By Matt Jablow

Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota today announced the indictments of two members of Trinitario, a violent street gang based in New York City.  The headline here wasn’t the amount of heroin seized — about ten-thousand dollars — but the fact that Trinitario is now in Suffolk County.  Spota says he’s not certain exactly how many other Trinitario members are still living, and dealing heroin, in Suffolk, but he says it’s a matter of real concern to prosecutors and police.  He also told me what many people in law enforcement have told me in the past: that the best way to get rid of drug dealing, and the violence that attends it, is to get rid of the demand for drugs.  Obviously, that’s no easy feat.

By Bill Korbel

This fall’s mega movie hit is the apocolyptic film 2012.  In case you have not been near a television for the last week or so and therefore have not seen any of the commericals for the film,  here’s the plot summary (and I promise not to give anything away that might spoil it for you).

A scientist discovers that certain astronomical events will shortly destroy the planet and everyone and everything on it.  Governments get together and while skeptical, join efforts to save as many people as possible.  They do this while keeping it secret from the general population.  Through the film, we follow an eclectic  group citizens as they try to save themselves from the inevitable as the planet crumbles around them.                                                                             

Oh … wait a minute.  That’s not the plot line of 2012.  Well it is, sort of, but it is also the plot of the 1951 blockbuster ” When Worlds Collide.”  I’m not saying the producer of 2012 ripped off the older version of planetary destruction, but there sure are a lot of similarities.  By the way, the 1951 film won the Oscar for special effects and I can guarantee 2012 will do the same.

Sure it’s full of implausible moments, but it is well acted with a fine cast and the special effects are mind boggling.  I have never seen destruction on a global scale so realistically depicted.  I’m talking about “2012,” not “When Worlds Collide,” although that’s exactly what movie reviewers wrote about that film nearly 60 years ago.  It just proves the adage: what’s old is new again.    One more bit of advice.  It runs 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Add in 15 minutes of coming attractions and you are going to be sitting in the theater for 3 hours, so don’t make my mistake and drink a soda before the film starts.

By Jill Wagner

What should you do if you THINK your child is doing drugs but they deny it? The signs are all there, but you just don’t know for sure?  Now the Suffolk County Sheriff Department has a program that will let you finally get the answers you’re looking for: “Test, Don’t Guess.”

The department is giving out FREE drug tests to anyone who wants one.   They’re easy to use — you take them home, have your child give a urine sample, and then you can find out the results  just ten minutes later – yourself.  Everything from heroin to pot to pills will show up.

Just as importantly, the test comes with guidelines for TALKING to your kids about drug use.  It can sometimes be an uncomfortable subject that you’d rather put off until another time.  But as the Suffolk District Attorney said rather poignantly — “The time to act is now, not later when you’re about to bury your child.”

Or when your child ends up in jail.

The Sheriff has that part covered, too.  They’re offering parents the chance to bring their kids on a private tour of the county jail… a little preview of what’s in store in they continue using drugs.

The kids will also have the chance to talk to inmates like 20-year-old Jamie from Commack.  She says she started using heroin when she was a senior in high school.  That was the beginning of the end.  She went from being an Italian honor student with dreams of teaching to a convicted criminal sitting behind bars.

She told me that heroin is “everywhere” at Commack High School, as it is in many other high schools across the Island.  She said her parents often asked if she was using drugs, but she denied it.  An actual drug test would have left no doubt.  Looking back, she says her parents would have probably put her on house arrest — a far better option than actually sitting in jail.

For more information about the tests or the tours, you can check out the Sheriff Department website at www.suffolksheriff.com.  They also have a list of other resources that can help if you need counseling for your child.

By: Elizabeth Hashagen

As I began my research for this story- I kept a list of facts I came across that I found surpising or interesting.
I figured what I wouldn’t be able to get into the story I could include in my blog-
Then I took a look at the list I’d accumulated and realized this would beone LONG blog if I tried to get it all in-
So- I’ll just share with you some of what I found out
One of the popular presentors on our Island is Dr. Stephen Dewey. He’s an investigator at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.
He tries to put heroin into perspective for those who attend his forum.
Here is how he explains it– “The brain goes crazy,”
“After heroin ingestion, levels of the pleasure-stimulating neurotransmitter dopamine can rise 3,000 percent in the brain before crashing back to normal. To put that figure into perspective, a youth scoring a high mark on a test is biologically rewarded with a dopamine surge of only 10 to 15 percent” he said.
When friends and family were talking ot me about the series that’s the one fact I kept turning to– 3,000 percent.
I mean think about getting good news– and how you can be happy ( or at least I can be happy ) for days after something good happens– and that surge I’m feeling may be only 15%!
Dr. Dewey also adds that the flood of dopamine is so incredibly pleasurable the user will always try to recapture that first high. That’s why the first time you try it you get hooked.
But you have to keep increasing the dosage– because your brain releases less and less of the neurotransmitter with habitual use and addiction develops.
Teens naturally have higher levels of dopamine than adults, which spurs their experimentation with drugs, he said.
I also found this list if recent trends in teens interesting-

• Teens are turning away from street drugs and using prescription drugs to get high. New users of prescription drugs have caught up with new users of marijuana.

• Next to marijuana, the most common illegal drugs teens are using to get high are prescription medications.

• Teens are abusing prescription drugs because they believe the myth that these drugs provide a medically safe high.

• The majority of teens get prescription drugs easily and for free, often from friends or relatives.

• Girls are more likely than boys to intentionally abuse prescription drugs to get high.

• Pain relievers such as OxyContin and Vicodin are the most commonly abused prescription drugs by teens.

• Adolescents are more likely than young adults to become dependent on prescription medication.

{SOURCE: “Teens and Prescription Drugs: An analysis of recent trends on the emerging drug threat.” Study conducted by Office of National Drug Control Policy. February 2007.}

By: Elizabeth Hashagen

It might not be something you want to picture your kids talking about with their friends– and certainly you don’t want to think that your beautiful child would ever have anything to do with heroin–

But right now the scary reality on Long Island is that — Heroin is here!

I figured it might be a good idea to let you know some slang terms for drugs and some things your kids might be saying–

If you find your child using any of these 10 phrases in a not-so-normal fashion, whether on Facebook or in a fishy-sounding text message, you will know what you’re really reading.

1. Pixie sticks

Normally a little dose of sugar. But this treat is really a way to trick those who see it — Drug users use pixie sticks to carry their drugs in so they can have the drug on them and accessible at any time with little or no notice.

2. Baby

This is slang for a minor heroin habit. Many teens may refer to their boyfriend or girlfriend as baby so don’t be alarmed as soon as you see the word. For this one you’re going to have to look a little deeper. See the context of how the word is being used.

3. Brother, Chick

These are code names for heroin. Now it’s certainly common for kids to use these words to refer to friends. But watch out if your child is sending texts like “do you have any brother, im really needing some.” or “how much is your chick, I heard you were good.” If the usage seems wrong– then there may be a problem.

4. Night time

Slang for Heroin withdrawal. Another simple phrase, again it’s all about context. This phrase may signal your child is about to buy heroin and may even point to the source of the drug.

5. Sleep walker

That’s a code for–a heroin addict. If you know your child doesn’t sleep walk or seems to be talking to a friend about someone who does- you might want to strike up a serious conversation.

6. “speed ball”

A mixture of heroin and cocaine or heroin and speed.

7. Bag

Container for drugs; a package of drugs, usually marijuana or heroin; a person’s favorite drug. If your child is buying drugs, you may find bags with phrases on them such as PRADA, 9LIVES, AMERICAN GANGSTER, BLACK LABEL, GOOD LIFE etc. ( Take a look at what the containers look like in our series– they a very similar to wax paper– because heroin sticks to plastic– so you’re not looking for the same type of container that cocaine or pot might be bagged in)

8. Cook

To mix heroin with water and dissolve it, preparing it for injection. Now this is tricky because there are many opinions about what heroin smells like when it is cooked. Some say it has a faint smell of vinegar and is not easily detectable but others say it smells like a skunk and is very detectable.

9. Nod

The effect that heroin has on someone. Heroin users often can be seen “nodding out” with eyes closed and their head on their chest. A teen that is always sleepy could just be tired, but it may be time for a talk to find out more.

10. Give Wings

To inject someone with heroin or teach them how to inject themselves. The energy drink Red Bull is also said to “give you wings”. So no need to panic, but if you see or hear that phrase– just know there are multiple meanings out there.