Pubdate: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA) Copyright: 2006 The Eagle-Tribune Contact: http://www.eagletribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129 Author: Courtney Paquette Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) POLICE: PARENTS NEED TO HELP IN BATTLE AGAINST HEROIN, METH PLAISTOW - The message from yesterday's forum on drug abuse in Southern New Hampshire was simple, keeping kids from abusing drugs starts at home. But those who gathered to talk about the issue agreed that carrying out that message was anything but simple. Police officers and substance abuse counselors gathered at the Sad Cafe to hear Rockingham County District Attorney James Reams talk about the growing threat of crystal methamphetamine as the new drug of choice among young people. Crystal meth is made of highly toxic, volatile substances, including battery acid, mixed with ephedrine, a stimulant. Participants also used the session to express their frustration with convincing parents that drug abuse, particularly of heroin, is a problem in Southern New Hampshire and with the difficulty of helping kids whose parents are part of the problem. "How am I going to say to the family, who is the problem, 'you need counseling'?" Derry Detective Lt. Steven Inserra said. "We're not going to change a kid's mind if they don't want to be helped." Raymond Detective Richard Labell agreed. "Parents have to come on board, and most of the time, the parents who need to hear this message are not (attending information sessions)," Labell said. They also cited the lack of places in the state where substance abusers, or parents of substance abusers, can go for treatment, as well as lenient sentences given to those who are arrested for drugs as obstacles in the battle to curtail drug abuse. Getting parents to pay attention to just how easy, and inexpensive, it is for their children to buy heroin will be the focus of a new coalition of police officers Labell said he plans to start. Officers said yesterday that children can buy heroin for between $3 and $10 a bag, and an ounce of heroin contains thousands of doses. Labell would like the coalition to include officers from Newton, Plaistow, Kingston, Sandown, Danville and Atkinson, as well as East Kingston, South Hampton and Brentwood. But getting local police departments to participate in yesterday's forum proved difficult for the organizers, Richard Gerrish, vice chairman of the Sad Cafe, and Andrea Bonner, executive director. They said they sent invitations to the 32 police departments in Rockingham County. Only members from two New Hampshire departments, Derry and Raymond, as well as Deputy Chief Donald Thompson from Haverhill, Mass., showed up. Participation may have been hindered by a meeting of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, which took place in Manchester yesterday morning. Reams told the officers and counselors that his office has seen a significant increase in indictments related to drugs over the past four years, up from 16 percent of all indictments in 2001 to 24 percent last year. He talked about ways other states were dealing with drug abuse, including mandatory random drug testing in schools in Louisiana. He also showed a graphic video called "Meth is Death" that law enforcement officials in Tennessee produced to show the horrors of methamphetamine abuse. Users can stay awake for days and hallucinate, and their physical appearance quickly deteriorates. Reams recommended showing the video in local schools. But officers know educating parents and students about the dangers won't be easy. Inserra cited a recent forum they tried to host at Pinkerton Academy in Derry about Internet safety. He said the school sent 2,000 pamphlets to students' homes. "Know how many people showed up? Two," Inserra said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin