Teaching Teens About Opioid Addiction

BERKELEY – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and
his staff had a stern message recently for any Central Regional High School
students who might be tempted to use opioids or illegal drugs.

  Don’t. Just don’t.

  Billhimer and Chief
Juvenile/Domestic Violence Prosecutor Anthony Pierro spoke to students in the
Central Regional auditorium recently about the dangers of opioid addiction and
how they can avoid becoming a victim.

  And if you are
tempted, the drugs can kill you, especially if you don’t know what you are
taking.

  They cited fentanyl,
which is often used in combination with other drugs, including heroin. Just two
milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, Billhimer said.

  “Fentanyl is a
deadly narcotic that can kill you,” he said. “The smallest dose of fentanyl
can kill you.”

  Fentanyl is a
synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. While it was
originally developed for the pain management of cancer patients, fentanyl is
also used illegally by adding it to heroin to increase its potency, according
to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s website.

  “Many users
believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are
purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths,” according
to the DEA. “Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in
Mexico.”

  The two men showed a
large map of New Jersey during a PowerPoint presentation, with the worst areas
for illegal drugs highlighted in bright red.

  “Unfortunately
for us, there is a lot of red, especially in Ocean County,” Billhimer
said.

  Fentanyl is so
dangerous it has also sickened police officers if they are exposed to it during
drug arrests, he said.

  Both men emphasized that help is available. Anyone who has an addiction problem can simply go to a local police station in Ocean County or even approach an officer in a police cruiser and ask for help. They will be given assistance immediately.

  But if you don’t ask
for help, and you’re found with drugs, you will be prosecuted to the “full
extent of the law,” Billhimer said.

  Do you think vaping
is harmless? Think again. It’s not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.

  “The whole
thing is about addiction,” Pierro said. “We have created half a
million more nicotine addicts.”

  Big tobacco
companies who produce e-cigarettes aren’t your friends, he said.

  And teenagers are
more likely to become addicted to vaping.

  When inhaled,
diacetyl causes bronchiolitis obliterans – more commonly referred to as
“popcorn lung” – a scarring of the tiny air sacs in the lungs
resulting in the thickening and narrowing of the airways.

  While the name
“popcorn lung” may not sound like a threat, it’s a serious lung
disease that causes coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath, similar to the
symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the American
Lung Association’s website.

  Both men told the
sad story of Jesse Morella, a North Jersey man who went to a party one night
when he was sixteen and snorted heroin.

  Jesse is now a
quadraplegic. He can only communicate with a letter board. He can only eat
through a tube. The young man wears diapers and is totally dependent on his parents.

  Prior to trying
heroin, Jesse had only smoked marijuana.