Pubdate: Sun, 26 Feb 2006
Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA)
Copyright: 2006 The Eagle-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.eagletribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

EDITORIAL: OPIATE SCOURGE IS A DIFFICULT FOE

As a series of stories today shows, a year after Eagle-Tribune
Publishing Co. first exposed the opiate epidemic in Essex County
there has been some progress toward ending it, but in incremental
strides  only. That's not a surprise. It would be unrealistic to
expect an easy victory over an enemy that gained strength by
flourishing in the shadows for years. This problem won't be solved
overnight.

Local police departments continue to report increases in home
invasions, shoplifting and armed robberies - the kinds of crimes
that produce quick cash to feed drug habits. Lawrence police Chief
John J. Romero says heroin abuse continues to drive crime in the city.
The Essex County drug task force confiscated substantially larger
amounts of OxyContin pills and heroin in 2005 than it did the
previous year, which raises the question of how much more is out  on
the streets.

The public commitment to helping those who would end their addictions
through treatment - voluntarily or otherwise - could be stronger.
There are only four  government-subsidized treatment centers for
drug-addicted teenagers in the entire state.

The private commitment to stopping OxyContin abuse has been lacking as
well. Purdue Pharma, the Connecticut-based manufacturer of the
painkiller, said in a meeting with Eagle-Tribune Publishing editors
last year it was committed to fighting abuse of its product through
community education. We've seen little to no activity by Purdue
Pharma in Essex County.

Purdue Pharma has also been promising a version of OxyContin that is
more difficult to abuse. Now it looks like a competitor's product may
be first to the market. We congratulate the public officials and
private citizens who have given of their time and encourage them not
to be disappointed if tangible results are slow to materialize.

Yet it remains an open question whether education alone can stem the
tide of drug abuse. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the well-known
DARE program, has been around for 19 years but didn't prevent the
rising tide of opiate use. Activists hope that specifically targeting
opiates will be more effective than crusading against drug use in
general, but it will be years before we'll know whether they are right.

The disease of addiction is hardly a modern phenomenon, but
understanding and controlling - let alone preventing - it have
proven complex challenges. Most researchers believe alcoholism and
drug addiction share many similarities, so consider these findings:
Generations of high-schoolers have engaged in illegal underage
drinking, but the majority don't become alcoholics. Why some and not
others? Researchers aren't sure. While they've been unable to identify
an "addictive personality," they have found substantial evidence that
like so many problems,  this one is rooted in our genes. Studies have
shown that children born to alcoholic parents are more likely to
become alcoholics themselves, even if adopted and raised by
nonalcoholics.

More research is needed to identify practical means to put this
knowledge to use, including the most effective ways to use education
in the war on drugs. But unlike some genetic diseases, merely carrying
the genes for chemical dependency doesn't mean a child will become an
addict. The harder it is for them to get their hands on legal or
illegal substances, the less likely it is they'll  get hooked on them.

So continuing the fight to get drugs off the street should remain a
high priority for law enforcement.

And an involved and educated community - particularly parents -
should continue to search for effective ways to augment that effort,
as long as it takes.
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MAP posted-by: Tom