Panel tells parents just how it is with drug trends

WEST MILFORD — Kids are starting to use alcohol and drugs at a younger age than in the past, and new drugs like Molly are enticing to young people- this according to a panel of experts gathered last week at West Milford High School to discuss drug trends in the area. But it is the cheap, readily available, potent heroin that continues to be a scourge on this and many surrounding communities. Of course, that's not how drug use starts for most kids.

In the beginning
Detective Eric Darnsteadt is one of five detectives on the West Milford Police Department and one of two who handles narcotics investigations. Darnsteadt pulled no punches with the group of about 100 parents at the gathering. He said kids are starting earlier - some at 12, 13, 14 years old - drinking and smoking pot.

"We are finding the problem is now moving toward the middle school," said Darnsteadt.

His advice: "Be a parent."
"There is no expectation of privacy in my house," said Darnsteadt, the father of three including a young teenager.

And to those who say "it's just pot," Darnsteadt strongly disagrees.

"This is not the marijuana of the 60s and 70s," he said.

It's being genetically manipulated and dealers are lacing it with things like formaldehyde and Raid. Some even lace it with cocaine or heroin.

The road to heroin
The liberal dispensing of prescription opiates, such as Oxycodone and Percocet for pain, is leading many into heroin use. Kids have easy access to the drugs from their parents' medicine cabinets. They get hooked on them quickly. When the supply runs out at home and they go to buy the pills on the street, the cost is about $30 for one 30 milligram oxycodone pill.

"That's when addicts get introduced to heroin," Darnsteadt said.

Heroin is cheap. It costs about $3 to $5 for a half gram of product sold in a small glassine bag. Most begin by snorting the drug, he said. But they quickly proceed to shooting it.

"Most think they have it under control, but they don't," said the detective.

To keep up with the cost of the addiction, many users resort to crime. Last year there were 257 burglaries and thefts reported in the township. That number has been around 300 every year since 2010. Darnsteadt estimates that up to 95 percent of them are related to heroin use.

"Most addicts lose their jobs, hock their stuff then go to their parents for money," said Darnsteadt. They'll ask for $40 for gas or $30 to pay back to a friend for a dinner. "They become very manipulative, very deceptive."

When all of their options have been exhausted, they'll start stealing, first from their family, then friends. Ultimately, they're burglarizing strangers' houses. And addiction knows no boundaries, he said.

"Good, bad, rich, poor. It doesn't matter," said Darnsteadt.

The end of the road
Skip McLaughlin is the director of New Life Recovery Center in West Milford. McLaughlin has been in West Milford for 23 years and has a masters degree in counseling. He is in recovery himself. He said he doesn't know many addicts who didn't start as teens and that's why parents have to be vigilant.

"Parents feel guilty," said McLaughlin. "You have to be willing to let them be mad at you. Doing the right thing is usually the harder way."

He applauds the West Milford School District for its newly instituted random drug testing program.

"Random drug screening is the way to go," said McLaughlin. "You are giving the kid an excuse not to use. West Milford High School is the bomb with drug screening."

Peer pressure is the biggest factor in why kids use, McLaughlin said. Studies show that. It starts with drinking and pot and most kids escape what he calls "the trap." But some don't.

"Kids will say they're having a good time because they're at the beginning of the road," he said. "It's our job to see them down the road."

McLaughlin said parents have to be in control. They should check everything; look in the most inconspicuous places - he said he hid his drugs behind a picture of Jesus when he was using. And he advised parents they have a right to take a drug screen on their own.

"Tell your kids 'I love you with all my heart and that's why I'm doing it'," he said.

In the end, he said, it's your kid's future at stake.

"If I raised your anxiety, good. Once this demon gets a hold of them, it's ugly," said McLaughlin. "They're either going to be clean and sober or they'll be in jail or dead."

What else is out there
In addition to alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs and heroin, the members of the panel, which, in addition to the detective and counselor, included a Passaic County prosecutor and two paramedics, said there are plenty of other drugs out there including:

Molly - the street name for a drug that is pushed to be the pure powder form of MDMA, the main chemical in ecstasy

Cocaine - there's been a resurgence in use although it never fully went away.

Be proactive
Over 100 people came out to the seminar, sponsored by Communities Against Substance Abuse (CASA) and the West Milford School district, entited "Current Drug Trends That Your Kids Know About But You Don't." For those who didn't come out, a contact list for those involved is on our Web site, westmilfordmessenger.com.