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Heroin Concerns Voiced In Maryland
OPTIONS FACING ADDICTS ARE FEW IN MARYLAND
LONACONING, Maryland -- They're lining up single-file, cash in hand, to buy heroin from dealers on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland and some of those buyers are selling their deadly purchases in Allegany County, Maryland.
"In Baltimore, Maryland there are bars on the windows and doors. They'll steal anything to sell for heroin. Lock your cars and take the keys, nothing's safe," Maryland State Police Detective 1st Sgt. Steve Vincent told a group of Georges Creek, Maryland residents at Westmar High School recently.
"The average heroin addict in Maryland is spending between $200 and $400 a day on his habit. They have to have it every four to six hours or they get sick," he continued. "It's like the worst flu you ever had. They're more afraid of getting sick than of going to jail."
But Vincent tells addicts and young people who may be considering heroin use that the drug leaves them few options.
"Once hooked, they've got two choices, jail or death," he said.
Vincent, MSP's western region supervisor of narcotics enforcement, joined representatives from the Allegany County, Maryland Health Department, county schools, and members of the local faith community to discuss the growing problem of drug use in Western Maryland.
A rash of heroin-related arrests and at least two deaths attributed to overdoses of heroin have been reported by the Cumberland Times-News since January.
"First use of heroin by 12- to 17-year-olds more than doubled between the 1980s and 1995, and we're seeing a shift in use from older to younger people over the past 10 years," said Jim Brenneman with the health department's Outpatient Addictions Program.
"Ten years ago, 95 percent of the heroin was injected, but young people don't like to inject," he explained. "But the purity of heroin is increasing, and now the drug can be snorted.
"Adolescents progress through the addiction process in a much shorter time than adults, and we believe that's because their bodies are not finished developing," he said.
A Drug Education Guide that Brenneman distributed to the crowd says physical symptoms of the heroin addict may include euphoria, drowsiness, insensitivity to pain, nausea, vomiting, watery eyes and runny nose. Look for needle marks on arms; pinpoint pupils; cold, moist skin; and the presence of needles, syringes or spoons.
"We're fighting a war for our kids," said Cheryl Maistros, director of Cumberland Street Ministries, and a former police officer in Baltimore, Maryland .
"Sometimes we think we're safe out here in the mountains and we're not going to have to deal with this, but we can't bury our heads in the sand. This is now a situation we have to deal with," she said.
Maistros added that it's discouraging to see that many area churches have not risen to the occasion to reach out to addicts and young people who may be predisposed to get involved with drugs.
"The churches need to learn how to embrace these kids," she said. "You can't lock this problem up and throw the key away."
Eric Rosenberger, a former drug addict, shared his story with the group and gave the Christian Teen Challenge program credit for turning his life around. Now Rosenberger plans to open a branch of Teen Challenge to serve the Hagerstown, Cumberland and Morgantown, Maryland areas.
"The whole name of the game is early intervention," said Lorelee Farrell, assistant supervisor of health and family life for the Allegany County, Maryland Board of Education.
"Heroin has the capacity to change the face of this Maryland community," she said. "But because we're a small community, we also have an opportunity to stop it."
The meeting was arranged by the Rev. Richard Mortimore of the First United Methodist Church in Lonaconing, Maryland.
"The idea grew out of a meeting of the Georges Creek Methodist pastors during a discussion on drug awareness," he said.
Brenneman noted that a group of citizens from Carroll County, Maryland will discuss how their community is dealing with similar drug issues during a public meeting at 7 p.m. on April 30 at Allegany College of Maryland.
OPTIONS FACING ADDICTS ARE FEW IN MARYLAND
LONACONING, Maryland -- They're lining up single-file, cash in hand, to buy heroin from dealers on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland and some of those buyers are selling their deadly purchases in Allegany County, Maryland.
"In Baltimore, Maryland there are bars on the windows and doors. They'll steal anything to sell for heroin. Lock your cars and take the keys, nothing's safe," Maryland State Police Detective 1st Sgt. Steve Vincent told a group of Georges Creek, Maryland residents at Westmar High School recently.
"The average heroin addict in Maryland is spending between $200 and $400 a day on his habit. They have to have it every four to six hours or they get sick," he continued. "It's like the worst flu you ever had. They're more afraid of getting sick than of going to jail."
But Vincent tells addicts and young people who may be considering heroin use that the drug leaves them few options.
"Once hooked, they've got two choices, jail or death," he said.
Vincent, MSP's western region supervisor of narcotics enforcement, joined representatives from the Allegany County, Maryland Health Department, county schools, and members of the local faith community to discuss the growing problem of drug use in Western Maryland.
A rash of heroin-related arrests and at least two deaths attributed to overdoses of heroin have been reported by the Cumberland Times-News since January.
"First use of heroin by 12- to 17-year-olds more than doubled between the 1980s and 1995, and we're seeing a shift in use from older to younger people over the past 10 years," said Jim Brenneman with the health department's Outpatient Addictions Program.
"Ten years ago, 95 percent of the heroin was injected, but young people don't like to inject," he explained. "But the purity of heroin is increasing, and now the drug can be snorted.
"Adolescents progress through the addiction process in a much shorter time than adults, and we believe that's because their bodies are not finished developing," he said.
A Drug Education Guide that Brenneman distributed to the crowd says physical symptoms of the heroin addict may include euphoria, drowsiness, insensitivity to pain, nausea, vomiting, watery eyes and runny nose. Look for needle marks on arms; pinpoint pupils; cold, moist skin; and the presence of needles, syringes or spoons.
"We're fighting a war for our kids," said Cheryl Maistros, director of Cumberland Street Ministries, and a former police officer in Baltimore, Maryland .
"Sometimes we think we're safe out here in the mountains and we're not going to have to deal with this, but we can't bury our heads in the sand. This is now a situation we have to deal with," she said.
Maistros added that it's discouraging to see that many area churches have not risen to the occasion to reach out to addicts and young people who may be predisposed to get involved with drugs.
"The churches need to learn how to embrace these kids," she said. "You can't lock this problem up and throw the key away."
Eric Rosenberger, a former drug addict, shared his story with the group and gave the Christian Teen Challenge program credit for turning his life around. Now Rosenberger plans to open a branch of Teen Challenge to serve the Hagerstown, Cumberland and Morgantown, Maryland areas.
"The whole name of the game is early intervention," said Lorelee Farrell, assistant supervisor of health and family life for the Allegany County, Maryland Board of Education.
"Heroin has the capacity to change the face of this Maryland community," she said. "But because we're a small community, we also have an opportunity to stop it."
The meeting was arranged by the Rev. Richard Mortimore of the First United Methodist Church in Lonaconing, Maryland.
"The idea grew out of a meeting of the Georges Creek Methodist pastors during a discussion on drug awareness," he said.
Brenneman noted that a group of citizens from Carroll County, Maryland will discuss how their community is dealing with similar drug issues during a public meeting at 7 p.m. on April 30 at Allegany College of Maryland.
