A presentation Wednesday on Shawano County’s growing drug problem was an enlightening, if somewhat scary, experience for the roughly 50 people who attended.
“I was very surprised about what’s going on, that it’s that bad,” said Sandy Wendorff, who is on the Learn-In Committee and the executive board of Home Community Education of Shawano and Waupaca counties, which hosted the gathering at The Main Event in Cecil.
“Our eyes were opened,” Wendorff said.
The presentation was given by Capt. Tom Tuma and Detective Wade Wudtke as part of a community outreach effort by the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.
“We’re not trying to scare people, but unfortunately some of this stuff is scary,” Tuma said.
The presentation, which is available to any community groups or organizations that request it, provides “an overview of drug sales and abuse in Shawano County and what we’re encountering today,” Tuma said.
Some of the more worrisome statistics presented give a snapshot of how prevalent drugs are becoming among juveniles.
Tuma said some of the numbers even surprised him, including that almost 15 percent of high school students are taking medications that are not prescribed for them.
“I didn’t realize it was that high,” he said.
One of the most abused prescription drugs is Adderall, which is often crushed and snorted, Tuma said. Pain medication is another concern.
“It’s the first step toward heroin, which actually is cheaper,” he said. “Many of the heroin addicts of today started out as pill abusers.”
The cycle of drug abuse often starts early, Tuma said.
“It starts in middle school with tobacco and alcohol and then onto marijuana,” he said.
“As young as the eighth grade we’re starting to get a significant part of our population experimenting with marijuana,” Tuma said, adding that marijuana then becomes a gateway to drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine.
“Just about everything is available even in our rural communities,” he said.
In recent years, synthetic drugs — such as those known as K2 and Spice — have become a concern.
“They spray a vegetable material with chemicals and you don’t know what you’re smoking,” Tuma said. “The side effects can be incredible.”
Unknown additives can also increase the danger of cocaine and heroin, when those dealing the drug cut it with something to make more of it.
“You don’t know what’s been put into those drugs,” Tuma said.
Meth and the designer drug known as bath salts are also making inroads into the county, Tuma said.
The presentation included a before and after photo showing the ravaging physical toll meth can take on a user, as well as a video showing the symptoms of bath salts that include psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations.
Bath salts present a particular problem for law enforcement.
“Our concern is, these people can act out violently or we’re going to have use greater degrees of force just to get them under control,” Tuma said.
Drugs cause problems not only for law enforcement, but also for the comOVERSET FOLLOWS:munity, Tuma said.
“This isn’t the victimless crime that everyone thinks it is,” he said, noting that drug addicts often resort to theft and violent crime to support their addiction.
Tuma said the general community might not be aware of the drug problem because it usually takes place among those in a closed-off subculture.
“It’s not apparent,” he said. “It becomes apparent when you start to see neighborhood deterioration, when you start to see communities losing control of certain sections. Then everybody screams, ‘neighborhood revitalization.’ If you wait for that, it’s already too late.”
Tuma said the department’s approach to the problem is two-pronged, focusing on education and enforcement.
“We will not arrest our way out of this problem,” he said. “It takes the community working together with us to identify these problems and deter them.”
Tuma said community education can help prevent some of the drug problem. However, he said, it’s difficult to quantify that success when it comes to budgeting.
“Unfortunately, as budgets get tighter today, what’s the first thing that goes? The prevention stuff. We’re trying to avoid that,” he said. “The problem is you can’t measure what you prevent.”
Tuma said the department would make its presentation available to any community groups or organizations that request it. Deputies will also give crime prevention talks, do security surveys and help set up neighborhood watches.
“I would love to see more people take advantage of that service,” he said.
Tuma said the drug presentation is important in helping the community understand what’s at stake and why the department needs the community’s support.
“They have to understand the scope of the problem,” he said.
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