No easy answers, solutions for drug abuse

June 27--PLATTSBURGH -- The solution is not an easy one.

Since Jan. 1, 2012, State Police have investigated 30 accidental fatal overdoses, most heroin- or opiate-induced, said State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Lt. Brent Davison.

In last December's biggest-ever drug sweep in Clinton County, 24 of the 52 people arrested were charged with heroin possession or sales.

And the need -- and taxpayer-funded cost -- for foster care has escalated over the past few years, mostly because heroin-addicted parents are being declared unfit.

Children witness moms and dads doing drugs, selling drugs and committing crimes to get money to buy drugs.

Addiction makes criminals out of people who may not otherwise choose that path, Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne said, citing 30 to 40 recent burglaries in his area that can be linked to heroin use.

"They will turn to crime or to selling heroin to support their habit because you can't support a $400-to-$600-a-day habit only on the salaries available in Franklin County," he said.

And if the person uses a weapon during a break-in and confronts a homeowner, the DA said, "I might have another victim, and I have to prosecute.

"We're going to have an incident where a homeowner is injured or killed" or a homeowner with a gun shoots an intruder.

"That's a horrible situation to put our people in."

CYCLE OF CRIME

When the case warrants it, the DA said, he gives more weight to drug treatment and rehabilitation in plea agreements or sentencing recommendations.

But that may not be enough, since insurance companies routinely pay for a maximum of 28 days of treatment, which is not long enough for heroin addicts to detoxify and start recovery, he said.

That means the cycle of crime can continue because the person comes back to the community still addicted and may again turn to illicit ways to get money to feed the habit.

Again and again, Clinton County Sheriff David Favro has seen inmates return.

"Quite often, you have inmates that get released and they go back to the same housing environment, the same neighborhoods, meet the same people -- and in days, if not hours, they're back in the same routine that they were (before)."

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH

"It's a revolving door, so treatment is a huge part," Champagne said.

"We need a new collaborative approach because law enforcement is not going to get us out of this one."

Many addictions start when dentists and doctors prescribe oxycodone or hydrocodone for pain, he said.

If people get hooked and can't get more pills, they choose heroin because it's cheap and available everywhere.

And it's glamorized in social media as something cool, the DA said, whereas heroin addicts of earlier generations were seen as pathetic derelicts.

"We're on a whole different plane now," he said. "And it's not like the marijuana trade, where a set group of distributors were in one area, and we were able to make arrests.

"With heroin, there is a proliferation of people from every area -- New York, Albany, Syracuse, even Massachusetts.

"And the people who were dependent on other opiates, like oxycodone or hydrocodone -- now that the formula has changed to make it more difficult to snort or ingest those -- are why we're seeing this explosion in heroin."

'NOT ENOUGH RESOURCES'

Late last month, Andrew Turpenning of Plattsburgh was transferred to Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill to serve the remainder of a five-year sentence for selling heroin and cocaine.

His fiancee, Harley Meddaugh, also incarcerated for drug crimes, gave birth in jail last month to his fifth child. She was also recently transferred to state prison.

Turpenning's infant son is his third child to be placed in foster care.

"I don't feel there's enough resources for the addiction problem that has engulfed this area since I've lived here," he said.

While the counseling he received in jail helped, it wasn't enough.

"There's people that are trying but there's not enough help," he said. "All of us have serious things that we need to talk about before we hurt ourselves or possibly hurt someone else.

"At that point, where do you go? Where do you turn?"

While an increase in counseling personnel at the jail isn't likely to solve the drug problem, it would undoubtedly help inmates, Favro said.

The budget doesn't allow for that, though.

But a new grant-funded position, to be submitted in July for approval by the Clinton County Legislature, could change that. The new employee would serve as a liaison to help transition inmates back into the community while maintaining the treatment they received in jail.

'MULTI-LAYER APPROACH'

Some officials say jail doesn't do much good for parents addicted to drugs.

"Incarceration only pushes the problem, and the cost, onto Corrections, but the impact on kids is still there and has to be dealt with," said Clinton County Social Services Commissioner John Redden.

"And jail is not necessarily the answer because it doesn't really rehabilitate (the addicts)."

Solving the problem will take a multi-layer approach, he said.

A combination of better treatment, education, law enforcement and better health-insurance coverage would all help.

"It's not a one-pill answer," Redden said.

He fears that the heroin problem will be front and center for the next few years and will continue to take a heavy toll on local governments and local families.

"To turn this corner, it is going to have to take a total community effort, with the state, the county, parents, everyone involved."

'PEOPLE CAN CHANGE'

Some officials remain skeptical, but counseling professionals say that, while difficult, it's possible for addicts to get straight and put their lives back on track, which could lead to them regaining custody of their children.

Mary Ellen Baughman, an addictions counselor with Clinton County Mental Health Clinic and Addiction Services in Plattsburgh, sees some of her clients relapse. But others rise above their situation.

Recently, she released from her care a man who had been addicted to prescription pain medication.

She said he is the greatest success story she's seen in her seven years working at the clinic.

"He is employed. He helps out with his son's Little League now. He's an active parent now."

The man's 10-year-old son became involved in his treatment, coming to the clinic a couple of times, Baughman said.

"The last session we had, his son came in and he said, 'Thank you for giving my dad back.'"

That was a powerful moment for her.

"People can change," she said.

Email Felicia Krieg:fkrieg@pressrepublican.comTwitter: @FeliciaKrieg

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