app.com - 3 things we learned about heroin in Middletown

6/17/2016

, @RussZimmer2:25 p.m. EDT June 17, 2016

 

 

Heroin destroys thousands of lives everyday around the world. In the documentary you'll meet mothers, fathers and children in New Jersey who are coping with life marred by the drug.

MIDDLETOWN - Police got a call last year: A 15-year-old girl was unconscious at the train station in Middletown.

Suspecting that a heroin or prescription painkiller overdose could be the cause, officers administered a Narcan spray up her nose, which revived her and perhaps saved her life.

Police Chief R. Craig Weber shared this story during a conversation on drug abuse trends in Middletown with Crossroads director Heather DiBlasi and the Asbury Park Press.

YOUR TURN: What illegal drug activity have you seen in Middletown? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Here's what we learned:

Middletown has a problem with heroin, like most towns

“The purity and concentration in Philly and New York is much higher than it is in other parts of the country, and the prices are very low," Weber said. "It's a much cheaper alternative for addicts than prescription medication.”

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Middletown police made 142 arrests on drug offenses through May, more than double what they had done last year.

But that could be because the department, Weber said, has been more fixated on drug crime, particularly heroin.

There's a new five-officer special unit that concentrates on narcotics and drug-related crimes, an officer embedded with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office on a countywide task force and another soon to be committed to full-time work with a federal task force in New Jersey.

DiBlasi said there's no evidence to believe that the problem here is worse than it is anywhere else in the state.

In fact, crime in the township is at its lowest point since 1969, and it appears to be continuing to trend downward.

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Data gathered by the New Jersey State Police shows theft offenses are down 33 percent in Middletown this year through May when compared to the same period in 2015. Twenty-three burglaries were reported so far in 2016, versus 31 last year.

Officers used Narcan to resuscitate overdose victims 44 times in 2015 and that pace has slowed down in 2016 — 13 so far.

Drug addiction is a public health crisis

Substance abuse centers in New Jersey admitted 65,000 patients for treatment in 2014, according to data compiled by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That's actually down from 2013.

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Thomas McGlyn, Middletown, shares the grief he feels after losing his son Daniel to a heroin overdose in January. STAFF VIDEO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

Less people in treatment isn't necessarily a good thing, Weber said. It could mean that individuals or families are trying to fight it themselves and that's unlikely to work when a drug has as much pull as heroin.

“There is a stigma about heroin in addiction in particular, a lot of families are really in denial and unwilling to seek help to address it,” he said.

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Drug abuse has traditionally be viewed as a character flaw or a sign of a weak will, but the medical community has been working to push back against that narrative, DiBlasi said.

“Now we know that addiction is a disease there shouldn’t be any shame or stigma attached to it, and people are able to get help,” she said.

There's help if you need it

Through grant funding, Crossroads provides free outpatient treatment and counseling to Middletown residents struggling with substance abuse.

Crossroads is located at 730 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft.

In non-emergency situations, to schedule an appointment call 732-615-2275. For crises, call the Riverview 24-hour crisis line at 732-291-5325 or 911 in life-threatening situations.

Residents can also leave anonymous tips on illegal drug activity in their neighborhoods on the police tip line: 732-615-3277.