Drugs are Back

Were They Ever Really Away?
It Can Happen Here.

By Patricia Conklin, RN

There is much concern lately over the increased use of heroin among the younger generation in Sussex County. It seems beyond the comprehension of many of us who lived throughout the drug epidemic in the ‘60s and ‘70s. We thought the onset of AIDS in the ‘80s would stop the problem but drug use is again on the rise.

As a nurse who worked in Detox in a local community hospital, I need to say that drug use did not abate. Rather, it became easier to buy and use. You could be a user and still keep a job. Cocaine use in the ‘80s became almost as socially acceptable as cigarettes and alcohol. Users were not just the down-and-outers on the streets of large cities. They were the heads of large corporations, doctors, lawyers, nurses and other members of the establishment. Cocaine was cool and still is; though not as cool as heroin has become.

Now in the ‘90s, we read in horror about the "heroin chic" ads in the high fashion magazines. A TV ad points to many young, well-known actors and musicians who have overdosed on heroin within the last few years.

One reason for the popularity, according to addicts I know, is you no longer need to use a needle for heroin, so in the self-delusional world of drug use, it’s safe. As with all good businessmen, the sellers are putting out a good product until enough consumers are hooked and will continue to buy despite the gradual reduction of quality. This is an example of good old-fashioned American know-how at work.

The baby boomers that dabbled in drugs in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s now have children. Many see no problem with an occasional snort or puff. They do it and still have successful lives, by society’s definition. They’ve married, sometimes more than once; have had children, sometimes with all their partners; and have accomplished careers. If we believe example teaches, what has the younger generation learned?

Let’s now come down on the baby boomers alone. They learned from their parents that a martini or two after work couldn’t hurt. Smoking cigarettes is cool and sophisticated. Everyone "knows" alcohol and nicotine are not as bad for you as cocaine and heroin.

The question we should be asking is not, "What’s wrong with these kids who are returning to heroin?" We should be asking, "What wrong with us after all these years that we still don’t recognize there is a drug problem in our country?"

Why can’t we admit that alcohol and nicotine are drugs and as lethal to your well being as cocaine and heroin?

Why do we continue the delusion that it can’t happen here?

Why do we convince ourselves it’s the city people who have brought drugs to Sussex County?

Denial and blame are the two most common symptoms of drug addiction; denying there is a problem or blaming someone else. In treating addicts and their families, I have found denial and blame to be just as strong for the non-addicts in the families as the addict. In order for drug use to grow, denial and blame have to be thriving in the community, as well.

When my family and I moved to the area in 1973 from Rockland County, I heard a member of the school board quoted as saying that drugs were " . . . on the other side of the mountain." My 14-year-old son came home the first day of school to inform me he could buy any drug he wanted around the flagpole in front of the school entrance. Now, 23 years later, I hear surprise that there is drug use in area.

We owe it to ourselves and the future of our children to learn about and understand drugs and addicts. Stop thinking it’s "them." "Them" is us. If we really want to know, there are plenty of Recovery Programs right here in the area to answer our questions.

I have learned much while working in Detox. I have learned the difference between a user and an addict. The user can stop by himself; the addict can’t. An addict cannot "just say no."

Whether you do drugs as a user or addict, the damage to the body is the same.

Addiction is a disease that takes over the person on an emotional and spiritual level, as well as physical. It is a lifetime disease that needs to be fought every day, and it cannot be fought alone. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and perseverance.

Nicotine is one the hardest addictions to overcome (according to some pretty hard-core addicts). Most addicts under the age of 45 are addicted to more than one drug. Typically, they do alcohol, coke, crack and heroin in some combination.

Addiction knows no economic, social, gender or racial boundaries. It is a destroyer of lives, not only the addict’s and his family’s, but the community as well. We will never know which great mind lost to drugs did not discover the cure for cancer or the solutions to some international crisis.

Education to understand the disease is the first step in overcoming this national problem. Facing the reality of drug use, legal and illegal, in our families and us will help in the fight against this destroyer of lives.

Coming up in the October issue of sussexcounty.com will be a follow up article entitled, "Addiction: How Does It Happen?"