Dear Cyn and Lists,

This article does not amaze me other than the DEMAND for illegal
drugs in this area. The DEMAND is what drives the market; many of
us or most realize that no longer is their a "stereotype" of addict, but
what many fail to see is that ADDICTION is one of the least curable
diseses known to mankind, and that many of the drugs available
illegally are synthetic and more intensely powerful than they were
years ago.

Today heroin is 40% pure. In the 70's you would not see heroin
more than 15% pure; a junkie who shot up 40% died of an overdose.

Crack is synthetic it was targeted for the black and or poorer
populations. It is a high of the stimulant nature. The reason it is
so addictive is two-fold from what I'm told from crackheads;
first the sexual, stimulation and intense feeling of 'good' which is
very short lived is one not experienced by crackheads; but the
down is one of the worst known to mankind. You are plummeted
to a depression and feeling of death so profound that all you
can do is seek your next "rock" and with that you are on a
roller coaster.

Crack heart. It can happen the first time you smoke the
crap. I remember when I worked stepdown from CCU at Medical
College of Virginia; a 15 year old honor student (black girl) who's
boyfriend had cheated on her. Mind you she did have a daughter
(18 months old when I met this young woman), but she was
a track star, honors student and did have plans. Her mother
loved her dearly and helped with her daughter. I met her after
one crack binge dying. Filled with fluid, CHF (congestive
heart failure), and needing a heart transplant. This shortly before
my injury in 1998 I am sorry to tell you "we" don't give hearts
out to drug addicts when the screening is done and she was
on her way to death when I last saw her. Today some seven
years later I can only pray for her daughter; that she too won't
fall prey to that one binge, that one "heart breaker..."

This story shows me ONE area that just excels in
street drugs; they have the MARKET and clearly they have
the SUPPLY to meet the demand.

Addiction does not know a face, race, or economic
status; certainly the educated are just as affected. Many of
us in healthcare truly feel that addiction and alcoholism are
genetic, and if you are at risk (have family members who suffer)
then do yourself a favor get into 12 step now. That means
in short AA and ALANON; I don't drink, I'm a pain management
patient but 12-step has made a huge difference in my life. I'm
not to be what my mother was and died from; I pray my children
do not carry this forth into their gene pool, worse yet their adult
lives. It is real and in every family you will find someone.

So to us on PM, those in NIP we take note. That the DEA
has work out there to do; that we now wonder they ignore for
perhaps these huge "corporate drug cartels" are paying off
the government; that this is merely America issuing supply and
demand in a democracy.

Don't let anyone tell you they think Oxycontin is safe due
to it being legal or a scrip; it's unsafe. I'll tell you why. For
those who benefit today from this medication they will not
know from month to month if they can obtain the relief that
keeps them alive. We don't get high we live. Let me ask
you when is the last time you heard an addict spit out that
statement.

Thanks Cyn for another great piece, and once again
I pray for the real "peace" and it ain't a rock...

Blessings,

Karen G.



The never-ending battle
http://www.yesweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=18&SubSectionID=44&ArticleID=352&T
M=45398.33

In April 2004, Greensboro resident Elton Turnbull was convicted of
smuggling at least 500 kilos of cocaine annually since 1996. At the
time of his sentencing he was quoted by the News & Record as saying
he "knew six or seven people who smuggled more cocaine into
Greensboro than he did."

One of those "six or seven" may or may not have been another local,
Bautista Andaya-Penalosa, who received a life sentence in a Guilford
County court on June 20 for heading up a smuggling ring that brought
hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the county.

In between the arrests of the two coke kingpins was sandwiched the
arrest and conviction of Dickie Newman, who owned a million-dollar
mansion in Sedgefield, bought and paid for with profits from his
marijuana smuggling operation.

Did the arrests of these three "big fish" have any significant impact
on the availability of cocaine or marijuana in Guilford County?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Nor did it make a difference in the
ability of users to score crack, heroin, Ecstasy, meth, OxyContin or
any of dozens of other narcotic drugs. The sad yet irrefutable truth
is that anyone with a need to buy drugs can satisfy their craving
with relative ease. For every pusher who is put away there are
probably a dozen willing to take his place.

"I could show you where to go, and you could buy as much crack as you
wanted to at any time of day or night," comments one local crack
addict, referred to below as Crackhead D. "I could ride down the
street and point out the dealers and the whores even if I didn't know
them."

While none of this should raise too many eyebrows to anyone vaguely
aware of his surroundings, what may be surprising -- and alarming --
is that the stereotypes no longer apply. Yes, general descriptions
are still relevant and demographic surveys can be quite useful, but
trying to put a face on the typical drug abuser is as ephemeral as
grabbing a smoke ring. If white, upper-class, suburban America thinks
the drug scourge is confined to the urban ghetto, they are in for a
rude awakening. If Sedgefield, Emerywood, Forest Oaks and Irving Park
think their gated homes and landscaped lawns are immune from
encroachment, a wake-up call is imminent.

The reality is that the crackhead or junkie may well be living next
door.

It may be their son or daughter.

It may be them.

Where's Waldo?

No one will deny that crack cocaine is decimating the black
community. Its tragic consequences are easily traceable in any number
of crime statistics, from stolen property to homicide, and the
inordinate percentage of African-American prison population. But to
presume that crack addiction and its horrific manifestations do not
cut across all societal boundaries is to take the head-in-the-sand
approach. Whether one is willing to believe it or not, crack and
crackheads are apt to be in every neighborhood in every town in
America. Moreover, even if crackheads are ubiquitous, they are not
who you think they are. They are not necessarily black, not
necessarily poor, not necessarily unemployable, not necessarily
criminally inclined. Not necessarily anything.

If you think you can pick a crackhead out of a lineup, read on. The
four following profiles are of real people, all living in Guilford
County, all white, all employed, all in various stages of recovery
from crack addiction. They are not composites, not fictionalized in
any way. While vagueness of description is necessary to protect their
anonymity, these are true and provable accounts of their lives.

Crackhead A is a traveling salesman in his early 40s. In a typical
year he makes roughly $80,000. Divorced with two teenage daughters,
he tried crack while on the road, more to combat loneliness and
boredom than anything else. He lost one job after falsifying expense
and travel reports but found another in short order. After staying
clean almost two years he went to one of his old haunts in search of
oral sex from a crack whore. A $20 encounter turned into a $2000 lost
weekend -- and the guilt and remorse that accompanied it. Currently
he has been clean for about three months.

Crackhead B fell victim to crack addiction while rubbing elbows with
some of the most recognizable names in the music business. A TV
personality himself, he eventually found himself huddled in a fleabag

motel off Randleman Road with a dealer holding a .357 Magnum to his
head. He kicked the habit and had accrued over eight years of clean
time in a 12-step program before becoming addicted to the painkiller
OxyContin after a back injury. He entered a treatment facility and
has now been drug-free for almost a year.

Crackhead C was approaching millionaire status in the furniture
business by his early 30s. A year later he had spent around a quarter
of a million dollars on crack, his business bankrupt, his marriage in
shambles. He finally entered a treatment center and has been able to
maintain continuous sobriety for over five years. He has remarried,
reconciled with his two college-age children, started another
business and seems to have put his life back together.

Crackhead D has lost count of the number of treatment centers and
detox facilities he has been in since the early '80s but estimates it
is well over 20. He has been in and out of the revolving door of 12-
step programs, but so far the lure of crack has been stronger than
his will to stay clean for longer than a few months at a time. Still,
through most of that span he has never been arrested, never resorted
to crime to finance his habit, and has been gainfully employed with a
white-collar job. Like Crackheads A, B and C, few, if any, of his
peers and colleagues would have any inkling of his struggles with
addiction.

If these four men defy the stereotypical addict, consider the
following women. All four are white, educated, in their early and mid-
20s, attractive, and from well-to-do families. Three of them grew up
in what most consider the most prestigious neighborhood in
Greensboro.

And all four are addicted to heroin. They are currently either in or
have been recently discharged from long-term treatment facilities in
other parts of the country. In an era when heroin use is supposedly
on the wane, these young women seem to prove the fallacy of that
notion.

So much for stereotypes, eh?

Read 'em and weep

Statistics can prove anything or they can prove nothing. In the case
of crime figures from the county's three law enforcement agencies --
Greensboro Police Department, High Point Police Department and
Guilford County Sheriff's Department (each keeps its own separate
reports) -- the only thing that is clear is that drug abuse is a
major concern and that the problem isn't going to go away any time
soon.

Before drawing any conclusions, some raw data provides some
interesting numbers, to wit:

In 2004, Greensboro police made 5,702 drug arrests. Of those, 5,404
were for possession and 298 were for sale or manufacture. Of the
possession charges, 2,253 were for marijuana, 1,089 for
opium/cocaine, 1,978 for other drugs, and 84 for synthetic narcotics.
Juvenile drug arrests totaled 115, with all but one being for
possession.

The 5,702 arrests were down from 6,019 the previous year, but no
anomalies were found in a comparative analysis to indicate a
significant rise or drop in any of the categories. (All statistics
provided by crime analyst Judy Brenner).

In the month of May, the Guilford County Sheriff's Department's
Narcotics Unit (totals do not count patrol arrest figures) seized
12,556 grams of cocaine, 10 grams of crack and 8,996 grams of
marijuana. The estimated street value of the cocaine is $1,255,600;
the crack is $2,000; and the pot is $89,955.

Their year-to-date totals are: cocaine, 85,709 grams; crack, 337
grams; and marijuana, 439,914 grams. Street value is: cocaine,
$8,570,850; crack, $67,496; and marijuana, $4,399,142.

So, in one month the Sheriff's Department took $1,347,555 worth of
drugs off the street. From January through May that figure comes in
at $13,037,488. Additionally, so far this year they have seized
$763,578 in US currency, 13 vehicles worth $82,000, 17 firearms worth
$3,530, and recovered stolen property worth $50,000.

Their year-to-date felony drug arrests are 41, with two for
misdemeanors. (All statistics provided by Sgt. MH Carrier)

While the High Point Police Department did not have street values
readily available, crime analyst Lee Hunt was able to provide some
arrest data. Their 2005 year-to-date drug arrests total 791. In 2004
they arrested 1,926, while in 2003 the total was 1,780.

According to the website fedstats.gov, as of June 26, there have been
6,209 drug violations in Guilford County this year.

Of course, the problem with arrest figures is that they represent
only a minuscule portion of drug abusers, and Guilford County Sheriff
BJ Barnes acknowledges as much.

"That's but a small part of the equation," admits Barnes. "Compared
to other areas, we're doing great, but we're losing the larger war.
Probably eighty-five percent of our people in detention have alcohol
or drug problems, so we have AA and NA, Prodigal Son and others come
in and talk to them, so they have opportunities to turn their lives
around. But after they get out there's no place for them to go.

"My issue with treatment centers is that they do a fine job but they
are not geared up to take referrals," he adds. "As it is now there's
no place to go [after prison]."

Which is why Barnes and his colleagues tend to see the same faces
again and again.

An ounce of prevention

No one should doubt that the local law enforcement agencies, as well
as the regional DEA, SBI and FBI offices, are doing everything in
their power to stem the flow of illegal narcotics, from the street
level to the international level. Yet the sad fact remains that once
a person, whether a small-time user or cartel ringleader, is in the
legal system, the battle is already lost. While police and agents can
disrupt the supply, they can do very little to prevent the demand for
drugs. Building more jails is clearly not the answer, and toughening
the drug laws seems to have little effect.

Treatment is key and, combined with aftercare, AA and NA, many lives
have been rebuilt as a result of it, but even that is an after-the-
fact measure. So, clearly, the answer -- if there is one -- lies in
prevention.

The good news is that there are numerous agencies, organizations and
programs in Guilford County that are designed specifically to address
the drug problem at the treatment and/or prevention level. A quick
perusal of the Yellow Pages reveals no fewer than 22 numbers for
counseling, assessments, detox and treatment, plus several more for
halfway houses.

One of them, Fellowship Hall, located on Hwy. 29 North, is among the
most prestigious in the country, mentioned alongside Betty Ford and
Hazelden. Founded in 1972 as an alcohol treatment center, Fellowship
Hall mirrors the national trend that is seeing an upsurge in
admissions of drug abusers. According to clinical director Jim
Fenley, of the 1,136 patients admitted to its 28-day program since
November 2003, 49 percent were for alcoholism, 31 percent were for
crack addiction, and 20 percent were for other drugs, primarily
prescription painkillers, barbiturates and mood altering drugs.

"So, over half our guests are now for drugs other than alcohol,"
notes Fenley. "Of course, many of them are dually addicted or cross-
addicted. We find that a good number of crack addicts also have
problems with alcohol."

Because it does not detox with Methadone, Fellowship Hall sees very
few heroin addicts, but several facilities do, notably among them ADS
(Alcohol and Drug Services) on West Wendover Avenue. In 2004, ADS
admitted 1,304 patients for detox, 644 for in-house treatment
(lasting between seven and 14 days), 94 for partial treatment, and
3655 for outpatient treatment. But the vast majority of its work has
to do with prevention and education, as it reached 15,363 people last
year.

"Most folks think of us as a treatment center, but we have a whole
program of prevention and education," remarks Julie Westholder, one
of eight prevention counselors at ADS. "Our prevention program runs
the gamut from elementary, middle and high schools and also includes
parents as well. We work closely with Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and
this fall we'll be working with peer-led groups of kids who don't use
(who will be) educating other kids. We feel these peer-led classes
that are there consistently year after year can make a huge
difference."

One relatively new organization that has the potential to make a
difference is the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition. The idea
for the coalition grew out of a conference in May 2002, co-sponsored
by the Moses Cone-Wesley Long Community Health Foundation and the
Guilford Health Partnership. Since then it has determined that its
mission statement should read: "To develop a partnership through
advocacy, education, collaboration, and support of best practice
principles to effectively address substance abuse." Its vision is to
establish a service system "that is easily accessible, based on
proven effective practices, meeting the needs of a diverse
population."

In August 2004, the organization hired George Coates, a 10-year
veteran with the United Way, to be its executive director, and in
December elected its first board of directors and officers.

"We have 41 agencies involved and a total participation of 101 people
so far," says Coates. "We want to let any concerned citizens know
that we welcome their input."

Among other things, the coalition has formed five committees composed
of members of the service provider organizations and community
residents, sponsored a series of focus groups and town hall meetings,
and published a detailed report outlining demographic data of drug
use in Guilford County, areas of most concern, gaps in treatment, and
tentative recommendations.

"Much of our data is from as far back as 2000," states Coates, "but
we will have an up-to-date report in a couple of months, so we will
be better able to assess the needs of the community, what resources
are available and how they're being used."

One area of immediate concern is getting the county's young people
involved by forming a Youth Advisory Council.

"We received a $100,000 grant that will go toward prevention and
education in the schools," discloses Coates. "We are trying to reach
them as early as the third, fourth and fifth grades, so that later
they will be informed enough to make good choices."

Combined with the DARE program administered by the Sheriff's
Department, the ADS prevention and education program, agencies such
as Youth Focus, and the 12-step Alateen groups, there does appear to
be hope on the horizon for catching drug abuse before it happens.

While the Substance Abuse Coalition is just now rolling up its
sleeves and getting to work, its efforts definitely bear watching
over the coming years. By uniting all the health care providers,
substance abuse counselors and administrative personnel under one
metaphorical roof, it has a chance to at least level the playing
field. If it can decrease demand for drugs, then those working on the
supply side may have to go elsewhere to ply their illegal, immoral
and indefensible trade.

Perhaps Sheriff Barnes said it best: "My goal is to not put a kid in
jail. If I can keep him out of jail, I've done a good day's work."

YES! Weekly would like to thank Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes,
Capt. Tom Sheppard, Sgt. Debbie Gariglio and Jim Coleman for allowing
us access to the department's evidence room.

To comment on this story, e-mail Ogi at ogi@....













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Thank you. The O.C.P.M. Staff



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Karen Hallenbeck~Sikorsky~George BS,RN,UM,QC
Interqual Certified
Published Psychiatric Researcher
Advocate for those in CIP, HIV, Psychologic Pain

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"AnAnGeLInPain"

PAIN is the end result of a LIFE TRAUMA
but it is not your life, only a part of it...
CONTROL PAIN and you will be FREE...

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