When will we learn that, as cute and talented as they are, child stars often struggle with drugs, failure, and bankruptcy later in life? Another former child star has died, and drugs are the suspected cause. Corey Haim, the teenage heartthrob of the 80’s, has died at age 38. Sadly, this death was not a surprise to most.

We’ve seen this too many times before. A child actor realizes young fame, transforming their lives from a normal childhood to one of undivided attention, wealth beyond imagination, and freedom from every day chores and school. We should know this kind of life for an impressionable teenager has its consequences – we’ve witnessed it in numerous lives.

Corey Haim and Drugs

Corey Haim lived this life of conflict. He was known by every teenage girl in the 80’s, and starred in several films, including Lucas and Lost Boys. But sometime after that fame settled, he began taking prescription drugs. Valium was said to be his drug of choice, although he reportedly used others along the way. Fans that kept up with him saw him go from a funny, hyper child to a depressed, incoherent, miserable adult. Other things in Haim’s life began to suffer the effects; he couldn’t land good work, his weight increased drastically, and he went bankrupt. Like so many people addicted to prescription drugs, he didn’t care about other things in his life and his addiction simply got too powerful.

Haim’s drug abuse was evident to anyone who cared to watch. Videos of him doing interviews with slurred speech or garbled words are all over the web. He entered rehab a number of times and claimed to be drug free a few times in the last decade, but he always went back to the drugs. For anyone that has been through the struggles of drug addiction, or watched a loved one go through it, the Corey Haim story publicly depicts the pain a drug addict goes through on a daily basis.

Haim was eventually paired up with Corey Feldman, co-star of the 80’s, for the A&E show “The Two Coreys”. The show documented Haim living in Feldman’s suburban home. At that time Feldman, married with a child, tried to help out Haim, who was struggling with drugs and trying to get his acting back up and going. The show only lasted two seasons, and didn’t seem to improve anything in Haim’s life.

Corey Haim was then rumored to be recruited by Celebrity Rehab for their show, but turned it down, saying he didn’t need the help. Like so many of us, he denied he had a problem or needed real help, until it was too late.

It is tragic that another celebrity has died, reportedly because of drugs. It is more tragic, that we all saw it coming, and no one could do anything to stop it. This is the same sad story of many other people in this world caught up with drug addiction. 

Sources

Still Buddies: 2 Guys With One Name

Corey Haim Dies

Corey Haim, Actor, Dies at 38  

It is well-known that drug abuse and alcoholism have devastating effects on a person. It’s not unusual for someone to lose their job, friends, and family because of an addiction. Some people, however, hit rock bottom, as many would consider it, when they lose everything and become homeless on the streets.

Homeless Camps

Hundreds of homeless people live around nearly every large city on our country. Some areas have become havens for those that are down and out, and sometimes these people form camps or colonies for safety and companionship. Alaska has a group of homeless that live in large parks, hidden among the trees. Other large groups can be found in San Francisco, Denver, and Washington D.C. These camps are not legal, but some municipalities or counties tolerate them simply because they don’t have a better place for these people to go, and if they are kicked out of one area, they will move to another.

These people hide out in forests, or in parks, eating scraps, or begging for food or money. Their beds are benches, or the ground, and they may build fires in garbage cans to keep warm. A few lucky ones will have tents to live in.

Homeless people around the country come from all different backgrounds. Not all were born homeless or even poor. Many of them at one time held decent jobs, some had families; none of them expected to be where they are today. Many of these individuals have something else in common: substance abuse. Statistics are hard to come by, but substance abuse and mental illness play a huge role in many of these people being homeless. Some people got caught up with drugs or alcohol, causing them to lose their jobs, family, and eventually homes. Others spent all their money and energy on getting alcohol, and soon found themselves out on the street. Still others have a form of mental illness that keeps them from living a stable life. In all these situations, these people could not find or would not accept the support and help that would have allowed them to overcome substance abuse or mental illness and lead normal lives.

Help for the Homeless

In order to help these people, we need to provide them with housing, food, and treatment for substance abuse and mental disorders. Once the person is living indoors and does not have to worry about their own personal safety or where their next meal will come from, they can start working on their future.

Many of these people, however, don’t get the treatment they need to get clean when they are homeless. Lack of resources from local authorities has led to poor facilities and programs for these groups. Many homeless people go through the motions of staying at a shelter until their time is used up there, then they move back out to the streets. With the right kind of help, these people can break the cycle and begin putting their lives together.

Sources 

Storyteller takes look at Anchorage’s homeless

Mental illness problems common among homeless

Pastor seeks housing for men living in Montgomery County woods

Even though it is considered by some to be the most harmless illegal drug there is, marijuana still causes a lot of problems. In a handful of states, marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes. This comes after years of advocates pushing for the drug to be legalized for patients, to treat things like chronic pain, nausea, and anxiety. Many people are trying to make marijuana completely legal, but that kind of progression seems pretty far off.

Medicinal Marijuana

For those states that do permit marijuana for medical purposes, authorities are having a hard time enforcing the laws regarding this substance. While they need to and want to maintain the rights of patients, lines are often blurred between medicinal use and recreational use. If police go after pot growers who are supplying for users for illegal recreational purposes, they run the risk of cutting off the supply also for patients who use it legally. Unless you legalize marijuana possession for growers, dispensaries, and distributers, there will be a negative effect on patients. But, if all these other people are allowed into the loop to supply it to patients, you can expect that some will be selling it to others who aren’t patients as well. The way some of these states are enforcing or not enforcing marijuana use has caused havoc for both authorities and patients.

Marijuana and Teens

Many people feel strongly one way or another about the place marijuana holds in our society. There is much support for the legalization of marijuana to relieve pain and distress to patient. But in many ways, even this is causing an obstacle for certain other groups of people, including teens and adolescents, who are easily influenced about things like drugs. A recent study done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests that the medical marijuana issue is causing confusion among teens about the seriousness of marijuana and drugs in general. Many teens today think that marijuana is not that bad for them to use, since it is legal for some patients. The result is that marijuana usage in teens is on the rise again and more teens are even in need of treatment for the habit.

Effects of Marijuana

Then there’s the question of what marijuana does to the mind and body. It may not be as addicting as painkillers, or as life-threatening as heroin, but marijuana does have negative effects on the body. It slows the brain, it effects motor coordination, and it increases heart rate. Over time, marijuana is thought to cause brain damage, including memory loss and learning problems. Some people may deny it, but marijuana also is both physically and psychologically addicting. Part of the danger with marijuana is that it is often seen as so harmless. Many people are drawn into just trying marijuana, but then they find themselves years down the line, still using it, or moving on to more dangerous drugs. Before they know it they have lost control of their lives. We need to set boundaries with this drug, and make it clear to young people that it is dangerous to get caught up with any kind of substance.

Sources

Medical marijuana-The legal questions

Medical-pot bill one political puff away from passage

Medical marijuana blurs lines on dangers for teens

As much as we try to deny differences between different races of people, there are some characteristics that tend to run along ethnic lines. The benefit to identifying these tendencies is that it can help determine where help, education, and prevention are needed most.

SAMHSA Study on African American Drinking

A new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found differences between African Americans and other ethnic groups when it comes to alcohol abuse. African Americans have a lower drinking rate in general – 44% compared to 55.2% of the rest of the population. And they are much less likely to binge drink (25.3% compared to 41.6%) than the general public. However, the rate of illegal drug use among African American adults (9.5%) is slightly higher than the rest of the country (7.9%).

Past studies have also found that the consequences for minorities, including African Americans, that abuse alcohol are often more severe than for other groups. Minority groups are more likely to suffer health problems, legal consequences, and injury because of alcohol consumption.

The SAMHSA study also found that even though they drink less and do it less often, more African Americans are in need of addiction treatment. And among those that do enter treatment, minority groups are less likely to complete a program or see favorable results from the treatment program.

Giving Help to Different Groups

The purpose of these studies is not to simply point out differences between groups of people, but to determine the best way to provide help and prevention techniques. Maybe more education could focus on helping young African Americans stay safe and avoid negative situations when drinking socially, or where to go for help when someone is suffering from addiction. More education should be geared toward Caucasians and college students who are known for dangerous binge drinking.

A little education can go a long way. Programs can be offered in schools, at community centers, and through churches or social organizations. Any group of people that is found to be at a higher risk for substance abuse or to suffer consequences because of substance abuse should be the focus for more prevention campaigns.

Treatment is also vital for different groups of people. For those that have a hard time succeeding in an outpatient treatment program, other programs including residential or more intense outpatient treatment, should be encouraged. For those in low income areas, or those that do not have access to proper addiction treatment, efforts should be made to offer programs in these areas. Studies like the SAMHSA one help determine the best way to offer both prevention techniques and substance abuse help when needed.

Sources

African-American and Hispanic alcohol abusers need more residential alcohol treatment

Study: Blacks Drink Less, But More Likely to Use Illicit Drugs

Alcohol and drug abuse, flu shots and lactose intolerance

Virginia Tech has cracked down a bit on underage student drinking. A new policy has been put in place this semester which requires school officials to contact a student’s parents whenever the underage student is caught with alcohol. The change in policy comes after much debate, and people are divided over the policy.

Underage drinking at colleges is a growing problem, despite the efforts of colleges, parents, and authorities. Virginia Tech and other schools with the same views are hoping that by getting parents more involved, colleges and universities can reduce the number of alcohol-related injuries, crimes, and deaths among their students. School officials at Virginia Tech will now call or send a letter to parents the first time their child under 21 is caught drinking, drunk, or in the possession of alcohol.

Parents Want to Know

For the most part, parents are happy about the change. Many parents have been frustrated by the lack of communication over matters of substance abuse with their child’s college. Most parents want to know about their child’s alcohol abuse before something serious happens. Many parents still have a close relationship with their college children, and many are even paying for their kids’ education. Parents think they have a right to know what their child is up to.

Against the Policy

Other colleges are not so quick to offer this service to parents. Some colleges have a more lenient policy about notifying parents. According to administrators at many of these schools, alcohol violations are not routinely reported to parents because college students should be treated like adults. The view on this side is that college age students are old enough to make decisions for themselves. However, in recent years, college students have obviously been making the choice regularly to use alcohol and binge drink.

Many students, naturally, are also against the new policies, saying college students’ parents shouldn’t be brought into matters that happen at school. For many students, having their parents find out about trouble they’ve gotten in may be a real deterrent. Apparently, kids do actually care what their parents think. Schools have found that more students are concerned about telling their parents about getting busted for underage drinking than they are about the legal consequences for it.

Schools Working with Parents

Underage and binge drinking on college campuses has gotten out of hand. It seems that more students are at school to party and drink than to get an education. Schools like Virginia Tech are taking some first steps to reverse the trend of college drinking. Early intervention is important to keep these students from a long struggle with alcohol abuse or alcoholism, and notifying parents may help. Whether students like to think so or not, their parents care about them, probably more than anyone, and are willing to do what it takes to straighten their kids out. Parents, however, may not know the west way to handle their grown kids’ problem drinking, so some schools even provide parents with educational tools to help them talk to their kids in the most effective way.

Sources 

Lynchburg-area colleges vary on alcohol policies

Tech notifies parents about student alcohol offenses

Parent notification policies for underage drinking evolve

Parent notification policies for alcohol violations

Vancouver, Canada, has a drug problem. The city is known for its heroin addicts, marijuana users, and methamphetamine addicts. Maybe more importantly, it is known for its ways of dealing with these drugs and their users. It has taken controversial steps that few other countries in the Western World have taken in an attempt to make a difference for its drug users.

Some people would call their approach a social experiment, or that the government is looking the other way or even encouraging drugs use. But for many, Vancouver’s handling of illegal drugs has been a life saver.

InSite

The city of Vancouver gives money every year to a community organization to operate a facility called InSite. This facility takes a very controversial approach to dealing with drug addicts. In fact, it is the only facility of its kind in North America. InSite is a building where drug addicts can go to shoot up “in safety”. Users must supply their own drugs, but are provided with clean needles and syringes, and are supervised by medical staff in case they overdose. InSite oversees an average of 491 injections per day, and many of its addicts come back repeatedly throughout the day to get their fix.

Supporters

The history of InSite has been plagued with conflict. Several legal challenges have threatened to close its doors, and parts of the Conservative federal government have worked to close InSite. But so far, the courts have ruled in favor of this facility. Supporters say that their primary goal is to reduce harm to addicts, by preventing the spread of disease and the risk of overdose. The British Columbia Ministry of Health Services provides money for InSite, and the police force in Vancouver says it helps them promote harm reduction. Supporters say because of InSite there are fewer crimes, fewer homicides, and fewer drug overdoses in Vancouver. InSite also offers counseling and treatment services to help the addicts that want to get clean.

Opponents

But the problem that most other people have with InSite is that it allows addicts to stay in their addiction. InSite helps addicts maintain a “functioning junkie” status. By taking away some of the dangers of substance abuse, InSite allows these people to continue using their drugs with few consequences. It encourages drug addicts to use drugs, and doesn’t seem to encourage often enough the benefits of detox and treatment. The benefit of facilities like InSite is that they prevent a number of overdoses. InSite staff intervened on 484 overdoses, lives that would have been lost had they not been at InSite. But these drug addicts, no matter how hard they try, cannot really function in society, and giving them the means to continue in their drug usage is not benefitting them in the long run. Last year, 411 people were admitted to detox at InSite. Maybe with more patients in a successful detox program, they would have fewer patients in their injection booths, and they would really save lives.

Sources

InSite

Vancouver’s ’safe house’ for drug addicts draws controversy

Near Olympics, Vancouver’s (mostly) legal drug zone

Linda Robertson: Vancouver’s ‘real world,’ outside Olympic bubble

For most visitors, Canada has been the perfect host for this year’s Winter Olympics. They have friendly citizens, top of the line facilities, and beautiful scenery. The weather has been a bit unpredictable, but if that’s the biggest problem with the Olympics this year, the Canadians have put on a pretty winning event.

Marijuana Friendly City 

Vancouver has been successful in keeping their rowdies quiet, not talking too much about their heroin and methamphetamine addicts, and not bringing up their homeless or their crime statistics. It is a lovely place, and people are friendly and very welcoming. In fact, to some people it has been too friendly. While athletes are not allowed to use any kind of drugs, the city of Vancouver has been dubbed a “marijuana friendly city”. Marijuana is not officially legal in British Columbia except for medicinal use, but as long as people are not causing harm because of it, the police will generally not stop them. Many shops line the streets of Vancouver that sell all sorts of drug paraphernalia, including fancy bongs, designer glass hookahs, and other smoking devices. Shops, such as the Cannabis Culture Magazine Shop, are almost commonplace, as well as advertisements for the different kinds of marijuana people can buy.

British Columbia first made a name for itself as a pot smoking area when local athlete Ross Rebagliati tested positive in the 1998 Winter Games, but was not penalized because he claimed he had been exposed to pot at a local Vancouver party. Many locals use marijuana regularly and openly. Vancouver even had a short run of the marijuana Olympics at the Herb Museum in 2008, but that was soon shut down.

Stepping Up Patrols

But just because British Columbia is known for its leniency toward drugs doesn’t mean all the expectations of visitors are going to come true. Much of the marijuana use has slipped underground while visitors are in town. So while pot-minded visitors may be hoping to be allowed or even encouraged to get stoned with the locals, this might not be the case.

Authorities in Vancouver have stepped up security in an effort to protect both safety and the city’s image. Local establishments like the ones at Whistler have seen an increase in police presence, something that is usually minimal. The police force has more than doubled during the Olympics, sending 60 police out to patrol the party scene.

The result is that while normally active bars and establishments are usually jumping on weekends, there has been an apparent lower-keyed atmosphere. Some locals are disappointed that they aren’t able to show the area’s true colors, but for those focused on the competitions at hand, the city is doing a good job of welcoming their guests from around the world.

Near Olympics, Vancouver’s (mostly) legal drug zone

Revelers say Whistler cops are killing the buzz

Let’s talk about that elephant in the closet, BC

Cool Canadians are flying high, and dodging bears while we do it

The 2010 Winter Olympics are underway and along with them comes the task of separating out the true athletes from those that enhance their performance with some kind of substance. These Games are yet another sport that has been tainted by doping athletes. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been in charge of testing the athletes to find those that are using banned substances.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an end to sports-related drug abuse, and athletes keep finding new ways to get around the tests. The Olympics are no exception. This year before the start of the Olympics, officials found more than 30 athletes that were positive for banned substances, and as a result, these athletes are not participating this year. This number is down from the Beijing Olympics when more than 70 athletes were kicked out before the competitions began. But many people are concerned that the WADA is not catching all of the doping methods being used these days.

New Methods to Enhance Performance

The world is constantly coming up with new substances to alter the mind or body, and if the committee in charge of testing is not staying current on all the newest substances, they will likely miss something. An example is Johann Muehlegg of Spain, who won three gold metals in the 2002 Winter Olympics for cross country skiing. It was later found that he had been using a new generation of performance enhancers that wasn’t detected in current tests, but he eventually tested positive and was stripped of the metals.

Other athletes and managers are also becoming more sophisticated in their doping methods, in an effort to avoid getting caught. There are new drugs, new forms of old drugs, and ways for athletes to cheat on tests. Some have resorted to storing their own blood and then transfusing it back into their body in time for the testing. It is unfortunate that an entire committee of people has to be designated just to determine what these top-level athletes are using to improve their performances.

Tough Penalties

Some people, however, have been critical of the WADA’s all-encompassing methods. There have been athletes that have been suspended for taking hair loss drugs. But there are also exceptions to the penalties. Just before this year’s Olympics a Russian hockey player tested positive for a substance that was banned in the games, but she will be allowed to compete. Svetlana Terenteva was reprimanded, but allowed to compete because she took a prescription nasal spray for a cold a month before the games.

Sometimes the WADA has no choice but to penalize, but the best results come when the authorities are able to look at each case individually. A new trend in anti-doping agencies has shifted the approach from an all-encompassing process to one that focuses more on the individual athletes.

Sources

Doping’s rise; athletes’ fall

WADA: More than 30 will not compete

Russian official defends player

Unjust Outcomes Under Fire

For some people, prescription painkillers are a life saver. They ease acute or chronic pain, they give relief and comfort, and they may even prevent depression or suicide for those that have suffered for so long. It’s unfortunate, therefore, that the abuse of prescription painkillers has caused doubt in so many people’s minds about whether or not these medicines are a good thing or not.

For someone that is having surgery, or had a recent injury, or for some reason is in need of serious pain relief, it may be a hard decision whether or not to seek help from prescription painkillers. For some people, the fear of becoming addicted to them might be too much of a risk.

The advances of medicine weren’t designed for harm. Rather, the goal of medicine is to promote the health and wellness of people. When used correctly, prescription painkillers, even those that are abused the most, change people’s lives for the better. In order to prevent prescription drug abuse, consider the following:

The prescription should come from a trusted physician. Some doctors prescribe powerful medications to patients that just don’t need them. These should be reserved for the most debilitating of pain only.

The medication should be used as prescribed. Trouble starts when people start increasing their dosage, or taking medicine when they don’t really need it, or self-medicating for their emotions more than their physical pain.

Doctors should monitor the patient closely when on prescription drugs. Doctors should be in contact with their patients regularly, requiring check ups to see if progress is being made, and if they are ready to wean off the drugs. If someone takes certain prescriptions for a long time, the potential is there for them to become dependent on the substance, or to require more of it to get the same effects. To avoid prolonged and unnecessary use, doctors should be ready to get their patients off the drugs whenever possible.

Learn about the drugs and the risks. Many people don’t really know the side effects of their drugs, or how addicting they really are. All patients that are put on prescription drugs should be warned about misusing the pills, and be taught how to avoid addiction. Special care should be taken for people that are at a higher risk for addiction. New evidence shows that smokers may be more likely to abuse prescription drugs. The same could go for people that have more of an addictive personality. These patients need to be extra careful that they follow the doctor’s orders.

The FDA is working on weighing the pros and cons of prescription drugs. They plan to study 24 drugs, using a “Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy” which will ensure that the benefits of these drugs outweigh the risks. For those suffering from pain that genuinely need prescription painkillers, we need to make sure these drugs are used properly, and not abused.

Sources

FDA Steps Up Efforts to Control Painkiller Use

Drugabuse.gov

Smokers More Prone to Long-Term Prescription Painkiller Use

Recently, I hit another milestone in my life. My 4-year old daughter told us that she wanted to run away because we didn’t love her and were mean to her. The precipitating event for her decision was the fact that her mother would not let her eat chocolate before bedtime. The nerve of that woman, how could a mother be so cruel!

I sat down on the couch with my daughter and helped her decide what she would need to pack; some food in case she got hungry, some warm clothes in case it got cold, some toys in case she got bored – but only a couple of her favorites because she couldn’t carry too many, and of course an umbrella in case it rained. Wow, lots of stuff! After our discussion, she decided she didn’t want to run away anymore and could suffer some chocolate deprivation.

I refer to this as a milestone in my life because I have used this example with many client parents we have had in treatment but had never experienced it firsthand. I have told many parents whose children call them to report, “the treatment center is locking them in the closet and beating them with sticks,” that situation is not unlike the little kid who wants to run away. If you let them go they get down the street and look at the great big world, it won’t be long before they hightail it home.

It is not unlike that with some of our clients; they are confronted with their pain and told that they are going to have to relinquish their coping skills and deal with it in unfamiliar ways. The whole experience is extremely painful. Their first instinct is to run but it is a well known fact that most addicts do not have the ability to sustain their addiction without some support, therefore we encourage family and friends to withdrawal any support other than supporting treatment and recovery.

I have had many clients prematurely leave our facilities, but once they found that no one would support/enable them, they quickly returned and began a meaningful treatment experience – not unlike the little kid who runs away from home.

I am somewhat making light of this but the analogy is a basic reaction. I know that absolutely nothing rivals the anguish and pain family members go through when they have to cut a loved one off in order to save the addict’s life…especially parents. It is completely against every paternal instinct and inclination. It is however, always necessary.

I am reminded of a story I once read about a missionary who was in a remote location in India and had a son born there with a clubfoot. This condition could easily have been corrected with surgery; however, there was no hospital for miles. One of the missionary doctors explained that everyday this man would have to turn and hold his son’s foot for 20 minutes. This was very painful for the little boy. The missionary spoke of how painful it was to cause such pain for his son. He spoke of how his son would scream, cry and yell, “I hate you,” while he turned the boy’s foot and how those words broke his heart. Then he spoke of the joy he felt when some years later he watched his son run across the soccer field.

The fact is, it is very easy to focus all of our attention on the addict and neglect the pain that their loved ones are suffering. We are constantly asking parents and significant others to practice behaviors that are completely unnatural to them. I don’t know what I would have done had my daughter got up and walked out the door or if I would have had the wherewithal to stand back and allow her to fully experience the consequences of that action; would I be able to sit on my hands until she decided to come back; honestly, I doubt it. I just want to say that we at TSN try to be aware of the family’s needs while we are taking care of their loved ones but I believe today I have a better understanding of what we are asking of them and I know I will be more empathetic. It is not that what we are asking them to do is wrong – it truly is the best thing they can do. That does not make it easy and we need to have patience with them. I also know that without stories like the young girl’s in the article below, I don’t think I could go on in this business. I am including it because I believe it may give some parent out there hope. This young girl came in kicking and screaming and wanted to leave after a week.

By Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor
NORTH HAVEN

For the first time in four years, Barbara Hoffman is clean. 



A drug user since 14, the 18-year-old is living in a halfway house in Florida after 60 days of treatment. “All my energy is back. My head is a lot clearer. I don’t need to lie, cheat or steal from my parents,” said the teenager, who estimates she stole money and goods from her parents worth $20,000 from the time she started drinking and using marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy and prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Xanax.


Her parents, Adam and Joanne Hoffman of North Haven, knew their daughter smoked pot, but were shocked to learn she was addicted to prescription drugs. Now that she’s in rehabilitation, they’re coming forward because they don’t want another family to suffer their pain.
Their world blew apart when they learned a week before Barbara Hoffman was to leave for college in September that she was on a downward spiral, addicted to OxyContin.
“I want to save another parent, another kid, from going through what our family has gone through,” Joanne Hoffman said. “Drugs should not be a secret. That’s how they thrive.”

Prescription pill addiction became an issue in North Haven about a year ago, when more than a dozen people were arrested for numerous burglaries, some dating back to 2006. Police said the burglaries appeared to be connected to the abuse of prescription drugs by some of the young people arrested.



In North Haven in 2008, there were seven arrests involving illegal possession of OxyContin and 26 heroin arrests, according to Capt. James Merrithew, who runs the detective division. In 2009, police made 16 heroin arrests and 19 arrests for pills. Authorities said most users graduate from pills to heroin because it’s cheaper.

Police believe the addictions force users to take advantage of any opportunity to commit burglaries or larcenies.

The town’s Substance Abuse Prevention Council recently created and mailed a brochure to residents about the dangers of prescription painkillers. The town also plans to apply for a $125,000 federal grant that would help the town fight the problem, said Director of Community Services and Recreation Gerardo Sorkin.



The council will continue to educate the community, and this spring hopes to have a program so residents can get rid of their unused prescription drugs. Talks also are planned for the schools.

“We’re very concerned that kids don’t understand how serious addiction to prescription drugs can be,” said Superintendent of Schools Sara-Jane R. Querfeld, a council member. “We’re not seeing any evidence of it at the high school but that doesn’t mean they’re not doing it.”

FROM A GOOD HOME

North Haven parents have been reaching out to Parents 4 a Change, a Southington organization run by Mary Marcuccio, a woman credited with saving the lives of numerous young people, including Barbara Hoffman.

“It’s sad, but the good thing is families are getting help,” said a North Haven mother whose daughter is no longer addicted to OxyContin. She and her daughter continue to be active with Parents 4 a Change.

Parents 4 a Change instructs parents to create an unfriendly environment for their children if they suspect drug use. Parents need to know their children’s friends and need to know where their money is going. Parents in the group said their kids have taken money from their bank accounts or have stolen items from their homes to buy drugs.



The mother said the parents involved in Parents 4 a Change are caring people who were close to their children and made extraordinary efforts to help them once an addiction became known.

Take the Hoffmans, for example. Married for 25 years, Adam Hoffman owns Godfrey-Hoffman Associates, an engineering and surveying firm. Joanne Hoffman is a nutritionist who runs her business in her husband’s building on Broadway. Joanne Hoffman was a room mother when her daughter was in elementary school. She belonged to the PTA, she was a Girl Scout leader, and Adam Hoffman never missed a soccer game.

“I never thought my kid would be involved” with drugs, said Joanne Hoffman.

“The Hoffmans are a good example of parents who are willing to educate themselves and take productive steps to help their child,” said Marcuccio, whose monthly meetings at Derynoski Middle School in Southington now draw 80 people. “Parents are coming out of the closet.”



Barbara Hoffman, 18, graduated from North Haven High School in June. She earned almost straight A’s, took Advanced Placement psychology, was a CAPT scholar, a varsity soccer player for four years and was in the Latin Club. She was planning to major in business.

But a week before she was to leave for Bryant University in Rhode Island, her parents found out she had an OxyContin problem. They had been aware, previously, that she smoked pot, and asked her to stop.

Barbara Hoffman said that starting at 14, she smoked pot about five times a day, every day. It wasn’t that hard to get. Drinking was more of a weekend thing, when friends would steal liquor from their parents’ homes or liquor stores would sell to underage youths.



Barbara Hoffman said her parents didn’t know what she was doing, but some kids had parents who didn’t care that they drank.

When she was 16, she started to experiment with other drugs, OxyContin being the first. She was addicted immediately. Drug-addiction experts and many medical studies, including at Yale University, have linked addiction to genetics. In other words, some people may be genetically hard-wired to become addicts.

“We were just bored. We thought it would be fun. We thought it would be a good idea,” she said of the people she used to hang out with. She tried cocaine a couple of times and didn’t like it, but she liked Ecstasy. When her friends stopped doing it, she continued. When her parents saw the pills, she convinced them they didn’t belong to her.

“I’m a good talker,” she said.



Her parents forbade her to smoke pot, and they started testing her for drugs. So, she stopped smoking and picked up OxyContin, which the tests didn’t pick up.

“During this time, I was breaking up with my boyfriend of three years. I started doing Oxys every day,” going from a few 40-milligram pills to 10 80-milligram pills a day.

She had a job so she had her own money.

“I stole from my parents a lot. … I pawned all my gold, my parents’ gold. At the time I didn’t think it was a big deal because it seemed like everyone was doing it. Now I feel terrible. They worked hard for that stuff and I just took it and sold it like it was mine. I can’t even go by a pawn shop any more,” she said.

INTERVENTION

The moment of truth was Aug. 27, 2009.

“We confronted her with it. … Her new boyfriend, from Hamden, was the dealer,” Adam Hoffman said.

“It was right out of a movie. She acted like a caged animal and said she wasn’t an addict. It was horrifying,” Joanne Hoffman said.

During the confrontation, they had Marcuccio on the phone and she told them what to say.

“Without Mary, the kid would be dead,” Adam Hoffman said.

She was taken to the Stonington Institute, but ran away three times and came back home, saying she could get clean on her own. She then received outpatient services at the University of Connecticut Medical Center and received a shot of Naltrexone, an opiate blocker. She was going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Barbara Hoffman said she hit rock bottom on the night of Oct. 30, when she totaled her car on Interstate 91 after snorting crushed Xanax pills. She was arrested.



Her parents gave her an ultimatum: out-of-state rehab or be kicked out of the house.

On Nov. 3, she was flown to Treatment Solutions of South Florida on the recommendation of Parents 4 a Change.

“She can probably never live in North Haven again because of the sights, sounds and smells. Everyone she knows does anything from drink to use heroin. She can’t handle it,” Joanne Hoffman said.

Adam and Joanne Hoffman attended three “intensive days” of instruction about pharmacology, drug addiction and its causes through the Treatment Solutions Network. They’ll have to attend Nar-Anon, which helps parents of addicts.

They believe that their daughter took drugs to feel better.

“She tried it and had no reason to stop. It made her feel good,” Joanne Hoffman said.

Michael Blackburn from Treatment Solutions Network says there’s a need for what his group does.



Barbara Hoffman had 60 days of inpatient treatment before being transferred to the halfway house, where she lives with five other young women. “She’s doing well,” Blackburn said.

“This rehab is like no other. They call you on your (expletive). It was good, honest. It’s the first time I’ve been to rehab where I actually want to be clean,” she said.

Being in an area in which a recovering addict is unfamiliar helps because the person doesn’t have access to dealers. It challenges the person to get well on his or her own. “The program teaches life and living skills,” Blackburn said.

“She’s seeking a job with the support of Treatment Solutions,” Joanne Hoffman said. “She’ll start college in the fall, knock on wood.”


If you are in love with someone who is struggling with an addiction we have many resources listed on our website www.treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com/families

Jim Bevell
CEO Treatment Solutions Network
561 577-3174
jimb@tsnemail.com