics that set Phillip French on a mission to stem substance abuse. Instead, it was a personal epiphany of sorts that coincided with his 2004 election to Tewksbury's Board of Health. French, the father of four grown children, had never served on a town board before. But after being elevated to chairman in April, French said, he realized he could bring some health issues to the forefront. So, teaming with Board of Health member Christine Kinnon, French put out a call in June for residents to join the town's substance abuse committee and assembled a board of directors made up of key community leaders, including Wynn Middle School assistant principal John Donoghue. Though it has taken nearly six months, the group -- called Tewksbury Community Activists for Resources, Education, and Services -- is finding direction and now has about 20 committee members and seven board members, he said. "There's a lot of people willing to do things when they know the cause is right," said French. The committee's progress demonstrates how an ordinary citizen can make an impact in a town. And aided by the expertise of the Lawrence-based Northeast Center for Healthy Communities, the Tewksbury committee can provide lessons on how a town can organize coalitions to build awareness of substance abuse. Tami Gouveia-Vigeant, a social worker at the center, said she has counseled in Lawrence, Andover, and Medford on substance abuse. However, she said, her three years with the Tewksbury program, which originated at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, represent her first ground-floor experience. "What's great about working with Tewksbury," she said, "is we forged a relationship with Phil French and the Substance Abuse Committee right when they were forming. We were able to offer our services right when they were starting, and they were really receptive to working with us." "Communities don't need to reinvent the wheel as they think of this," said Michael Botticelli, assistant commissioner for substance abuse services at the state Department of Public Health. Organizations like the Northeast center "can provide a template and framework so communities aren't floundering and wasting time. . . . We know what makes effective coalitions." Among the people expressing support for the Tewksbury group is Deacon Bill Emerson, a former School Committee member and current chaplain for the Middlesex sheriff's office. Emerson had chaired a Tewksbury-based substance abuse awareness group during the administration of Governor Michael S. Dukakis. As a former director of religious education at Saint Williams Catholic Church, Emerson has seen, firsthand, the effects of drugs and alcohol on young adults. Emerson said he is worried about the proliferation of cheap heroin and the prescription pain reliever OxyContin in suburban communities. The initial euphoria induced by these opiates eventually yields to a relentless gnawing as addiction grabs hold. The users, he said, fool themselves into thinking they can ingest such drugs without consequence. "I see that most kids using [OxyContin] don't see the fact that it's as addictive as it really is," said Emerson. "They think they can do it and stop. I think the education can really help. There needs to be a more concerted effort to educate kids about drugs." Tewksbury's admissions to state-funded drug-treatment programs were lower than the overall state rate, according to statistics from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. But Emerson said his work with young adults has convinced him that the drug problem in town is not to be taken lightly. "I obviously think something has to be done," he said. "I think we do have a drug problem, and it's growing every day." According to Gouveia-Vigeant, substance-abuse rates do not vary much from one community to the next. "What we generally see," she said, "is that the rates in Tewksbury are comparable to the rates in Andover, which are comparable to the rates in Lowell, which are comparable to the rates in Lawrence." Misuse of OxyContin, for example, "is prevalent with young adults" in Tewksbury, said French. "The 19- to 30-year-olds seem to have a strong appetite for this. We've had a number of incidents in town that shows this OxyContin problem is there." Though French and Kinnon are willing to lead the new coalition, they admitted to floundering initially. French said the sluggish start generated criticism among some committee members, who were facing substance-abuse problems in their families and wanted quick relief. The criticism stung, said French, but did not deter him. A newspaper announcement seeking committee members caught the attention of Gouveia-Vigeant, who called to offer her services. Her group, one of six state-funded centers that support community-based substance abuse coalitions, works with local organizations to improve a community's health by building coalitions, collecting and analyzing community health data, and developing and implementing health programs. It serves more than 50 municipalities, including Andover, Billerica, Chelmsford, Lawrence, Lowell, Medford, Methuen, North Andover, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Tyngsborough, and Westford. From Gouveia-Vigeant, French learned of funding sources that could boost the Tewksbury coalition's information and educational resources. French's group is in the running for a $10,000 privately funded grant that would cover the cost of surveying residents about drug use, conducting focus groups, and interviewing community leaders and residents. French said he expects a decision by next week. Even more significant, said Gouveia-Vigeant, is a $100,000 federal grant to be decided next September. The money would allow the group to hire a coordinator who would act as a spokesman and publicly address students and community groups about the pitfalls of substance abuse, she said. The Northeast center teaches that substance abuse does not typically start with hard drugs but with more entry-level substances. "You can't look at heroin, OxyContin, and methamphetamine in a bubble," Gouviea-Vigeant said. "There are other common substances that are contributing factors, and those substances are tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana." Police in the northwest suburbs also are voicing concerns about the discovery over a six-month period of three makeshift drug laboratories that were producing methamphetamine -- a concoction of cold medicine such as Sudafed and other household items to form a crystallized powder that stimulates the nervous system. One lab was discovered in October at Tewksbury's Caswell Hotel. Others were discovered in Chelmsford and Lowell. With methamphetamine labs spreading in Western and Midwestern states, Emerson thinks the local finds are just the tip of the iceberg. "I think the police have done a great job in discovering the ones they know about," he said, "but how many more are out there?" For more than 30 years, French has worked behind the counter at his French's Restaurant on Main Street, watching teenagers and young adults come and go. According to Kinnon, French's is one of the most popular restaurants in town, and gave its owner a vantage point from which substance abuse problems were painfully apparent. French "was seeing young people in trouble," she said. "He said he'd like to get a group going to address substance-abuse awareness in Tewksbury. I said, 'That sounds good to me. . . . We might be able to make a difference. Get something started.' " Though he is being credited with getting things rolling, French is not sure where the efforts will lead. "I'm just trying to spearhead this and make it become a reality," he said. "I don't know what good my efforts are, but I know no effort is no good." Tewksbury CARES meets every first and third Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman