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AG wants anti-drug programs in schools

LISBON — Men and women in orange jump suits with their hands and feet shackled walk into a school gymnasium and stand in a line for the students to see.

To a kindergarten student, the sight alone should be enough to make a point that doing drugs will end you up in places you don’t want to be, county Municipal Court Judge Chris Amato said.

Amato would like to see schools join together to make the scenario a possibility. A scenario where convicted drug users and dealers visit schools to show and speak about the consequences of their actions to county students.

Amato knows the sting of drug use on a personal level. He lost a nephew three years ago to an overdose.

“It seems like every six months I am going to funerals … my goal is to try to save everyone we can who comes through that court,” he said during an opiate epidemic seminar held in Lisbon with other county leaders, law enforcement and public health officials on Tuesday.

The seminar was arranged by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and state Rep. Tim Ginter in response to the dramatic increase in overdose cases in not only the county, but the state, in recent weeks.

Just that morning a Salem man lost his life to an overdose.

Lt. Brian McLaughlin of the county Drug Task Force said that as of Tuesday, there have been 20 confirmed overdoses in the county this year. Last year the count was 27.

“This is astronomical. The education side needs to step up. This is not going away at all,” he said.

DeWine said he would like to see prevention programs in all schools for all grades, K-12.

“I will make recommendations to the state with regards to education,” he said. “I think we can’t arrest our way out of this problem.”

East Liverpool Police Chief John Lane would also like to see prevention education begin in kindergarten, and Assistant County Prosecutor John Gamble said he is disappointed he hasn’t already seen more prevention programs in schools.

DeWine pointed out that while many existing county programs do help, more of a push is needed, including at the grassroots level.

Kathie Chaffee, executive director of the county Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, said the Family Recovery Center already has a presence in every school in the county.

So far this year the center has treated 664 people for drugs and alcohol. Last year it treated 572 people, she said.

She cautioned against relying too much on schools to “do the heavy lifting” for drug prevention, and said that the “biggest holes” in the process are slow access to detoxification.

She said telling kids not to do drugs isn’t enough. What needs to be done is a community-wide effort to make homes more stable for everyone involved,she said.

She explained the research shows that drug use is less likely when children have access to good health and a stable home life.

Betsy Williams, social worker with the Salem Regional Medical Center, said that visits with opiate overdoses has doubled since last year, and that a lot of the sharp increase has been related to those struggling with anxiety.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson agreed a grassroots effort is needed.

“We are going to have to come together on this because there is no silver bullet,” Johnson said.

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