Sharing drug fight success in Washington, D.C.

Laconia Police Chief Adams, Detective Eric Adams make presentation

\By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — The city has made a concerted effort in prevention, enforcement and treatment to fight the opioid crisis, but local overdose statistics remain alarming, Police Chief Matt Canfield and Detective Eric Adams said in a presentation to a national conference recently in Washington.

Their presentation to the 2018 National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Conference said the city's PET Program came after a spike in overdoses in the first half of 2014, with an initial goal of reducing the number of drug-related deaths in the city by 10 percent by the end of 2015.

Adams was chosen as the PET officer and underwent 156 hours of training in substance abuse prevention and established a network of counseling, legal, medical and social service providers throughout the community.

He would identify a small number of high-risk people who could benefit from support services.

He would also identify a small number of people charged with simple drug possession and find a way for them to pursue sobriety through the legal process by providing the court with alternatives to incarceration.

The program has connected with 242 people, 108 of which are in recovery programs. Referrals come from individuals, patrol officers, family, friends, hospitals and social service agencies.

Adams follows up on every drug overdose in the city.

The program also involved educating the public about drug dependency and mental health issues and collaborating with schools.

Meanwhile, drug arrests have increased from 115 in 2015, to 169 in 2016 and 185 in 2017.

A total of 83 overdoses were reported, including nine fatalities in 2015. There were 76 in 2016, five fatal. Last year, there were 146, nine fatal.

Canfield said in an interview the PET program has been effective, and that these numbers would likely be higher without it.

“It's not a cure-all for the heroin problem, but if we can save one person from a life of addiction, that's a victory,” he said.

“The number of overdoses were higher last year than previous, but without this program the number of people who overdose would be greater and the deaths would be higher, too. We've certainly saved people from dying.”

The pull of opioids is so strong that some people saved from a potentially fatal overdose through administration of the drug, Narcan, are combative when they regain consciousness and are only interested in getting more narcotics, Canfield said.

“As powerful as addiction is, people don't want help unless they are in a time of crisis,” he said. “The window of opportunity is pretty small.

“People have overdosed seven or eight times, and Eric reaches out, and it clicks. Then they say they do need help.”

The conference was held Feb. 7-8. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 and provides assistance to law enforcement agencies.