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	Thefts and burglaries, which are drug activity indicators, are up in some areas. In Raymond, for example, during 1996 the Sheriff's Department investigated 15 thefts and 29 burglaries, while in the first six months of 1997 they investigated
			ten thefts (a projected 75% increase) and 25 burglaries (a projected 58% increase). Casco had 39 burglaries in 1996 compared with 26 in the first six months of 1997, a projected 75% increase. Many parents blame the "system" for the continuing problem of children's involvement with drugs, but Robert Jones, a retired 25 year veteran drug counselor residing in Naples, says, "Drugs is a multifaceted problem that stems from the family unit, and a lot of people don't want to touch that. They'd rather talk about
	With school starting, if the trends hold true, we'll see an influx of drug related offenses; Jim Langella, Detective Sergeant, Cumberland County Sheriff's Department.
	Just Say No or law enforcement. But if parents don't make sure their children get a good impression of who they are, those children are in trouble."

Peter Fulton, Windham Police Department's D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer, says, "Parents are the missing link. You have the schools trying to provide programs, you have kids going through the programs, but you have parents having drinking parties with the kids, and some parents smoking marijuana in front of their kids. They're getting one message in school, they go home and see an entirely different situation."

Detective Langella points out that billions of tax dollars are being spent in an effort to halt the flow of illicit drugs, and we're not winning the war. And when he arrests a dealer, that dealer's soon back on the street or another takes his place.

Demand, not availability, is the determining factor in the rate of drug use. "Education is how we can affect demand." Langella says. "We need a team effort. Law enforcement alone cannot do it because arrest is a short term answer to a long term problem. To win this war, we have to educate, and we need treatment programs."

Even if all the programs aimed at slowing the illicit drug supply were successful, users would find alternatives. Biff Brady, Cumberland County Sheriff's Department detective, a drug investigator, points out that LSD is used in such tiny doses that most comes to the Lake Region through the mail, while pharmaceutical drugs like Valium, Prozak and Ritalin are often stolen from parents or in burglaries, and sniffing or huffing of inhalants such as indelible markers, glues, propellants in whipped cream and spray paints, etc. is not uncommon.

D.A.R.E. is a popular national program that attempts to reduce demand through police officer-led classroom lessons in our schools. Joe Schnupp, Cumberland County D.A.R.E. officer said at the Lake Region Adult Drug Awareness program last year, "I see an increase in violence and a lack of tolerance in children who are allowed a free reign. I recommend to you, as parents, to take an interest in your child's activities, and their friends, know who those friends are, who their parents are."

On the same program, Dr. Scott Roby, emergency department head at Northern Cumberland Memorial Hospital, said, "There's a lot of stuff out there. All children will be exposed. It's unavoidable. How we prepare them to deal with that and be able to handle the pressures they're going to run into is what it's all about.

"There needs to be a community-wide approach; parents, law enforcement, schools, clergy, medical professionals, everyone has to pitch in. Parents are where it really needs to begin. Parental example, their behavior at home, has a great deal to do with what the children do when they leave the home.

"Society is changing dramatically; both parents working, no one involved with the children, don't know their friends. The easiest way to detect if a child is involved with drugs is altered behavior. The first thing the aware parent is going to notice is small, subtle behavioral changes in the child. But if you're not at home and you don't see your kids, you're not gonna get it. You (parents) are the ones who have to be first to recognize there's a problem."

If drug education and increased parental involvement is the hope for the future, treatment is the hope for those already in trouble--and it is available from a variety of sources. Among places to find treatment information are school guidance offices, family physicians, and local law enforcement agencies; a good number to keep handy is the Lakes Region Drug Hotline; 888-53-DRUGS. It is an answering machine, but it is monitored daily, and it is confidential.

		Adult Drug Awareness education programs, the combined efforts of Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, schools, local law enforcement agencies, medical practitioners, counselors and others, have been presented to about 1500 parents in 26 schools in Cumberland County. Locally, programs were held at Lake Region High School in Naples last October, and Windham Middle School in January.

Detective Langella, who helps organize these programs says, "The key is for people to know what to look for, and what to do if they find something. We're trying to inform parents; 'this is drugs, this is what it's packaged in, this is where you're gonna find it, and this is what your alternatives are as a parent.'"

The joint Drug Awareness Committee of the Casco & Raymond Business Alliance and Naples Business Association is formulating plans for the next program to be held in the area this fall. The committee plans to distribute information about the program, along with Drug Hotline refrigerator magnets within the next several weeks. There are also plans to post program information on websites such as this one and www.napleschamber.com