Fighting heroin in a comprehensive way…
Posted on September 13, 2010 under Executive Director's Blog
By Jeffrey L. Reynolds, Ph.D
I had the chance to appear on News 12′s Long Island Talks last week to discuss a new proposal by Suffolk Legislator Tom Barraga that would prohibit the sale of jewelry to pawn shops by people under the age of 21. The current age is 18 and Barraga has introduced the measure in response to complaints he’s gotten from parents of addicted young people who have hocked their family’s possessions to buy heroin.
Barraga deserves kudos for responding to his constituents and trying to help. The bill will likely become law and that’s fine. It won’t hurt. But most kids aren’t selling stuff to pawn shops; they’re selling it to their extensive network of friends and trading it directly with mid-level users/dealers.
At LICADD, we see parents everyday whose kids have emptied their homes of valuables in order to finance their drug habit. Those parents would love to have their stuff back, but more importantly, they want their kids back.
To help them do that we need a more comprehensive approach to addressing addiction – stronger prevention efforts, more treatment slots, better recovery support – and the financial resources necessary to effectively battle Long Island’s heroin crisis.
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