S'town drug info session draws over 1,000
According to substance abuse experts and law enforcement officials, a major obstacle to counteracting teen drug use in upper middle class communities is parents' denial, conscious or unwitting, that their children are at risk. But if residents' reception of school-sponsored drug forums this month is any indication, the scales are falling away from Smithtown parents' eyes.
Over 1,000 showed up at Nesaquake Middle School March 9 to question a panel of drug experts as part of the Smithtown School District's Parent University series. The Kings Park district, in conjunction with the anti-drug organization, Kings Park in the kNOw, has announced a similar forum, set for 6:45 pm tonight in the auditorium at Kings Park High School.
The forum's turnout "was absolutely unbelievable," Smithtown school board Vice President Bob Rossi said at a March 10 meeting. The district's job is to instruct, he said, and "it did a wonderful job" to that end by educating parents how to confront the narcotics risks their children face.
The panel Smithtown assembled featured a physician, law enforcement officials, health educator, drug counselor, school principal and a parent struggling with her child's drug addiction, according to a district release. Among the experts participating were Inspector James Rhoads, commanding officer of the Suffolk County Police 4th Precinct, and Detective Sergeant Edward Compagnone, also of the 4th Precinct, who spoke about the illegal drug problem facing the community, and the police department's efforts to counter it thus far.
Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook University, discussed risk factors for drug addiction. Melissa Wayne, substance abuse prevention coordinator at the Pederson-Krag Center, provided parents with practical tips to both monitor their children and foster communication with them. Smithtown health teacher and Coach Lou Gambeski and High School West Principal John Dolan spoke of intraschool efforts to fight substance abuse. They encouraged parents to be vigilant, especially in keeping tabs on teens' cell phones, as particular contacts or messages could offer a tip-off on drug-related activities.
The district has established a drug resources blog, which can be reached from its home page, and a system has been put in place allowing parents to communicate substance-abuse concerns to school officials via email, Smithtown Superintendent of Schools Ed Ehmann said the day after the event. "It was a very, very effective forum," he added.
Kings Park organizers are hoping for a similarly enthusiastic showing tonight. "The goal of the night is for the community to come together to understand the reality of illegal drug use in our community," said Kings Park in the kNOw board member Linda Henninger at Friday's meeting of the Youth and Community Alliance of Smithtown. The organization is a coalition of town departments, schools, civic groups, commerce chambers, health advocacy groups, churches and elected officials throughout Smithtown that works to prevent and counter lifestyle hazards facing area youth.
The Kings Park event, "Parenting for Prevention," is also scheduled to feature representatives from a variety of addiction treatment and prevention organizations as well as law enforcement officials, who will be available to answer parents' questions, according to in the kNOw President Maureen Rossi. Drug Enforcement Agent Charlie Bernard will outline how heroin, the illegal opiate increasingly popular on Long Island, moves from foreign countries to local teens. A Smithtown father will share the story of losing his son to a heroin overdose. Addiction specialist Pamela Mizzi of the district's Parent Resource Center is expected to make a presentation on the substances most abused by Suffolk teens, and Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Bill Devore will discuss social host liability laws.
"Education is a parent's greatest defense against drug use and addiction," said Rossi. And guardians' oversight is the first and last line of defense in ensuring children's safety, she said, particularly when heroin addiction often begins with teens raiding their parents' medicine cabinets for prescription painkillers. "We ask the cops to do their job, we ask the school districts to do theirs and get the drug dealers out of their schools, but at the end of the day, it's about parental responsibility."
According to substance abuse experts and law enforcement officials, a major obstacle to counteracting teen drug use in upper middle class communities is parents' denial, conscious or unwitting, that their children are at risk. But if residents' reception of school-sponsored drug forums this month is any indication, the scales are falling away from Smithtown parents' eyes.
Over 1,000 showed up at Nesaquake Middle School March 9 to question a panel of drug experts as part of the Smithtown School District's Parent University series. The Kings Park district, in conjunction with the anti-drug organization, Kings Park in the kNOw, has announced a similar forum, set for 6:45 pm tonight in the auditorium at Kings Park High School.
The forum's turnout "was absolutely unbelievable," Smithtown school board Vice President Bob Rossi said at a March 10 meeting. The district's job is to instruct, he said, and "it did a wonderful job" to that end by educating parents how to confront the narcotics risks their children face.
The panel Smithtown assembled featured a physician, law enforcement officials, health educator, drug counselor, school principal and a parent struggling with her child's drug addiction, according to a district release. Among the experts participating were Inspector James Rhoads, commanding officer of the Suffolk County Police 4th Precinct, and Detective Sergeant Edward Compagnone, also of the 4th Precinct, who spoke about the illegal drug problem facing the community, and the police department's efforts to counter it thus far.
Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook University, discussed risk factors for drug addiction. Melissa Wayne, substance abuse prevention coordinator at the Pederson-Krag Center, provided parents with practical tips to both monitor their children and foster communication with them. Smithtown health teacher and Coach Lou Gambeski and High School West Principal John Dolan spoke of intraschool efforts to fight substance abuse. They encouraged parents to be vigilant, especially in keeping tabs on teens' cell phones, as particular contacts or messages could offer a tip-off on drug-related activities.
The district has established a drug resources blog, which can be reached from its home page, and a system has been put in place allowing parents to communicate substance-abuse concerns to school officials via email, Smithtown Superintendent of Schools Ed Ehmann said the day after the event. "It was a very, very effective forum," he added.
Kings Park organizers are hoping for a similarly enthusiastic showing tonight. "The goal of the night is for the community to come together to understand the reality of illegal drug use in our community," said Kings Park in the kNOw board member Linda Henninger at Friday's meeting of the Youth and Community Alliance of Smithtown. The organization is a coalition of town departments, schools, civic groups, commerce chambers, health advocacy groups, churches and elected officials throughout Smithtown that works to prevent and counter lifestyle hazards facing area youth.
The Kings Park event, "Parenting for Prevention," is also scheduled to feature representatives from a variety of addiction treatment and prevention organizations as well as law enforcement officials, who will be available to answer parents' questions, according to in the kNOw President Maureen Rossi. Drug Enforcement Agent Charlie Bernard will outline how heroin, the illegal opiate increasingly popular on Long Island, moves from foreign countries to local teens. A Smithtown father will share the story of losing his son to a heroin overdose. Addiction specialist Pamela Mizzi of the district's Parent Resource Center is expected to make a presentation on the substances most abused by Suffolk teens, and Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Bill Devore will discuss social host liability laws.
"Education is a parent's greatest defense against drug use and addiction," said Rossi. And guardians' oversight is the first and last line of defense in ensuring children's safety, she said, particularly when heroin addiction often begins with teens raiding their parents' medicine cabinets for prescription painkillers. "We ask the cops to do their job, we ask the school districts to do theirs and get the drug dealers out of their schools, but at the end of the day, it's about parental responsibility."
source: "S'town drug info session draws over 1,000"; www.northshoreoflongisland.com ; March 2009.