Expert Tells Parents––

Newtown Not Immune To Teenage Heroin Use

By Tanjua Damon

Fairfield County is the “distribution course” for drugs from New York City. Heroin use is on the rise among teenagers as well as the abuse of prescription drugs such as fentanyl, oxycotin, and methadone.

Newtown Youth Services sponsored a talk on the rise of heroin use April 21 with guest speaker John Hamilton, a licensed drug and alcohol counselor and marriage and family therapist. Mr Hamilton works at LMG, a detox facility that serves Fairfield County.

“We’re finding quite a problem here in Newtown with heroin,” Director of Newtown Youth Services Debbie Richardson said. “There are so many pockets of students talking about it, we felt we should hold something for the community.”

Mr Hamilton spoke with adults in the first session about heroin and other drugs that teenagers are becoming accustomed to as well as what role families need to play with youth that are addicts. He also spent time with high school students during a confidential session where Mr Hamilton answered questions and discussed concerns the students had.

Mr Hamilton explained to about a dozen people attending the information meeting that there are several prescription drugs that have the same effects as heroin and compete with the illegal substance.

“Heroin is on an epidemic rise,” Mr Hamilton said. “There are eight to ten different kinds [of drugs] that have the same effect as heroin, like p-dope. Word gets out on the streets it’s good heroin, but it’s not really heroin.”

Mr Hamilton went on to say that many people that were brought in from using some of these drugs were not testing positive for heroin, making it difficult for medical personnel to know what was affecting people.

“People who would have never considered putting a needle in their arm, now would go to a party and snort these substances,” Mr Hamilton said. “People [go from] sniffing p-dope as a minor use to [developing] a full blown addiction within a weekend.”

Oxycotin is just another form of heroin, according to Mr Hamilton. Within the last two months, LMG has put 200 individuals through detox that have been using oxycotin. It is easier to hide than a cocaine addition, he said.

“A lot of these kids are not just doing heroin or oxycotin,” Mr Hamilton said. “They are doing whatever they can get their hands on.”

Mr Hamilton said treatment for teenagers is really individually created to meet the needs of the person seeking treatment.

“There is no cookie cutter approach,” he said. “Your intervention needs to be tailored to your relationship with your child and their use of substances.”

Mr Hamilton encouraged parents to talk to their children about substances abuse. He explained that parents of children who do not abuse drugs should question their children about how abstaining from them works for them. He also told parents that they have to be cautious about what message they send to their children, especially when they discuss what to do calling home for help when they run into problems. How the parents respond to such calls is also important, he said.

“The internal pressure they are dealing with is harder than pressure from their peers,” Mr Hamilton said. “The challenge is what message have you given on a safety plan.”

Mr Hamilton continued that children who do call their parents for a ride home because they have consumed alcohol or another substance probably would not call again if a parent’s reactions were negative and unreasonable.

Substance abuse occurs for many reasons or issues — biological, cultural, environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Certain substances that are used by teenagers can help to medicate particular underlying issues. Examples include narcotic analgesics are used to help deal with pain that can be physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual; sedatives or hypnotic drugs deal with issues of being depressed; stimulants often help people increase their energy or suppress their appetite; hallucinogens hide problems with feeling separated from reality or for people who already think they are crazy; inhalants are usually used for experimentation.

“Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug used in Connecticut,” Mr Hamilton said. “Youth are at a greater risk for alcohol poisoning. There are certain pockets in communities that use particular drugs.”

Mr Hamilton explained that “increased exposure equals increased risk.” Statistics show that children begin using alcohol at the age of 10.7 in Fairfield County. Also in Fairfield County, 20 percent more youth use alcohol than across the country. The gender gap has also closed, he said.

Mr Hamilton encouraged parents to remember that children do not always make decisions parents want them to make. Youth abuse substances for two reasons — to feel good or feel better, Mr Hamilton said.

“It’s not about you when they don’t make a decision that you would have made,” he said.

If parents suspects their child may have a problem with substance abuse Mr Hamilton encouraged them to seek help. He told the group that he knows when an addict is ready for treatment when the person acknowledges they have a problem, realize they have hurt themselves and their loved ones, and that they are now willing to do whatever it takes to remedy the problem.