Shapiro, others unveil programto assist county anti-drug efforts

Republican Herald - 1/16/2020

Jan. 15--POTTSVILLE -- Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday that Schuylkill County should benefit from being the third county to launch a special anti-drug program.

"We launched this initiative about a year ago," Shapiro said of the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program. "I firmly believe that Schuylkill County can be a model for the rest of the commonwealth."

Joined by District Attorney Michael A. O'Pake and Judge James P. Goodman, Shapiro spoke of the new program at the courthouse before approximately 150 officials, health professionals and others, along with a phalanx of police chiefs and other law enforcement officers.

Started in Somerset County in 2018, and expanded to Carbon County in March 2019, PA LEAD allows drug users to go seek help. As long as there are no outstanding warrants against them, they will not be arrested.

Instead, the police will help the addicts connect with treatment providers to ensure they get to the proper facilities and receive the correct help for their drug problem.

"It affords those individuals who have a drug problem to walk up to any policeman or go to any police station and say, 'I have a drug problem,' " and get help, O'Pake said.

Melissa Kalyan, administrator of the county Drug & Alcohol Program, said the program should assist people in getting the help they need.

"We cannot arrest our way out of this," she said.

Shapiro made it clear that the program is for addicts and not drug dealers, saying agents from his office lock up five dealers a day and pointing with pride to the police chiefs standing with him.

"When you bring these poisons into our community ... one of these men is going to lock you up," he said.

However, Shapiro said addiction itself can and should be treated and the addicts rescued.

"Drug addiction is a disease, not a crime," he said.

Furthermore, officials must take a multifaceted approach to fighting drugs, according to Shapiro.

"Today in Pennsylvania, we will lose 12 members of the commonwealth family" to drug use, he said. "You can't take a single approach to saving lives."

Goodman said another aspect of that fight is the county Drug Treatment Court, over which he presides.

"We enhance public safety. We reduce recidivism," he said. "It saves lives. We're helping people who want to help themselves."

O'Pake also said the fight is one that must be fought on many fronts.

"I recognize the number one problem for the citizens of Schuylkill County is the drug problem," he said. "We know drugs impact everyone. Drugs are everywhere."

O'Pake said drug addicts commit burglaries and take items such as televisions and jewelry that they can profitably unload.

Shawn M. McGinley, a recovering addict who works as a counselor, said his struggle is typical and shows the need for PA LEAD.

"This program probably would have done me some good. It definitely would have raised my chances," he said. "I didn't know I had a disease."

McGinley, of Ashland, said he struggled with drugs and alcohol in high school and sank deeper while at Kutztown University.

"I brought an addiction home with me," he said. "I was continually using every day."

McGinley said his life continued in a downward spiral, with two driving under the influence charges in 2006, a lost job and an overdose in 2010, and a relapse in 2013 where he lost everything he had.

Finally, he said, he started praying, obeying and following directions, leading to overcoming his addiction to resume a reasonably normal life.

McGinley's story of drug-caused woes is one O'Pake said he wants to eliminate.

"We're going to stop those stories from happening in Schuylkill County," he said.

Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6014

___

Visit the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.) at republicanherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.