U.S. Attorney, Experts on Opioid Epidemic Say No Community Is Immune

MIDDLETOWN, RI—"I'm not going to sugarcoat it," said U. S. Attorney Peter Neronha. "We're not even at the end of the beginning."

Although Rhode Island is making progress in the battle against opiate addiction, he told about 40 people at Middletown Town Hall Thursday night, more than 200 people died here of overdoses last year, and the problem affects every community.

Kaylee Pelletier lost her father when she was only 12. She and her step-mother, Megan Surber, both from Aquidneck Island, spoke about how his death affected them.

Surber said he had started using marijuana when he was just 11 and progressed to other drugs over the years. Toward the end, he was facing criminal charges for breaking and entering, desperate actions he had taken to find the money to buy more drugs.

Neronha said law enforcement is part of the solution, and so are prevention and treatment.

People can recover, but they can't do it on their own.

On prevention, the experts said people need to clean out their medicine cabinets and take leftover drugs to the police station for proper disposal.

Beatrice Casaula, a student assistance counselor, said youngsters have gotten hooked after taking prescription pain killers for wisdom teeth extractions and for sports injuries and from taking painkillers their parents were prescribed for surgeries.

Education is important.

In every case she has ever seen of opioid addiction, Lori Verderosa, of the Middletown Prevention Coalition, said, the patient started by using marijuana or alcohol.

"In Middletown, we have seen a rise," said Deputy police Chief Ferenc Karoly. Even though the Town may seem like "a sleepy community," he said, the opioid epidemic is a problem here, too.

Captions: Middletown Deputy police Chief Ferenc Karoly, right, said police are trying to keep the Town safe. At left is Sam Masiello, Drug Enforcement Administration.

Kaylee Pelletier was 12 when her father died of an overdose.

Peter Letendre, chief executive officer of Clinical Services of Rhode Island, said "there is hope." Also pictured, rightmost, Jon Brett, Ph.D., of Newport Hospital.

Credit: Margo Sullivan