Illegal drugs are a menace to our society

We strongly support the formation of a task force to deal with the alarming increase in drug overdoses in Carbon County, and we urge all community-minded people to get involved in this effort.

According to statistics, in 2014 there were 17 drug-related deaths and 635 overdose-related calls to police and emergency responders throughout the county.

Now, mind you, this is for a county of just 65,000 people. This means that there are roughly two drug-overdose calls a day. This does not take into account those who overdose who do not seek emergency help.

Nor does this take into account all of the collateral damage that drug addiction does in our society. There are murders, assaults, robberies, thefts, break-ins and other violations of the law. Families are ripped apart; lives are squandered; criminals are born.

Nor does this issue just touch the people or the families and friends of those involved, but it is an issue for all taxpayers. We have to support the aftermath of addiction: the jails and prisons and all of the other fallout from drug abuse.

And for what? Escapism and cheap thrills? We do not say this lightly, but drug overdoses have become an epidemic in Carbon County.

Jamie Drake, acting director of the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, says the concept for a task force emerged from a statewide opiate symposium last month in Camp Hill attended by local officials. She said the information at the symposium makes it clear that a "coordinated approach to dealing with the opiate epidemic is crucial."

In a positive first step to creating this Overdose Task Force, Drake has invited local officials and family members of those who have experienced the wrenching effects of drug overdoses to the first meeting, which will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Drug and Alcohol Commission's office, 428 S. Seventh St., Lehighton. For additional information, call 610-377-5177.

According to Drake, this will be a "brainstorming session" to come up with strategies to take on this growing menace in our communities. Drake's sobering observation should be taped on our mirrors and our refrigerators so that it is always top of mind awareness: "We are losing too many young individuals to this disease and need to take action now," she said.

In addition to the Tuesday meeting, Coaldale is holding a town-hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Angela Theatre to address officials' concerns with the growing drug-addiction threat in that community.

Hosted by Mayor Joel Johnson, the program will feature presentations by U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Schuylkill-Carbon, and Jason Snyder, press secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

The program is being aimed primarily at students from Panther Valley and Marian Catholic high schools, but anyone interested in the problem and possible ways of dealing with it is invited to attend, Johnson said.

Once associated with urban poverty, heroin is more popular - and deadly - than ever, and it has become embedded in the middle class. The heroin crisis is directly linked to the crisis in prescription pill abuse.

What is different now compared with the heroin epidemic of the 1970s? Back then, heroin was typically the first opioid that a heroin addict tried, but, according to recent studies, today about three-quarters of heroin addicts started with legal drugs such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocet, frequently prescribed by a doctor after an illness or injury.

Some other sobering statistics revealed in a New York Times study published last fall:

• There has been a 39 percent increase in heroin-related deaths nationwide.

• 90 percent of first-time heroin users are white.

So, why has heroin made a comeback? According to experts in the field, the issue revolves around money, pure and simple. Dealers can sell pills for $50 or more, while they can peddle heroin for as cheap as $10, in some cases even less. When addicts run out of cash for the more expensive pills, many will turn to the cheaper alternative.

There has been one glimmer of hope: At one time, out of fear of embarrassment and public ostracism, families remained quiet about the problem. No more. Many have become outspoken in seeking help. As this crescendo grows, the tide appears to be turning toward considering heroin addiction as the public health problem that it is rather than one that needs to be addressed by exclusively punitive measures.

To this end, President Barack Obama has proposed $133 million to fight drug-addiction by expanding access for drug treatment and prevention programs. As a concerned community, we need to add our voices to this clarion call for action.

BRUCE FRASSINELLI | tneditor@tnonline.com