Chief recommends additional treatment in fight against drugs

The Springfield police chief said Monday officials have created more public awareness of Vermont’s growing drug epidemic, but state agencies need to push for more treatment options for those battling addiction.
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Chief recommends additional treatment in fight against drugs By Chris Garofolo | Apr 02, 2014 Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 0 SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield police chief said Monday officials have created more public awareness of Vermont’s growing drug epidemic, but state agencies need to push for more treatment options for those battling addiction. Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said the alarming increase in drug-related arrests, including a significant upswing in heroin, are statewide problems that require an all-hands-on-deck approach to begin resolving the problem. He recommended more treatment options upfront for first-time offenders, as it is cheaper than attempting similar programs inside a corrections facility. “That’s what we’re hurting with the most is the availability because if you have an individual that is ready for treatment and you can’t get him into treatment for either days, weeks or months, that person is going to go right back to what they were doing,” Johnston said. “You’ve lost that person in a sense.” Johnston met briefly Monday afternoon with U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in Springfield. The two spoke on the recent spike in drug-related crime within the city and met with reporters afterward. According to Welch, police have been on the front lines of Vermont’s opiate epidemic. “They know we have to arrest people, but they’re the ones that are saying you can’t arrest your way out of this; and they’re saying there has got to be a multi-pronged approach and there’s got to be treatment as well as enforcement,” he said. “The police have credibility when they say that and those of us not in law enforcement oftentimes are suspect when we talk about treatment.” Since the State of the State address by Gov. Peter Shumlin in January, the issue is no longer being swept under the rug, said the congressman. In an ambitious speech before the Vermont Legislature, Shumlin outlined a new seven-figure investment to support enhanced recovery efforts and greater coordination between judicial and law enforcement. Vermont’s rising tide of addiction and drug-related crime has become a full-blown outbreak — there has been a 771 percent increase in treatment for all opiates in the last 14 years. “In every corner of our state, heroin and opiate drug addiction threatens us. It threatens the safety that has always blessed our state,” Shumlin said during his Jan. 8 address. “It is a crisis bubbling just beneath the surface that may be invisible to many, but is already highly visible to law enforcement, medical personnel, social services and addiction treatment providers and far too many Vermont families.” Johnston this week echoed part of the governor’s plan, which called for more than $1 million in extra spending for statewide recovery centers and substance abuse services, as well as an additional $760,000 for a justice system assessment to help prosecutors and judges to determine who may qualify for immediate treatment and services. Shumlin will appear twice in Windsor County next week and is expected to further the discussion during both meetings. He is scheduled to appear before the Springfield Rotary Club at 12 p.m. this Monday at the Nolin Murray Meeting Center off Pleasant Street and will give the keynote remarks at Norwich University the following day.