Mayor Thomas Menino proposed a new $180,000 drug treatment and prevention initiative Friday to deal with growing drug abuse among Boston’s youth, at a meeting at the Curley Community Center in South Boston.
The mayor’s NO Drugs Initiative, also called Neighborhoods Organizing Against Drugs, will involve cooperation between the Boston Public Health Commission and the Boston Police Department to address an alarming increase in opiate use among teenagers and young adults.
“At the end of the day, this is a public health issue,” Menino said, although he added that police need to be involved.
The NO Drugs Initiative will allocate $180,000 to double the number of people able to receive treatment in the Boston area by expanding the use of acupuncture detoxification and a new medication, Buprenorphine.
Acupuncture detox has been shown to relieve withdrawal symptoms, and Buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opiate addiction, is now available for prescription.
Menino said that by expanding treatments, he hopes the program will enhance treatment options and make it easier for drug abusers to find help.
The proposal will also fund advocacy and education by supporting community coalitions that have already been dealing with the problem. The city plans to hire a full-time health educator who specializes in substance abuse education and could be a resource to families and community groups who are interested in education and training.
The new measures come after three years of budget cuts to drug treatment and prevention programs resulting in the loss of nearly $10 million, said Maryanne Frangules, executive director for the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery.
Also, in the last two years, there has been a 78 percent increase in hospitalization resulting from the use of opiates like heroin or the prescription drug Oxycontin, said John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.
Although communities like South Boston and Roxbury were mentioned, the speakers, including Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, emphasized that the increase in drug use is pervasive throughout the Boston area. The purity of heroin is continually increasing and the price decreasing, Menino said.
“We just have to do something,” he said. “The problem is too serious.”
The announcement excited those who had been involved in drug treatment and prevention during the long period of funding cuts.
Problems with drug abuse are not isolated to Boston, said Jack Leary, a probation officer in the South Boston District Court. He said Boston distinguished itself from other communities by recognizing rising drug abuse as a problem.
“We have been able to say, ‘We have a problem in Boston and we’re going to do something about it,'” Leary said.