The illicit drug epidemic affects thousands of people across the nation and shows no sign of slowing down. This epidemic shows little compassion for race, gender, age, economic or educational level,  nor urban, suburban, or rural location. In just over a decade, more than half a million people have died from drug overdoses. Nearly one hundred Americans die every day from drug overdoses. Since 1999, the birth year of many seniors graduating from North Penn in the spring of 2017, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids including prescription opioids and heroin have quadrupled (PBS). As these alarming statistics increase, amazingly the havoc they cause does not seem to be a threat to the drug’s popularity and as the use of opioids continues to rise communities like Lansdale will continue to be affected.

All ages are affected by the drug epidemic, however, the use of drugs has proven to be an issue most prominent in the communities of adolescents. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), approximately 2.2 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2015 were users of illicit drugs, which represents 8.8 percent of adolescents, and approximately 1 in 5 young adults aged 18 to 25 (22.3 %) were users of illicit drugs in 2015. This percentage corresponds to about 7.8 million young adults in 2015 who were users of illicit drugs.

According to the Towamencin Township Police Department, in whose jurisdiction North Penn High School is situated and who contributed to this article on conditions of officers’ anonymity, the Philadelphia Metro area has one of the highest drug purity levels in the country (93%), which unfortunately contributes to the rise in their demand and use. However, overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, increased by 80% from 2013 to 2014 (The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The addition of other dangerous substances, like fentanyl, used to cut the heroin  is part of what is causing significant amount of overdoses and overdoses that result in death.

“It could be the first time that you’ve ever tried it, but you have no idea what that dealer has put in there. You have no idea what’s in there. So, the first time you try it could be the last time you’re on this Earth,” said Detective John McGready of the Montgomery Township Police Department.

Since drugs have become cheap, dealers lace their drugs to satisfy their customers, addicts, who want a more powerful high. As a drug that is used to reduce the pain of cancer patients, fentanyl is extremely potent and when mixed with another potent drug, can shut your body down.

“Most people, including younger people, don’t really know what they’re buying, when we’re talking about heroin. You don’t really know what’s in that package. If it’s laced with fentanyl, pretty much the moment that you put that into you, you’re going to overdose and that’s probably the reason why the officers now, our officers, all carry naloxone for overdoses,” said McGready.

Naloxone is a drug which reverses the effect of an opioid overdose. This drug comes in the form of injectables or nasal sprays.

“The person can actually be out or not breathing generally when the officers arrive. They might not have a heartbeat, they might have a very weak heartbeat. Naloxone’s brand name is Narcan and it has been around in the medical field for many years, but up until the last couple of years, it wasn’t available to police officers, only to paramedics or EMTS in an ambulance. But because of what they’re terming the opioid epidemic, the laws have been passed in many places, including here, where the patrol officers can now carry naloxone,” said McGready.

The detective shared that it would not be wise for drug users to rely on a drug antidote to be readily available should they experience an overdose.

“Last month they ran out. We literally used it that many [times],” McGready shared. “We are finding cases where drugs are found and they’re being used in schools several times on a monthly basis for our particular department,” said McGready.

Drugs are much cheaper and easily accessible. The Towamencin Detectives say drug dealers use social media sites like Twitter and Instagram, which are heavily used by adolescents and young adults, to troll for and facilitate with their customers. As long as demand and money is available, drug dealers will unfortunately find a way to continue selling to the country’s youth. Drug dealers tend to target many suburban schools like North Penn as students tend to have free time and more access to cash than those at other schools.

“[Students have been arrested for] being under the influence, [having] possession or intent to deliver. That has absolutely happened. Is it a regular occurrence? No. Is it a small fraction of our population out of 3,100 students? Yes. But, has it happened ,for example, this year? Yes,” shared North Penn High School Principal Mr. Todd Bauer.

Marijuana, opioids such as oxycodone and oxycontin which are prescribed painkillers, heroin, and alcohol are the most popularly used drugs amongst adolescents. All have the capacity to wreck young lives.

“When we talk about the drug situation, we can’t always leave out alcohol because I have been a patrol officer and I’ve been to situations where underaged individuals have overdosed on alcohol and that can be equally as life threatening,” said McGready.  

The legal drinking age in Pennsylvania is 21 years old.  Those under this age who choose to participate in this activity are breaking the law and if caught could suffer from a variety of punishments including but not limited to criminal records that could harm post graduation plans and college dreams. Besides the risk of addiction, involvement with drugs can alter one’s goals when it comes to schooling. If an underaged (under the age 18) individual is caught doing drugs he or she will go to juvenile court where he or she can be subject to the same penalties as an individual over the age of 18. Though individuals under the age 18 are likely to receive treatment over punishment, the incident is still on their record and is not expunged. After the individual turns 18, their record is seen publicly. The District Attorney has to sign off on all expungements which costs between $3,000 and $10,000. When submitting applications like FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Aid), it is required that students answer questions honestly, and if one lies, they can lose all their federal funding.

In the North Penn Community, marijuana or “weed” is the biggest drug threat within the student body. Though this drug has been viewed as a low level or “safe” drug, it is not at all “safe.” No matter how cool and sexy the drug may be portrayed in popular culture and on social media it is illegal to use and possess marijuana in Pennsylvania.

“It’s still killing brain cells, it’s still going to change your chemistry, it’s still going to affect your reaction times if you’re driving,” said McGready.

In addition to these side effects, marijuana can also be found laced with powerful and harmful drugs.

“Marijuana you’ll see laced with PCP or what they call ‘Angel Dust.’ You don’t see that too often anymore, although, we do see that a couple times a year. That is an extremely dangerous drug for everybody because it tends to make the user violent, very violent, they hallucinate, they don’t feel pain. Probably of any of the people using any kind of drug, the kind I think you’ll find officers don’t like to deal with are people that have been ingesting PCP. They’re just unpredictable. You have to be on your guard because they will attack you,” said McGready.

The heroin epidemic which has had over a 200% increase in it use has also been a major concern to surrounding communities.

“We are also seeing that the age where people are using heroin and opioids has dropped . The ages are going down to as young as 15 years old and through high school that’s increased exponentially,” said McGready.

Many young people use drugs due to peer pressure or to numb the pain in their life. The main considerations of drugs comes down to access, financial resource, opportunity, and even the individuals willingness to try a stronger drug. Though one may see the risks on their lives now as trivial, involvement with drugs can harm one’s future. Drugs like heroin become physical addictions  and your body increasingly craves a higher dosage. Nobody, regardless of age, is too young to become addicted. In fact, the younger one starts using drugs, the greater the chance that they will become addicted.  What many adolescents also fail to realize is that they can get addicted off of one use. Occasional use changes to frequent or constant use, also known as addiction. Though the individual may not have intended to become addicted, they put themself in the situation by trying addictive drugs that directly affect the brain (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence).

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) high school students who are heroin drug users often report  feeling a “rush” (euphoria) accompanied by effects that include dry mouth, flushing of the skin, heavy feelings in the hands and feet, and clouded mental functioning in the short term.  The Institute  also reports that people who use heroin over long periods of time may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, constipation and stomach cramping, liver or kidney disease, and lung complications including pneumonia.

Along with other Pennsylvania Police Departments, Towamencin Township Police Department (TTPD)  is an active force that continues to fight this war on drugs. During much of their work time, they are solely devoted to undercover narcotics and planning.They also have a drug task force which can be found anywhere in Montgomery County. TTPD shared that the spread of drugs has been a “very high priority lately.”

“We have a great relationship with the Towamencin Township Police Department, I can’t say enough about them. We are very fortunate that we reside in one jurisdiction. There are some schools that have to deal with say Hatfield, and Nor-Gwyn, and Towamencin, and etcetera, all of these municipalities. We deal with the Towamencin Police Department almost exclusively here,” Bauer explained.

Bauer further shared, “I have a great report with the Chief and as well as the lieutenants, the detectives, and the police officers as do the rest of the administrators. I meet with the Chief I would say on a semi-annual basis if not more. We sit down and just talk [about] what’s going on, what are some of the trends, what can we do to further our partnership. We have a monthly safe schools meeting here at the high school for the district where police officers from all the surrounding police departments come as well as our local [district] judges, people from the elementary, middle, high school central office. We all come and collaborate and talk about issues, resources, events in the community, how we can further support the kids. So I have been very, very impressed in my two years here at North Penn [on] how well we work with [the department] and try to provide,” said Bauer.  

Once an addict, always an addict. The truth is, it is very hard to beat drug addiction. The TTPD and Detective McGready both agree that the best thing a student can do is to never do drugs. Ever.  The effect of drug abuse is not limited to the individual taking the drugs.  Family resources and emotions are drained, more community tax dollars have to be used to police illegal activity, and  babies are born to drug addicts and suffer a lifetime of health issues.  These are just a few of the side effects of drug use.

“It’s a daily struggle once it has you. Even when you detox, and you do go through treatment, and you do get sober, it’s still a daily struggle for them, every day,” shared McGready.

All the detectives interviewed agreed that the best way for a student to help a friend or classmate who they suspect or know is using illegal drugs is to tell someone in a position of power.

“They need the help. It can’t be kept to [themselves]. I would tell somebody, a parent, school counselor, teacher, whoever that can get them the help that they need and it has to be done right away. The faster you catch it the better chance you have at surviving. The end result of heroin use is generally through death,” shared McGready.

If one is struggling to get help, he or she can talk with a guidance counselor, vice principal, or teacher, reach out to their Student Assistance Program, or attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Doing nothing about a problem that is spinning out of control will not help the situation.

“There’s a lot of resources in the community as well as here at school. If you find yourself in need of some services, number one you can reach out to your school counselor. We have the resources here. We also have a Students Assistance Team that is through NorthWestern Human Services and they work here in our building to support our students. So you can always access that resource. And then we can also provide you with outside resources in the area. There are local agencies, both individual, group rehabilitation services facilities, inpatient outpatient all in this area that we could provide those resources so that you can get support,” shared North Penn Guidance Counselor Doctor Nicole Yetter.

North Penn is no different than any other suburban high school. This drug epidemic is a regional and national problem, and it continues to affect students across the whole spectrum of America. Students and Communities need to get involved in order to battle this epidemic. An increase in education in schools that show the outcomes of drug use are also beneficial in curbing the use of illicit drugs.

“I think it is our responsibility to educate kids, to provide resources, to create relationships with kids that will enable them to ask for help or ask for help for friends,” shared Bauer.

The remedy to this national problem could start within the classroom.

“It is our responsibility. It is absolutely in our curriculum and not just in health classes. It is our responsibility to equip our students with the skills and prerequisite knowledge to be successful in life and if we are not equipping them with skills to not use illegal drugs or have substance abuse issues, then we are not preparing them for the future. Just because someone doesn’t have a substance abuse issue now in high school, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t in the future. So, we don’t need to just go after and marginalize students, we need to share with all of our students the dangers, the resources, and how they can best prevent or eliminate the issue,” said Bauer.

As the knowledge of the epidemic expands, the country moves a step closer in solving this problem.

“I think the big thing lies in education. I think that’s growing right down from the federal level. There’s been more of an awakening of sorts that this is a major, major problem affecting much more of our society than it use to. There’s a push towards more education in schools and the communities about what’s going on and what the dangers are of getting involved with all these drugs. That has to continue. I believe we need to target the sources of where these drugs are coming from and we need to go after them and use every resource we can to go after these opioids and especially the heroin,” said McGready.

“[Heroine] has no class divide. It has no racial divide. It’s straight across every aspect of society. You could live in the richest suburb, or the absolute worst urban area you could imagine and chances are you’re going to see those levels of use up there. It doesn’t have any borders. Heroin doesn’t discriminate. It takes everybody. That’s the big eye opener about this epidemic. It’s not an inner city problem anymore it’s a nationwide problem. Every aspect of society is vulnerable to it and that’s why it’s so hard to deal with,” said McGready.