ALCOHOL ON TOP AS REGION'S TOP DRUG

For the past two years, heroin has been top drug for people seeking treatment.

After taking a back seat to heroin for two years, alcohol has
reclaimed its longtime No. 1 ranking as the drug of choice among
clients treated through the Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Drug and Alcohol Program.

Methadone treatment and intense coverage about the local heroin
problem probably contributed to heroin's slip in the rankings,
program Director Mike Donahue said after Tuesday's county Drug and
Alcohol Study Commission meeting.

"There's an increasing awareness of people experimenting with the
drug and getting hooked," Donahue said, stressing that the battle
against heroin is far from over.

Out of the 2,369 people who sought treatment through Donahue's office
in the 2004-05 fiscal year, 1,042 named alcohol as their drug of
choice while 791 chose heroin. Cocaine/crack ranked third as the drug
of choice for 205 people.

The people who wind up in the program tend to be low-income
individuals who are unable to secure treatment through insurance.

In comparison, 898 of the 2,295 clients served in 2003-04 listed
heroin as their drug of choice, compared to the 881 who named alcohol.

Donahue told commission members Tuesday that he's encouraging more
local physicians to sign up for training to offer buprenorphine, an
alternative to methadone treatment for heroin and opiate addicts.

Few local physicians offer the treatment, and addicts sometimes
encounter waiting lists hundreds of names long.

Twelve physicians have registered for Dec. 3 training to offer the
treatment, including a few in the southern part of the county, he said.

"Oh praise God," said task force member Ed Pane, a Hazleton area drug
treatment provider.

The goal is for 30 physicians to sign up, Donahue said.

Donahue and others fear alcohol will always be a problem because many
refuse to consider it a potentially deadly drug.

Alcohol use - and abuse - is ingrained in the local culture, said
Frank Martin, who oversees countywide drunken-driving awareness
programs for Catholic Social Services. DUI checkpoints, mandatory
classes for offenders and public education don't seem to put a dent
in the problem.

"We are professional drinkers here, and it's a big issue. We've got
that hard-working, beer-drinking coal miner attitude," Martin said.

Sunday sales and beer store additions to convenient markets make it
easier than ever, he said.

"Nobody is making it more difficult to get alcohol," Martin said.

Convincing people not to drink and drive is Martin's main mission,
though he doesn't know if the message will ever get through because
the county continues to have an average 1,000 to 1,200 drunken
driving offenses annually.

Comprised of 67 counties, the state averages 42,000 to 43,000
offenses per year.

"We're experiencing more than our share here. It puts up a flag," Martin said.

The average blood-alcohol level among Luzerne County drunken driving
offenders is 0.18 percent - more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

The state average is 0.17 percent.

"These aren't just your social drinkers," he said.