In Norfolk County, drug overdose is the number one unintentional, non-health related cause of death. In the Walpole area, opioid pain relievers are the most widely used and abused prescription drugs. The town has averaged 14 overdoses each year between 2011 and 2013, and 15 lives have been lost in the past 4 ½ years due to opiate addiction.
“I don’t think anyone’s immune to it, it’s so prevalent,” said Deputy Chief John Carmichael, who also works on a drug task force. The Walpole Police Department works continuously to combat drug abuse in Norfolk County, and the alarming increases in opiates over the past few years have led the police to ramp up their efforts. Gloucester, Massachusetts has also been trying to defeat the heroin issues in their town using Naloxne by the brand name Narcan.
“When Narcan is administered to an individual who has overdosed on heroin,” said Carmichael, “they are essentially brought back to life.”
Governor Deval Patrick permitted all emergency first responders to be equipped with Narcan so that it can be more widely used. The extraordinary effects of Narcan caught the Walpole Police Department’s attention, and the drug is now in place in every Walpole police cruiser. In the one year that Narcan has existed in the Walpole community, it has been used 7 times by the Police Department, and 28 times by the Fire Department.
In addition to using Narcan, Walpole wants to help rehabilitate addicts. “Like Gloucester, we do not charge anyone with possession if they call to help a fellow addict experiencing an overdose,” said Walpole Police Chief Richard Stillman, “and we would never charge someone willing to turn in their drugs to seek help.” Each officer carries pre-printed cards with the contact information for different treatment centers and help lines that are given to drug users and their families.
“On the other side of that, we still have a relentless pursuit of the drug dealer, but we really want to provide resources, to make sure we can get them to the hospital, get them to a treatment facility, and then we still follow up after,” said Carmichael.
Sometimes because of the stigma against opiates, a drug user is often afraid to ask for help. In addition to fighting opiate abuse, the Walpole Police Department is working to change people’s mindset towards addiction.
“The goal is to see it as a disease, and that these are real people who need help,” said Carmichael. The family has the ability to go to court and ask the loved one to get help, but sometimes the drug problem causes a rift in the family and no help is offered to the addict. “So then we can step in, act as the bad guy, we can do a Section 35 and usually once they are standing in court they decide on their own that they will go to treatment,” said Carmichael. “Our goal is to help those addicted and their families get help with their problem,” Stillman said.
The Walpole Police Station also has a drug drop off box for residents to drop off prescription drugs, as many can be gateways to heroin use.
“We take in about 200 to 300 pounds of medication every month,” said Stillman. This can help to prevent opiate problems from developing in the first place. In a recent audit of the drugs being dropped off, many were opiates. “I was very happy to discover that we were bringing in the drugs that were killing people, the oxycodone and stuff like that,” Carmichael said.
However, the primary way to stop these opiate addictions in their tracks is by starting with the youth. “Alcohol, marijuana, whatever that gateway is that kids start out with, really puts these kids on a trajectory to an addiction later on in life, so part of the message is trying to educate kids and parents.”
“What I don’t want to see happening is for the Narcan to become a crutch, but I think it has to be available,” said Carmichael.
Right now, the drug is available with a prescription, but it is necessary to go through a course to learn how to administer it. Quincy and Gloucester had the first pilot programs for Narcan years ago, but the DPA turned down Carmichael’s requests for the medication in Walpole. It took 5 years for the WPD to obtain the medication by having a medical personnel prescribe. In theory, families could obtain it for a loved one with an addiction.
According the department’s statistics, the majority of Walpole’s overdoses are between 19-30 years old. “If kids are using alcohol or marijuana or pills in high school and developing that pattern,” said Carmichael, “that can lead to overdosing on heroin at 19, 20, 21.” In the past 5 years, the average age of usage was around 30, so initiation to drugs in adolescence has affected opiate abuse. “It’s a progressive thing,” Carmichael said, “The early age is a huge factor.”
The Walpole Strategic Drug Plan is created annually to outline Walpole’s drug policy. The most recent document is primarily focused on opiates, and explains the use of Narcan. The plan is a work in progress and frequently refined. In addition, the WPD has hosted two separate Drug 101 information sessions at the town library, both of which filled the room with Walpole residents who wanted to learn more about drug use. “We just need to change the stigma towards someone with an addiction. It starts with getting the facts,” said Carmichael. The Walpole Strategic Drug Plan is available on the Walpole Police Department’s website.
