No. 14 Vol. 10
New View Media Group • 1-800-691-7549
May 22, 2018
Annual Wayne Drug Forum Tackles Opioid Crisis And New Drug Trends
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By Anya Bochman onna Andelora, of Wayne, saw both of her sons graduate Wayne Hills High School, the boys full of the sort of promise that leads mothers to joyfully imagine the happiest of futures. Joey Andelora, the younger brother, excelled in math and was accepted to Rutgers in Newark to study engineering. Andelora saw no reason to doubt her son’s ascent through life. Perhaps because of this, Joey Andelora’s story is all the more cruel; a bright kid whose life was just beginning to unfold before him, he began dabbling in prescription opioids, eventually moving onto Oxycontin and, when that ran out, street opioids such as heroin laced with fentanyl, one of the chief culprits of deaths in the ongoing opioid crisis.
Joey Andelora died of an overdose two days before Christmas in 2012. He had been through the revolving doors of multiple rehabs and seemed to be doing better. But Andelora knows the insidiousness of addiction, and that no amount of knowledge and education can ever truly “cure” an addict. Since her son’s death, Andelora has been attending the “Drug Trends in Our Community” forum at Wayne Hills High School, now in its fifth year. On Tuesday, May 8, she spoke to a gathering of 50 people, among them Mayor Christopher Vergano and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Toback, as well as parents and police officers. Andelora stressed that the best strategy against drug abuse is prevention. “I didn’t realize what was happening,” Andelora said. “It happens that fast, it happens right under your nose,” and adults have the responsibility to be vigilant about the prescription narcotics in their medicine cabinets. Giving the opening speech at the annual event, which is co-hosted by Wayne Township and school district, Vergano expressed disappointment at what he saw was poor attendance. According to the mayor, previous forums attracted much more of the community. Referencing the opioid crisis, Vergano spoke of vigilance. “This is an epidemic, and we cannot arrest our way out of the situation,” Vergano said, alluding to Wayne students being arrested while attempting to buy drugs in neighboring Paterson. “Education is key.” Taking the podium next, Toback reiterated Vergano’s message. “Honesty is essential,” the superintendent said. “We have to recognize the problems in the department [of drug abuse].” As various speakers addressed the audience, police officers rolled white prescription pill disposal bins down the aisles; part
Mayor Christopher Vergano and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Toback prepare for the anti-drug forum.
of the forum afforded attendees the opportunity to properly dispose of left-over or old pill bottles. The topics of the forum included “New Trends in our Community” and dangers of vaping. School resource counselors, as well as Wayne Police Department detectives Mike Zaccone and Mark DuBois, spoke about the dangers of vaping – the practice of inhaling and exhaling aerosol produced by an e-cigarette. Estimating that about 350 township teens regularly use vaping devices, the detectives pointed out that there is not enough research to indicate that vaping is any less dangerous than actual cigarette smoke. “That’s up for debate right now,” Zaccone said. “It’s marketed by the companies that way, but there’s no concrete evidence.” Concluding the conference were discussions about Narcan, or naloxone, an continued on page 2