Substance Abuse

More than half of the seriously injured patients treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center were found to have a current or past problem with drugs or drinking, according to a study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.The survey results have prompted officials at the trauma center to contemplate ways to persuade patients while they are still in the hospital to get treatment for their addictions or to change on their own."If you find those problems, you ought to treat those problems," said Dr. Carl A. Soderstrom, a professor of surgery who directed the study.

Howard County residents who work together to stop drug abuse have been honored at the county executive's 5th Annual Partnership Awards Program at Taylor Manor Hospital in Ellicott City.The awards, which were presented Wednesday, are sponsored by the Howard County Substance Abuse Impact Services Office.Joyce Brown Weddington, Howard County substance abuse impact coordinator, said the awards were started when she and the county executive realized five years ago that efforts to fight substance abuse were disjointed.

Howard County's substance abuse programs will gain national prominence tomorrow morning when President Clinton comes to Elkridge to urge Congress not to cut funding for drug-abuse education legislation.Launching a national drug-awareness campaign at Mayfield Woods Middle School, Mr. Clinton is expected to highlight the Howard school system's use of the federal funding and how the various county agencies have worked together to fight substance abuse."I'm really pleased that we get a chance to show off our drug education program," said Debbi Lange, the health education teacher at Mayfield Woods.

Alcohol and drug abuse among the elderly has long been an under-recognized problem, according to drug counselors and those who work with the senior population.Junction Inc., a drug treatment center in Westminster, hopes to alert seniors and their care givers to the issue through a new prevention and education program.Joyce Tierney, the county's assistant prevention coordinator, who works out of Junction, plans to present the program at the county's senior centers and at churches that have outreach ministries for the homebound elderly.

As the headlines continue to talk of international drug interdictions and military intervention in the war on drugs, it's often overlooked that the business world can be a vital foot soldier in the battle."

Ravens running back Jamal Lewis could face significant punishment from the NFL if convicted on federal drug charges, even though his alleged crime took place before he joined the team, an attorney familiar with the league's substance-abuse policy said yesterday. Lewis, who already has been entered in Stage 3 of the policy, was charged this week with conspiring to possess, with intent to distribute, 5 kilograms of cocaine in the summer of 2000, before he signed his first contract with the Ravens.

In Baltimore CountyArmored-car guard shoots at man trying to steal bag of moneyPARKVILLE -- A security guard for an armored car company shot at a man who tried to steal a bag of money yesterday afternoon outside the Perring Plaza Shopping Center, police said.Police said two men approached a Dunbar security guard leaving Home Depot with a bag of money at 12: 30 p.m. One man displayed a gun and demanded the money.Another guard sitting in the armored car saw the incident and fired an undetermined number of shots at the armed man. The men were unable to steal the bag and fled on foot.

In Baltimore CountyCounty police union elects officers and board of directorsCARNEY -- Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 4, has elected new officers. The officers, whose terms begin Dec. 20, are:President, Sgt. Cole Weston; first vice president, Lt. Jerry Foracappo; second vice president, Cpl. Steve Comegna; lodge secretary, Sgt. Dave Folderauer; treasurer, retired Detective George Hubbard; state trustee, retired Lt. Lou Lagna; sergeant-at-arms, Sgt. Mel Teal; chaplain, retired Sgt. Paul Merkle.

Sobering lessons about drug and substance abuse were presented at the Carroll County Drug Summit '99, where a poignant and graphic video, "Heroin Kills," sent viewers home recommitted to prevention efforts.A standing-room-only crowd of more than 250 children and adults attended Thursday's forum and saw the first public showing of the video inspired by the overdose deaths of several Carroll teen-agers. Among the lessons conveyed:The county commissioners consider the war on drugs a top priority.

An innovative countywide program that subsidized treatment for nearly 800 substance abusers last year has fallen victim to a budget cut that critics fear will leave many of the sickest and most needy without care and ultimately overburden the jail system.The $1.5 million drug treatment initiative for people referred by the criminal justice system, launched by former County Executive John G. Gary in 1998 and financed by a $12 million budget surplus, lost more than $1 million under the current budget, which focuses heavily on education.

Opponents of the state's plan to close the Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center in Chestertown have a point that the state has not yet provided sufficient details about how the 200 patients a year who rely on the facility will find adequate care in an area where options are relatively few. But that doesn't mean the closure - part of the aggressive cost-cutting measures that have been required to bridge Maryland's recession-induced budget gaps -...

A generation ago, former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke urged lawmakers to consider abandoning the criminal justice model for dealing with the country's rampant drug problem and to focus instead on treating people for their addictions. He was roundly criticized for the idea, and America went on to prosecute a fruitless "war on drugs" that two decades later it is still clearly losing. But last week, city health officials announced a small but significant victory in that struggle that may yet vindicate Mr. Schmoke's more humanistic approach to the scourge of substance abuse.

I Can't We Can, a Northwest Baltimore-based drug treatment program founded 13 years ago by a former heroin addict, has lost its major source of funding because of "grave concerns" about the way it is being run, according to the agency that distributes the money. Israel Cason, a popular community leader and vocal advocate of substance abuse treatment, estimates he has helped about 10,000 addicts over the years with housing, counseling and work training. A decade ago, city leaders were so enamored of the program that they declared Aug. 29 "I Can't We Can Day."

Online drug treatment programs can be just as effective as traditional in-person group counseling, at least in the short term, according to a new report by Johns Hopkins researchers. The concept received high praise Friday morning from former U.S. drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who was at an announcement of the findings at Baltimore's Institute for Behavioral Resources, a partner in the study. "People need effective, science-based treatment that is appropriate for their community," McCaffrey said.

The Rev. Joseph C. Martin, a recovering alcoholic and an international leader in the fight against alcoholism and substance abuse who was a co-founder of Father Martin's Ashley, a Harford County treatment center, died early yesterday of heart disease at his Havre de Grace home. He was 84. Father Martin's "Chalk Talk on Alcohol" and "No Laughing Matter" have become standard tools used by recovery centers, schools and employee assistance programs the world over. "Father Martin is an icon in the treatment industry and was one of the first to describe alcoholism in layman's terms as a disease," said Mark Hushen, president and chief executive of Father Martin's Ashley, located near Havre de Grace.

* Barbara Bozzuto has been named chairwoman of the St. Agnes Hospital's board of directors. This is a move up for Bozzuto, who has already served on the board and has worked on the hospital's $25 million capital campaign. She also serves as a commissioner of the Maryland State Commission on Public Art and is chairwoman of WYPR radio's board of directors. As chairwoman, Bozzuto will oversee the budget process and assist the board with stewardship, credentialing of medical staff, fundraising and CEO evaluation, among other duties.

Vernice Harris won't go to prison because prosecutors can't prove that she killed her 2-year-old daughter, Bryanna, by feeding her methadone. Although Ms. Harris has agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter, she will be sent to treatment for long-standing mental health and substance abuse problems. The immediate catch is that she has to wait about three months to get into a program. But the long-term lesson of this family's troubles is that more careful and consistent oversight by Baltimore's Department of Social Services might have resulted in earlier treatment that could have prevented subsequent tragedy.

Grant helps addicted parents The Anne Arundel County Department of Health's Prevention Services Program has been awarded an $110,850 grant from the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration. The Children of Addicted Parents Prevention Initiative grant is awarded to programs that focus on parents in substance abuse treatment and their children ages 10 to 17. The grant is for one year with the possibility of renewal. The grant will help expand the county's Strengthening Families program, a weekly three-hour, 14-week model program that focuses on protecting children from factors that lead to substance abuse by improving family relationships.

As one speaker after another stood before the parents gathered at Francis Scott Key High School, a theme quickly emerged. "Parents, you are the ones that kids need to be talking to constantly," said Angela Chmar, a licensed social worker from the Carroll County Youth Service Bureau, as she discussed signs of teen depression. "If you don't ask questions, they may not tell you." Or, as Cpl. Worthington Washington of the county sheriff's office said in an Internet safety talk that showed how 20 minutes and an online profile can yield a wealth of information for predators: "You have to watch your children.

When her husband unexpectedly became the nation's 38th president, Betty Ford was suddenly and reluctantly transformed from congressional wife and former department store fashion coordinator to first lady of the United States. Her candor and common sense quickly won over a nation that had never before heard a president's wife talk so openly about taboo topics, including her own addictions and her battle against breast cancer. Gerald R. Ford's death this week once again is pushing Betty Ford into the spotlight, introducing her to a new generation of Americans.