New Kent community forum brings drug issue to forefront

With the ever-growing epidemic of drug usage and opioid overdoses, county and school leaders of New Kent heeded a suggestion from the New Kent Junior Woman’s Club to bring the issue to a limelight.

Approximately 150 people sat in on a community forum at New Kent High School Wednesday evening to receive information and advice on battling drugs and the methods of obtaining them.

Two hours of dialogue yielded advice from a number of local leaders as well as representatives of law enforcement. Board of Supervisors chairman and District 5 representative Ray Davis’ opening remarks echoed how the issue is not only affecting New Kent, but also the entire state of Virginia.

“Last year 1,400 people died in Virginia due to drug overdoses,” Davis said. “It will probably be about 40 percent higher this year.

“So far, there have been nine overdoses in New Kent,” the chairman continued. “Fortunately, none of them were fatal.”

Patricia Robinson, a pharmacist for more than 30 years, engaged the audience with the difficulty it was to regulate prescription medicine, specifically opioids that are used as a painkiller.

“Opioid problems started when medicine was being overprescribed,” she commented. “When a person gets addicted to something and is in a substantial amount of pain, they will do anything to find something to relieve them of it.”

Robinson said that the Board of Medicine changed regulations in March on prescribing due to the growing concern of overdosing on the drug, but said that any person is susceptible to being hooked on it.

“Addiction knows no gender, race, or age,” the pharmacist added. “Addiction is a chronic disease.”

New Kent deputies Chris Hamlet and Joey McLaughlin spoke about first hand encounters when dealing with overdose situations and the decisions they have to make.

“Deputies carry a drug called Narcane that can counteract the effects of an overdose,” Hamlet said. “But the kind that deputies carry can act as a double-edged sword. If a medic arrives, they may give them Narcane but with different types.

“Deputies are the first ones to respond and those are some of the decisions we have to deal with,” Hamlet concluded.

“The drug trade will always be there, but if I can help put a speed bump in the way we can find the users and distributors,” added McLaughlin. “We can arrest them, but more importantly, get them the education they need.

“Today, we see people get prescribed pain medicine and sell it for three to four times its worth,” McLaughlin continued. “Then they will turn to heroin on the street, which is really cheap today.”

Superintendent of schools Dave Myers noticed the growing trend among his student population and formed a plan of action.

“This year we have an uptick in drug/alcohol/synthetic offenses,” the superintendent said, noting the current number is around 14 compared to ten last year. “It’s not a huge increase but it made us even more aware of the trend.”

After meeting with his student advisory committee of 50 students, Myers received astounding results from a simple question.

“I asked them at what percentage do they know of people in their school using alcohol or drugs and they hovered around 30 percent,” the superintendent said.

That feedback initiated Myers meeting with individual classes during early morning or free blocks. The meetings were to talk about the issue in a safe manner while assuring the comfort of the students.

“This is a community problem,” Myers said. “I thought what could we do to take a leadership role and address this problem proactively?”

That dialogue along with talks with the sheriff’s department and county leaders orchestrated the forum. But the forum also provided more insight. Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade spoke about the RISE and ORBIT programs to help those with drug addictions while they are incarcerated. One of those inmates, John Novak, talked about his experiences in both programs and how his life was before he ended up in jail.

“I had a lot of anger issues and I had a deviant attitude,” he said. “I did drugs, drank alcohol, and wanted to party.”

Novak talked about the different living environments he experienced and how none provided him a true comfort that ultimately resulted to him turning to drugs.

“My dad controlled my every move and I just wanted to rebel from him by sneaking out the house,” the inmate continued. “My mom didn’t seem to care when I left out the house. Pop pills, drink alcohol, party, not caring about anyone or anything except the drugs.

“Eventually, I was addicted to the needle as I was to the drug,” Novak said as he wrapped up his comments. “When I overdosed for the third time I just wanted to die but now that I look back, I am thankful that I am alive and for these programs.”

Other speakers talked about losing a child due to an overdose, the effect it can take financially, and the legislation passed to assist with the issue. After a brief question and answer period, advice was given to address the drug and overdose problems.

“Don’t be afraid to go to your area resources,” said Janice Atwell, a representative of the Henrico Community Services Board who is based out of Providence Forge. “There are resources for outpatient, mental, and substance abuse programs. We also provide guidance and references to more intense programs.”