Agencies Fight Drug Misuse, Abuse
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and St. Mary’s County Public Schools, in addition to other community organizations partner to change the culture surrounding drug misuse and abuse in St. Mary’s County.
Although parents almost never want to admit that their children might be abusing drugs, often the signs of drug abuse were there before the parents knew what they were seeing. This was among the messages from three seminars held this past school year and focused on the drug abuse epidemic in St. Mary’s County. The seminars were hosted by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, St. Mary’s County Public Schools and agencies such as Walden Behavioral Health.
Cooperative efforts between the school system and sheriff’s office continue, including offering the sixth annual DARE camp at Leonardtown High School this year. DARE camp educates children about the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol, and violence. The free four-day camp is for upcoming fifth- and sixth-graders and will take place from 8 am to 4 pm July 11 through 14, 2016, at Leonardtown High School, Leonardtown, MD.
The idea behind the seminars was to educate students and parents on the trends of drug misuse. One of the seminars was led by students.
At the Parent Drug Misuse and Abuse Seminar held March 17, 2016, Capt. Daniel Alioto told the parents that in 2008, the county was dealing with a high number of overdoses caused by prescription medications. When police in the county started shutting down the suppliers of abused prescription medications, the shift started to lean toward heroin.
Capt. Alioto said heroin is cheaper than pills, easier to get, and more potent.
“This is a community problem,” he said. “At times during search warrants, we encounter three generations of opioid abusers in the home. … We continue to address this epidemic head-on realizing the need to review our data and trends to refocus our energies and resources. Our success comes from our partnerships within this room: the parents, students, and community leaders.”
The following day of seminars was the student summit, led by students at the James H. Forrest Career and Technology Center and supported by partners like the sheriff’s office, the county health department, the St. Mary’s County Department of Aging & Human Services, and Walden Behavioral Health.
J. Scott Smith, superintendent of St. Mary’s County Schools, said the youth summit succeeded because of the partnership the school shares with the sheriff’s office and other community organizations that all have the goal of improving the lives of those who are most at-risk.
A third seminar was held April 7, 2016, presented by a representative of the vice/narcotics division of the sheriff’s office and Walden Behavioral Health. The seminar was held in conjunction with the Head Start Health and Wellness Fair.
For more information, contact Cpl. Angela Delozier at [email protected].
For more information about Walden Behavioral Health, visit their Leader Member Page.
