Drugs Overtake Alcohol In Annual Drug Program Stats

The EG drug program saw 100 youths (under age 18) in the 12 months from July 2012 through June 2013, for issues split pretty evenly between alcohol, drugs and mental health, according to drug counselor Bob Houghtaling. That's down from 122 a year ago, but just a bit lower when looking at the three-year average.

Out of the 100 youths, 30 were seen primarily for alcohol-related issues, 33 were seen for drug issues and 32 were seen for mental health issues. That's the first time in the past three years there were more clients with drug-related issues than any other.

"There's more heroin around than people want to acknowledge and there's more prescription drug abuse than people want to acknowledge," said Houghtaling. "You're hearing more and more and more about kids experimenting with heroin."

For Houghtaling, "the scary thing is the prescription drug thing" because of its prevalence.

He said some kids are taking Klonopin – "it's alcohol in a pill" – which has a sedative effect. It takes the edge off so kids take it to relax. But, Houghtaling said, "what's dangerous about it is if you drink alcohol with it, that can be dangerous. None of this good, but mixing them is even worse. It has a multiplying effect."

Then there are the kids taking Adderall, a drug used to help people who have attention-deficit issues focus. "Some kids will take them to stay up all night and study, or for energy," Houghtaling said. 

And, there is the elephant in the room, said Houghtaling – marijuana. With medical marijuana now legal in Rhode Island and acceptance of the drug growing, it's hard to convince kids it's not good for them.

"You've got some 16-year-old kid saying, 'What's the big deal?'"  

Houghtaling said he's concerned about mental health issues too. He applauded the School Committee's recent adoption of a new mental health policy. 

"Acknowledging the issue is huge," he said, especially in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., last December. "The causal factors are alienation, stress, and the accessibility of weapons," he said. Still, you can have metal detectors at schools, more police, locks on doors, but "the most uncontrollable of all creatures is the animal known as human beings," said Houghtaling.

"How do we create a safe environment for everybody? How do we promote mental health as a dynamic in our society?" he said. "It all boils down whether people feel they belong. All the other stuff – the titles, the medications, the laws and the rules, while they're important, nothing beats feeling that you're loved and cared for and respected and cared for."