DRUG IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR ALCOHOL

Klonopin may be a new name for most Arlingtonians, but, according to
police and doctors, the prescription anti-anxiety drug, has become an
alternative to alcohol for teens.

Unlike alcohol, which is easily detected on a person's breath,
Klonopin (also called K-Pins) is odorless.

"The schools have been very effective in tackling the problems of
the use of alcohol at school functions," said Police Chief Fred
Ryan. "What we're learning is that to counter that effectiveness,
kids are using substances like Klonopin to intoxicate themselves.
It's not as easily detectable." In addition to Klonopin, police
confiscated Ativan, Oxycontin, Valium, Xanax, Librium, Vicodin and
marijuana from a 16-year-old, who they arrested and charged with
possession of Class D and E drugs with the intent to distribute last Thursday.

About 500 of the more than 1,300 pills recovered were Ativan, an
anti-anxiety medication that impacts chemicals in the brain and is
prescribed to help people suffering from anxiety, insomnia and
seizures. Approximately 250 pills were Klonopin, according to police.

Dr. Irwin Avery at the Arlington Youth Consultation Center said
taking Klonopin itself wouldn't create a high. In fact, consuming
huge amounts of the drug would actually cause respiratory problems.

"If they took a whole pile of Klonopin, they would probably pass
out," said Avery. However, students who reportedly took Klonopin
last week, including the 17-year-old who committed suicide,
allegedly acted out violently. This makes Avery think that the
teens mixed Klonopin with other drugs, possibly PCP or Oxycontin, or alcohol.

"In and of themselves, you won't get high from Klonopin. If you take
it with uppers, alcohol or any of those kinds of things, probably
Oxycontin, you get (an intense) type of high," said Avery.

Dr. Franca Centorrino of McLean Hospital said the symptoms of a
person high on Klonopin are similar to a person who is drunk.

"The effects can be very serious," said Centorrino. The doctor said
abusing a drug like Klonopin can remove inhibitions and impair
judgment. When sober, a person may be able to control an underlying
mood and, for example, not get angry or violent. However, when under
the influence of drugs or alcohol, that barrier is removed.

"If you were sober, you would have controlled that," she said of
people who may get violent because they don't have the mental
barrier. Centorrino doesn't think Klonopin abuse is new. The
difference is that young people are now getting their hands on the
drug. Oxycontin was the drug of choice a couple of years ago and the
area was hit with a number of pharmacy robberies. Most pharmacies,
in turn, stopped offering Oxycontin. With that roadblock in place,
drug abusers moved onto more assessable drugs, such as Klonopin.

Arlington police found out, after fielding dozens of tips, that
Klonopin is, in fact, "readily available through a variety of
sources," said Ryan. Last week's arrests were not the police
department's first brush with Klonopin. An Indian Orchard man was
arrested in September after he stole a car in Cambridge and took
police on a chase through Arlington and Medford, part of which
included a witness being dragged by the vehicle while he held onto
the doorframe. The chase ended in the Roosevelt Circle rotary in
Medford when the 36-year-old suspect drove the wrong way and crashed
into another vehicle and guardrail; police arrested the man and
reportedly found Klonopin on him.