Pubdate: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) Copyright: 2008 Kalamazoo Gazette Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/vggfBDch Website: http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/588 Author: Julie Mack Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) CITIZENS OFFER IDEAS TO CURB DRUGS Portage Residents Respond After Heroin Overdose Death PORTAGE -- How can Portage residents keep their children from using drugs? Parents could conduct random drug and alcohol tests on their teens, some said during a two-hour forum Monday. Schools could sponsor talks by young, recovered addicts, others said. The community should provide healthy outlets for bored adolescents, a teenager urged. About 60 people gathered at Portage City Hall for the brainstorming session, motivated by the June death of an 18-year-old Portage woman from a heroin overdose. It was the city's fifth heroin death of a young person in the past few years, according to Portage police officials. Monday's meeting, designed as a follow-up to one earlier this month, let participants talk about "better ideas, better solutions, better strategies," said Shirley Johnson, Portage Public Schools board president. The forum began with a review of existing prevention, enforcement and treatment programs. Ideas included creating an online list of resources linked to the city and Portage schools' Web sites, and perhaps even creating a Facebook or MySpace page for teens with the information. It also was noted that Prevention Works, a local nonprofit agency, already has a countywide task force researching youth substance abuse and strategizing about ways to address the issue. That group plans to hold town hall meetings in Portage and Kalamazoo during September to gather community input. The conversation then turned to what more can or should be done. Two high school students on the panel began by saying that an underlying issue is teen boredom. "Many times, the reason kids gets into these drugs is because they don't have anything else to do," said Fatima Mirza, a member of the city's Youth Advisory Committee and a student at Portage Central High School. They recommended that parents and other adults work on keeping teens busy, and perhaps create more community programs or a youth center to provide teens with healthy activities. Dr. Michael Liepman, a Kalamazoo psychiatrist who specializes in addiction, said parents also need to send a strong message that any kind of teen substance abuse, including drinking, is unacceptable. To reinforce that message, he suggested parents take sobriety pledges themselves while their children are adolescents to set a good example, and they should lock up and monitor any prescription narcotics, such as Vicodin, in their homes. Liepman and Guy Golomb, director of prevention services at Gryphon Place, also urged parents to take advantage of over-the-counter drug tests for their children. Emalee Sabo, a June graduate of Portage Central High School, endorsed that idea. "If my parents did it to me, I wouldn't have a problem with it," she said. "I'd respect them because I know they mean business." Portage Mayor Peter Strazdas said his staff will compile and distribute a list of the ideas suggested Monday, adding that both the city and school district are ready to take action. "I think this is the most productive conversation we've had in this community in a long, long time," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake