Increased Heroin Use Spurs Prevention Programs QUESTION & ANSWER

Author: Alison Hertel

Heroin was identified by the National Drug Intelligence Center's January 2002 Vermont Drug Threat Assessment as Vermont's primary drug threat. In 1995, 132 Vermonters were admitted to treatment programs for heroin use. In 2001, that number grew to 590. According to the 1999 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, four percent of eighth to 12th graders, or 1,634 students, had used heroin.

Adrienne Cohen, substance abuse prevention consultant for the Vermont Department of Health's Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, works with citizens of Addison and Rutland counties on drug prevention.



Campus: To what can we attribute the dramatic rise in heroin use in Vermont?

Cohen: First of all, drugs do run in cycles. A couple of things have caused the recent shift. Heroin got a lot cheaper and a lot stronger. When heroin got a lot more potent, it could be smoked or snorted instead of injected and people thought it was less dangerous. They thought that if they didn't inject it into their arm, it wouldn't hurt them. However, it's just as addictive and dangerous.

The two groups in which we saw the largest increases were 18 to 24-year-old males and young adolescent females. I believe the two groups have connections to each other. For example, a girl tries heroin from her boyfriend. After they stop dating, she's still addicted.The trend happened in the 1990s. We're at the point now where people are entering treatment.



Campus: Has heroin use increased in Addison County as it has overall in the state?

Cohen: That's hard to say. There have been some arrests. Heroin has been found on the street. In 1995, there was one Addison County resident admitted for heroin treatment. In 2001, there were 10. That is a huge increase, and those are just the people getting treatment.

Campus: In May 2000 Vermont approved long-term methadone treatment in Vermont. How did that law come about — what was the impetus?

Cohen: It's a fairly complicated issue that I'm not in a position at this point to discuss. There are no proposals to have a methadone clinic in Addison County at this point.

People who are on methadone at this point in Vermont have to travel out of state. It has made it hard for them to have a job. This vision that people have that if we have methadone clinics, we will be having people coming in to Vermont to use them, is a misconception. What we would see is our people staying here and not going elsewhere for treatment.

It's only methadone maintenance; it's not a cure for heroin addiction. There is no cure for addiction either. But people can recover, and they do recover.



Campus: What is Vermont doing to counteract the new, young users of heroin? What more should Vermont be doing?

Cohen: There are some really wonderful programs right now. We're establishing programs based on science that have been researched and studied at universities. We know now the things that work. We're trying to get schools and other organizations to incorporate them. It's slow, but it's certainly happening.



Campus: What makes a program effective?

Cohen: Telling kids drugs are bad doesn't work. We try to look at reasons kids use drugs. One reason is to fit in with their peers. If you teach them how to make friends and help them to develop that skill they don't feel they need to put drugs in their bodies to be part of a group. Another reason is to deal with feelings. Our society is so incredible in that regard. We've gotten to a point where in the expectation that we might have a problem we take a drug. For example, we have forms of antacid that we take in anticipation that we might get heartburn. We need to teach kids to deal with difficult life situations. Those are the kinds of things. The two biggest risk factors in Addison County are that kids believe that everyone is doing it and that they don't perceive drugs as harmful.

They believe that all the kids are doing drugs. However, it has been shown from anonymous surveys done in schools that the perception is higher than the norm. Also, some people are using heroin because they think that if they snort or smoke it, it isn't harmful.



Campus: What heroin prevention programs does Vermont have?

Cohen: It's really interesting because heroin is never the first drug that somebody tries. We have to prevent the gateway drugs — cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana — and then we're preventing the other stuff. We're not going to have a heroin prevention program. We are teaching young people social skills, how to make decisions, how to make friends, how to deal with their feelings. Our prevention work has got to start very young and be carried on through all of the developments through early adolescence.

We need to let young people know the dangers of the drugs. They don't necessarily perceive it. For example, they need to know that marijuana has more cancer causing agents than tobacco.



Campus: What resources are available in Addison County for someone who would like to seek treatment for a heroin addiction?

The Counseling Service of Addison County is available for assessment and for treatment as well. I recommend an assessment visit. It will help you know if you need treatment and what kind of treatment you need.



Note: Middlebury College students can seek help through Middlebury's Center for Counseling and Human Relations or through the Parton Health Center. More information about heroin and methadone can be found at www.drugfreeamerica.org, www.health.org or www.nida.hih.gov.