Published in the October 27, 2016 edition
By BOB TUROSZ
NORTH READING — For an understanding of the size and scope of the heroin and opioid crisis sweeping Massachusetts, all you need to know is the following fact:
In 2012 there were 65 drug related deaths in Middlesex County, made up of 54 cities and towns. Middlesex is the state’s largest county in terms of population and its most diverse, with 26 colleges and universities, according to District Attorney Marian Ryan.
By 2015 the number of overdose deaths rose to 185 in the county and 142 of the deaths were from heroin. 2016 is far from over, but by Oct. 15 of this year, there have already been 192 opiate or heroin overdose deaths, with two and a half months still left in the year. If the number of deaths rises to 200 by Dec. 31, which seems likely, that will represent a 200 percent increase from just four years ago.
Almost every city and town in the county has experienced at least one overdose death in that four year period and North Reading, with four, is no exception.
Those are the cold, hard facts D.A. Ryan and six other expert speakers presented at a Opioid Crisis Forum last week sponsored by the North Reading Republican Town Committee and held at the Moose Hall on North Street.
Those in attendance learned how the current opioid epidemic affects all ages and all levels of society and heard stories of personal loss, recovery and hope.
Everyone of those deaths was someone’s son or daughter, somebody’s mother father or sister, so the shock waves of the epidemic run deep, Ryan said. But even the deaths don’t tell the whole story because there are many ramifications that aren’t always obvious.
For instance, Middlesex County has eight birthing hospitals. The hospitals vary greatly, but every one of them is delivering at least one substance–exposed baby per month and some are delivering many.
The problem is so severe that if society could stop the opioid crisis today, it will take years, “probably a generation” to address all the problems that will be left. “It takes years. It takes time, it takes talent and it takes money,” Ryan said.
Another speaker, Lt. Col Frank Hughes of the Mass. State Police, said law enforcement alone is not the answer. “In my 31 yeas as a State Trooper, I’ve never seen the problem worse. We can’t arrest our way out of the problem.”
Opioids and heroin are bad enough but the appearance of new deadly drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil have exponentially worsened the crisis. The average age of a person dying from fentanyl is 35 to 38. At that age, they have likely been addicts for quite a while. The addicts know very well the drug might kill them but the high is so intense they don’t care, Hughes said.
Most of the heroin and other narcotics coming into the state are from Mexico, Hughes said. “There’s a direct line from Mexico to Lawrence, five miles up the road,” he said. From Lawrence it’s distributed as far away as Maine and Vermont.
“Right now there’s someone sitting in a parking lot on Route 28 in North Reading waiting for their drug dealer to show up.” What typically happens is that the buyer gets there first and waits for the dealer to show up. The dealer drives by, the buyer follows and they end up in another parking lot perhaps 15 minutes away where the drug deal is made. They move from one location to another to make sure they’re not being followed by police.
Other speakers included State Rep. Brad Jones Jr., Dr. Richard Falzone, who practices adolescent psychiatry, Supt. of Schools Jon Bernard and two speakers who have experienced personal pain and loss from drug addition, Mrs. Carol DiGiantommaso and Dennis Sullivan.
DiGiantommaso, of North Reading, spoke of the great personal pain and sense of loss from the death of her son, Michael, from and accidental heroin/cocaine overdose in 2004.
North Reading is no different from any other city or town, she said. “There are drugs everywhere and there are drugs here as well,” DiGiantommaso. But Michael’s death at the age of 23 shocked the community. The 1998 NRHS graduate was a well liked and popular student who was captain of the football and wrestling teams.
“When I was asked to speak, I wasn’t going to but I wanted to save just one person and one parent from living the hell that I have lived for so many years.
“The magnitude of how addiction affects the family as a unit is indescribable.”
Michael’s problem started with weed and alcohol and became worse in college, where he tried cocaine and oxycontin and soon “found himself in the grips of addiction and never found his way out,” she said, reading from a tribute written by her other son, Paul.
He eventually tried intravenous using and “opened the gates of hell,” she read. “The problem was bigger than he was.”
Mike’s death left behind “an indescribable pain to those who loved him and there is no moving on or getting over it,” she read.
In 2004 there was no such thing as Narcan, also known as naloxone, the life saving medication that can stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and DiGiantommaso demonstrated how to use it and urged residents not to be hesitant to use the drug to save or life and call 911 if that’s ever necessary, because everyone is protected by the Good Samaritan Law.
Also speaking from personal experience was Dennis Sullivan of Wilmington, who courageously overcame his addiction to heroin and has been sober for eight years. He operates Michael’s House, a 12–step recovery home in Wilmington that requires all guests to actively participate in the steps for recovery and transition.
Sullivan agreed with Dr. Falzone that going back to work and trying to change is the hardest part of any recovery. He credited his family and wife with helping him through recovery.
Michael’s House is named in honor of Carol DiGiantommaso’s son, because she played such a huge part in his own recovery.
Dr. Falzone said opiates grab hold of people and they really don’t let go. Particularly with young people, they can change and rewire someone’s neurochemistry and “the best insurance against relapse is having a life that’s worth staying sober for.”
Rep. Jones spoke about the crisis from a statewide perspective and how the crisis is evolving from heroin to fentanyl to carfentanil. “There used to be a lot of denial about this but not anymore. This is truly an epidemic. There probably isn’t a person in this room who doesn’t know someone know someone who’s life hasn’t been touched in a negative way.”
Jones, Ryan against Question 4
Rep. Jones and D.A. Ryan recommended against passage of Question 4, on the state ballot Nov. 8 for the legalization of marijuana use. “Even if you contemplate the idea of legalizing marijuana, Question 4 is the wrong way to go about it,” Jones said.
“No matter what you think about marijuana, this is not the time to put any more drugs on the street,” said Ryan. “It’s not the right time while we’re trying to get through this crisis.”
Supt. Bernard said he appreciates the networking that goes on every day in town to address this problem and others like it. He praised the efforts of the Community Impact Team that strategizes to address these quality of life issues.
Bernard said when he became a teacher over 30 years ago he never thought problems like this would be part of the agenda. But he remains optimistic there’s a lot of good, talented and committed people dealing with it.
