Police: Communication vital for drug, Internet safety

Parish law enforcement officials stressed the importance Monday of parents and teachers having open and honest conversations with young people in order to stop the drug use and cyberbullying that are harming members of the community.
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office and Berwick Police Department hosted a community meeting Monday at the Berwick Civic Complex to discuss current drug trends, cyberbullying and the dangers of social media.
Being honest with kids and young adults about the effects of certain drugs is crucial to attacking the drug problem, said St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Kahl, who is in charge of all investigations, primarily narcotics investigations, for the sheriff’s office.
Kahl called marijuana a gateway to harder drugs.
“It is the first thing that the majority of people use,” Kahl said. “And you know what happens when they use it? They don’t die.”
The fact that users survive marijuana use may lead them to believe that trying other drugs also won’t cause them to die. “To combat the drug epidemic, we must constantly evolve,” Kahl said.
Law enforcement is “always taking a reactive stance” to fight illegal drug use because so many new drugs come out every day, Kahl said.
Prescription drug abuse is a big problem right now due to the availability and lack of social stigma, Kahl said.
“It’s not like crack cocaine where people look down on it,” Kahl said.
Prescription medicine abuse is defined as taking drugs in ways contrary to how a doctor intended them to be used, he said. Friends and family members are the primary sources prescription drug abusers get the substances from, Kahl said.
Many people think that prescription drugs are safe because pharmaceutical companies make them and doctors prescribe them, Kahl said.
“Prescription medicine accounts for more people going to the emergency room every year than all other illegal drugs combined,” Kahl said.
Painkiller abusers need to get professional help for their addictions, he said.
Parish agencies participate in drug take back programs to allow people to get unused or unwanted medications out of their homes.
During the past year, the sheriff’s office has seen a sharp decline in synthetic drug use, which Kahl attributes to community members asking law enforcement to hold events to discuss the dangers of those drugs, he said.
Methamphetamine is another widely used drug in the region, the majority of which is made in Mexico and transported through Texas to Louisiana, Kahl said.
“It is cheap, and it is a longer high than a lot of other drugs,” Kahl said. A meth high can last up to 12 times longer than a crack cocaine high, he said.
Heroin is prevalent in the area, too, Kahl said. A person with a painkiller addiction is 19 times more likely to use heroin than those who aren’t addicted to painkillers, he said.
Also during Monday’s community meeting, Sheriff’s Office Detectives Supervisor Lt. Sennet Wiggins and Detective Whytley Jones spoke on the damaging effects of cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is the sending or posting of cruel messages or pictures via the Internet, Wiggins said.
“Cyberbullying can have devastating consequences,” Wiggins said. “Suicide is one.”
Anyone can be a cyberbully when they do something online that inflicts pain on another person, Wiggins said.
Online bullying can happen anywhere and anytime, he said.
“Traditional bullying, regular bullying requires the bully and the victim to be in the same place at the same time. Things are different now,” Wiggins said.
“A cyberbully can easily hide behind a fake identity whereas a regular bully’s identity is known,” Wiggins said.
One message or photo sent by a cyberbully can spread to a wide audience, Wiggins said.
“When a cyberbully publishes offensive content on the Internet, it doesn’t go away. In fact, it can resurface at any time,” Wiggins said.
Both the victim and bully can suffer from the consequences of cyberbullying, Jones said. Victims can suffer from things such as eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and other health issues, she said.
Bullies are usually suspended from school and may face criminal penalties if the bullying reaches a higher level of harm, Jones said.
Perpetrators can go to jail for up to a year or pay fines up to $2,500, she said.
Lawmakers are working to make the penalties stiffer for bullying incidents, Jones said. Anyone who knows of or suspects cyberbullying is occurring should report it, Jones said.
“We can’t wait until it goes away. We have to keep in mind that the victims of cyberbullying, they’re angry. They’re mad. They’re sad. And sometimes, they don’t know what to do about it,” Jones said.
It’s important for parents and teachers to keep an “open line of communication” to help bullying victims, Jones said.
Documentation is the first step parents, teachers or others should take when learning of bullying, Jones said. Keeping a journal is one way to document bullying incidents, Wiggins said. Never forward harmful messages to anyone else or reply to the bully, and always block the perpetrator from contacting the victim, he said.
“We want to remember to tell them (bullying victims) that it’s not their fault,” Jones said.
Detectives also talked about the dangers associated with using social media in general.
If people don’t set their Facebook pages or other social media page to private, “it’s almost like leaving your car unlocked in the driveway with all your valuables in it,” Wiggins said.
This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald. He can be reached at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.