Pubdate: Mon, 16 Oct 2006
Source: Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY)
Copyright: 2006 Orange County Publications
Contact:  http://www.th-record.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2544
Author: Ashley Kelly

PILL POPPING: TEENS STEALING DRUGS FROM MEDICINE CABINETS

Milford, Pa. -- When Danielle Caggiano moved to Matamoras from Long 
Island she wanted to know what teens her age did for fun.

So she asked her classmates at Delaware Valley High School.

"Watch TV, have sex or do drugs," is what they told her, the 
16-year-old Caggiano said.

Pike County has a growing teen drug problem, according to Westfall 
police. During the 2004-2005 school year, police made more than 30 
drug-related arrests between Delaware Valley High School and Middle 
School. Six of the arrests were made in one day, Westfall police 
Chief Mark Moglia said.

Many of the drug arrests involved marijuana, but a large number 
involved prescription drugs, Moglia said.

"The kids usually take the pills from home, bring them to school and 
disperse among themselves or sell it," said Moglia, who said many of 
the pills come from parents' medicine cabinets.

The most common pills found were OxyContin and Percocet, trade names 
for the addictive pain reliever oxycodone.

Drug arrests at the schools did drop significantly during the 
2005-2006 school year, police said. The exact number was not yet available.

Still, growing anecdotal evidence has prompted the Pike County Health 
Fund to open a new teen substance abuse center in Milford.

The Pike County Teen Alcohol and Drug Resource Center opened a few 
months ago. It assesses the next level of care for teens who abuse 
alcohol or drugs, according to Mary Stanley, a clinical social worker 
in charge of the program.

Pike County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country 
with an influx of people from New York City and neighboring counties 
such as Orange County, N.Y.

Mary Beth Nied, a senior at Delaware Valley High School said some 
students who move in from New York City must find new ways to 
entertain themselves.

Nied said she and her friends often take walks in the woods or go 
swimming and fishing. These activities are fun, she said, but not so 
much for someone from out of town.

"They led more fast-paced lives," Nied said.

Of course, illegal drug use is not a problem isolated to Pike County. 
At Monroe-Woodbury High School in Woodbury, N.Y., police say 
marijuana is the most popular drug with the occasional instance of a 
prescription drug.

"They have drugs like any other school," said Woodbury police Chief 
Robert Kwiatkowski, who noted a lot of the drugs come from New York 
City, Newburgh, N.Y., and Middletown, N.Y. "A school is nothing but a 
microcosm of society itself and to say that it's not would be irresponsible."

According to data that school districts report to the state, 
Monroe-Woodbury School District cited 15 instances of use possession 
or sale of drugs during the 2004-2005 school year. The Pine Bush 
School District, which draws students from three New York counties, 
had 50 reported instances of use possession or sale of drugs in 2004-2005.

The teen drug problem hasn't hit home for many parents, according to 
a recent survey by The National Center on Addiction and Substance 
Abuse at Columbia University.

The survey found that one-third of teens and nearly half of 
17-year-olds attend house parties where parents are present, yet 
teens still use prescription drugs, cocaine or Ecstasy, as well as 
drinking and smoking marijuana.

And making parents a part of the prevention process is one of the 
missions of the teen substance abuse center in Milford.

"Families are ashamed if their children are involved in substance 
abuse," said Stanley, who said this stigma often keeps people away 
from prevention.

"Stress and heredity and so many other factors contribute to drug 
use," she said. "It is nothing for which to be ashamed."

Reporter Kristina Wells contributed to this report.
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