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by Daniel K. Duncan, NCADA's Director of Community Services. Kids putting themselves at risk by using drugs is nothing new. Heroin and death, nothing new. Kids using heroin to the degree we currently see it, that is new … and it's horrifying. A recent Post-Dispatch article documented the descent of a teenage girl into heroin addiction, which, unfortunately, is becoming rampant. We're seeing an escalation of heroin use by teens, the likes of which we've not seen in the 45 years that our agency has served greater St. Louis. This is a threat that the public needs to be acutely aware of. In the past, the use of heroin largely was confined to urban ghettos, considered a major contributor to crime because of its unrelenting grip on those addicted to it. However, the profile of the average heroin user has changed dramatically. Youth from middle-class to affluent neighborhoods across the region are trying heroin. By the time they suffer the inevitable consequences of addiction, they also find a lack of services available to help them. Often, these are youth you never would imagine using heroin — youth with the potential to do anything they might decide to do with their lives, unless heroin enters the picture. Even in the archetypal Woodstock era when drug use exploded into middle-class America, heroin typically was not an option. Most drug users just didn't go there because they knew better. What changed? Why the dramatic increase in the use of this drug? Several factors seem to be at play. First, there is a "generation gap" as it pertains to our cultural knowledge of heroin. At one time the extreme nature of heroin addiction was better known, but that no longer seems to be the case. Counselors have noted that parents seem to know little about heroin. If parents know little, what might we expect of their kids? Beyond the lack of awareness are availability and cost. In the past, a limited supply of heroin would enter the United States, usually from countries such as Afghanistan and Turkey. Addicts often would experience difficulty scoring the expensive drug, and it was used intravenously. Today, a new supply of heroin is flowing into the United States from Mexico, the new king of suppliers for America's self-destructive appetites. That results in lower prices and greater purity. Additionally, teens are snorting or smoking the drug rather than using needles, making it seem less dangerous and more like other drugs they already may have used, such as marijuana or cocaine. Combine this with widely available prescription painkillers, and you have a vortex of opiate nirvana that creates a bridge between illegal and pharmacological chemicals. Put it all into a social blender with a sprinkle of apathy and a pinch of permissiveness, and you have a recipe for a drug epidemic with the potential for fatalities. We've had more than 500 documented heroin overdose deaths in the region in the past five years with other probable heroin-associated deaths not necessarily attributed to its use. This situation obviously is unacceptable, but coming to grips with it will be a challenge. An improved response would require both will and resources. Good parenting is the best prevention. Parents must educate themselves by reading up on heroin. They need to talk to their kids about heroin and other drugs at a young age and keep talking. They need to set a good example, articulate family rules that include expectations, boundaries and consequences, and stick with them. They should urge their schools and school districts to include best-practice prevention curriculum. Good parenting means being involved in their kids' lives, talking with other parents and knowing where their kids are at all times. Because it's possible for parents to do all the right things and still have kids make mistakes or poor choices, we must be realistic in recognizing that some youths will experiment, get addicted and need professional help. We must have a treatment system in place. Currently, there is not enough treatment, not even close. Parents need to let legislators know the importance of protecting our youth by providing quality prevention and treatment programs in our schools and communities. Help us improve how we respond to this deadly epidemic. Believe me when I tell you, this is an issue that can affect your child.
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