Heroin 'Epidemic' in Monmouth: Patch Readers Respond

Heroin abuse is escalating in our towns, fueled by a deadly pure form of the drug, said Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni. 

In a presentation in Wall Tuesday, Gramiccioni shared statistics, showed mug shots of heroin addicts and talked about its dangerous appeal to Monmouth County youth. 

"This is an important message. Thank you for trying to get it out to the public! I will share," said Marguerite McAneny Siegel on the Manasquan Patch Facebook page.

Erica Melone commented on Little Silver Patch: "Thanks for posting this... it's mind boggling what is going on. Every week I hear a new story about heroine taking over not just kids... people. If you think your kid is clean... you may want to make sure!"

During one part he gave statistics about how many citizens voluntarily sought heroin addiction treatment, by school district. In remarks on radio station 94.3 later that day, he explained that the numbers represent all the children, adults and citizens of those areas. For example, 721 people seeking help in the Freehold Regional School District actually represent the broader population living in Colts Neck, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan, and Marlboro. 

The choice to express addicts by school district irked some readers who called it "misleading."  David McCarthy wrote on Middletown-NJ Patch, "Heroin is dangerous but sensationalizing the stats to get a point across deflates your argument."

At the end of his talk, Gramiccioni cited a Michigan study that asked drug-free highschool graduates how they stayed drug-free through their school years. The answer was that they did not want to disappoint their parents.

"Wow, very sobering, but glad to see parental involvement has a positive impact," said M. Smith on Patch.   

Some commented that the Prosecutor's Office should be more concerned with addiction to legal drugs like oxycotin. "dont fool yourself people...oxycotin is killing our kids also," said Sue Brennan Heck on Patch. 

"Howell Man" added, "gang violence that's killing our children is a huge problem which needs the resources of the county leading in combating this cancer in our towns."