Last Tuesday morning, two guests addressed the North Haven Rotary Club at Washington Avenue’s  Breakfast Nook about the dangers of prescription drug abuse by youths. Nancy Leddy, Community Services Youth Services Coordinator, and  Joanne Hoffman, a local parent and  businesswoman, described the new dangers that face all families.

Nancy Leddy said that the Substance Abuse Prevention Council has been active in North Haven for nine years. She thanked local leaders, including school administrators, police, fire, and the First Selectman for their continued dedication to the council. Leddy added that local students, parents, and business representatives have greatly helped the council.

Leddy said that she and Sgt. Mark Fasano were exploring a Drug Free Communities grant, a comprehensive federal grant request for up to $125,000, renewable for five years. Leddy said that through her position, she is the town’s liaison with the schools, adding that as the mother of three college-age children who had gone through the local school system, “I love the kids.”

Leddy said that the goal of her department, as well as the SAPC, is to “help kids make better choices, and to live healthy and productive lives.” One of her latest accomplishments was bringing in speaker John Western, who was seriously burned as the result of drunk driving. Western also speaks on the dangers of texting while driving.

Leddy said that the local drug council’s adopted mission is “to lead the community in the development of a strategic approach focused on awareness, education, and communication, thereby reducing the incidence and prevalence of substance abuse and related problems in town.” She said that Fasano and Hoffman have taped a program for NHTV. Rotarian Theresa Viele will also host a show with two council parents, Jay McGuiness and Val Goodkin.

Hoffman, well known for health and nutrition instruction at her successful business on Broadway in North Haven known as Eats4life, began her presentation by showing everyone a framed photograph of their younger daughter, who had last June graduated near the top of her class at NHHS.

Normally a typical family, the Hoffmans found themselves in crisis on August 27, 2009. It was only one week before their daughter Barbara was to start school at Bryant College when they first learned of her serious drug addiction. Aware that she had smoked marijuana, they were shocked to learn that she was addicted to OxyContin. The teen had lost a great deal of weight, barely weighing 100 pounds. She had been supporting her drug habit by stealing family jewelry, as well as secretly taking funds from their bank account. “We were beyond devastated,” Hoffman said. “We were torn apart. Parents need to know, to really look at their children.

Although their daughter had not been a problem throughout most of her high school years, there seemed to be a change for the worse in her behavior in her senior year. However, despite the attitude change, her grades remained “great.” In preparation for a sky-diving experience she was administered some heart monitoring tests that demonstrated an abnormal rate. Their daughter ignored the results and responded to her parents’ concern, “You know I smoked pot.” The Hoffmans continued to think her behavior was simply “senioritis” and a strong desire for independence, but Hoffman said her daughter became more anti-social last summer.

Having heard of a program in Southington called “Parents 4 a Change,” Hoffman sought guidance from its founder, Mary Marcuccio, herself an experienced mother of an addict.

Repeatedly crediting Marcuccio with saving her daughter’s life, Hoffman said, “If we hadn’t followed her guidelines, I don’t know where we’d be today.” She stated that when she reached out to the Southington woman in desperation, “She walked me through it, telling me what to do, like in a movie.”

Describing her child’s reaction to their new restrictions as acting “like a caged animal,” Hoffman reviewed the often emotional details of her daughter’s insistence that there was nothing wrong as she headed out into the night, running through the neighborhood screaming to be left alone. Hoffman said that a psychological evaluation at Yale New Haven misdiagnosed her child as bi-polar, and an attempt at detoxification at home was a complete failure, as Marcuccio had foretold. A placement in Stonington failed as well because she would simply run away.

After months of trying to deal with Barbara’s uncontrollable behavior, including wrecking her vehicle, the Hoffmans told her that she would have to accept drug rehabilitation out of state, or leave their home. She chose to leave home.

Her mother said that after four days with her drug-addicted boyfriend, the totally exhausted and depressed 18-year-old girl agreed to an intensive 60-day initial placement in Florida. Her daughter later decided to stay in a “special facility” in Florida and has remained “clean” since Nov. 3. In closing, the audience was told that addicts can never return home because of “sights, smells and sounds” from the past that will draw them back. “Create an unfriendly environment and drug test your kids,” Hoffman advised. She described a comprehensive kit which covers 12 drugs. Both she and Mary Marcuccio will provide the test kit at cost ($7.50). She suggested that kids with nothing to hide will not balk at the requirement.

The speaker said that Barbara had told her family that while parents and teachers worry about kids using alcohol, they are using many other types of drugs that go unnoticed, including Ecstasy. Barbara’s dream of a business degree from Bryant will never materialize, according to Hoffman. “Sobriety is her main interest,” she said. Mrs. Hoffman cautioned everyone to lock up their valuables, whether a parent or a grandparent. “It could happen to you,” she warned.

For information contact Joanne Hoffman at jhoffman@eats4life.com (203-915-5707) or contact Mary Marcuccio at www.parents4achange.net (860-621-1682).