April 13, 1988, Portland Observer, Page 7
Still Life With Drughouse
Part One
The August evening is cool, a
little too cool to be outside
without a sweater. I put one on,
pick up a pen and some paper,
pour myself a glass of wine and go
out on the front porch. I need a lit
tle fresh air after too many cigaret
tes. I also want to relax afteralong
day’s work, perhaps jot down a let
ter or poem. Settling down on the
porch, I notice that the air has a
foul smell. Must be smog, I think
to myself. As I begin to write, my
attention is distracted by a car
which has just pulled up in front of
my neighbors house, a late model
Jaguar coupe. One of the two pas
sengers gets out and walks quick
ly across the street. Moments
later, he emerges from the house
and trots back to his car, giving
me a w orried glance before
speeding away. Almost before I
can finish w ritin g down the
license plate number, another car
p u lls up and the scene is
repeated. No wonder the air is
smoggy. In the course of the next
hour, the traffic is incest, the kind
of traffic you would expect at
lunch time if you lived near a fast
food joint.
So much for fresh air and
poetry. Other things are on my
mind how, like why are these peo
ple looking in my direction as they
get back in their cars? Have the
dealers across the street been
warning them that they're being
watched? Or is their anxiety the
typical paranoia of people who
Duy illicit drugs? Although the
curtains are usually drawn at the
drughouse, sometimes I’ve notic
ed someone gazing out the win
dow in the direction of our house.
Are they watching us watching
them watch us . . . ? My hands are
shaking a little too much to write
anymore. A little chilly tonight, I
tell m y s e lf. . . time to go back in
side.
It's been about two years since
we moved to this street, and we
don't regret it. Gradually we've
come to know a few of the curious
mix of professionals, artists,
musicians and blue-collar work
ers who live here. One neigh
borhood resident is an official in
the mayor's office, another is a
local entertainer whose near
legendary status wins him an an
nual spot in the Rose Parade. That
is n ’t to say it ’s an upscale
neighborhood, however. Along
with the middle-class people are
broad mix of working and non
working poor; a couple of young
women who work for a recycling
company for $4.00 per hour, elder
ly people living on social security
and others eking out a living on
part-tim e jobs. My next-door
neighbor can often be seen out in
her driveway chopping up pallets
for firewood because her landlord
refuses to fix the furnace. A
welfare recipient, she is afraid
that if she complains to the Hous
ing Authority she w ill lose her
Section 8 status.
A walk around the neigh
borhood is a pleasant experience,
and in structive. Most of the
houses here are older but well-
made and well-kept, although se
veral are in various phases of re
modeling. Bright new paint jobs
are common, as are garden plots
and manicured lawns. If you come
down the street from Union Ave
nue, however, you begin to notice
trash and wine and beer bottles
littering the parking strip and gut
ter. As you reach the middle of
this block, litter is ever-present
and severe. M o s tly b o ttle s ,
sometimes hypodermic syringes.
In the summer, the presence of
these spikes could constitute a
health menace to children. (In
travenous drug users are fre
quently carriers of AIDS.)
Part of the reason for the litter
here is farily obvious. The side
walk in front of the street's several
empty lots is not attended to by
any homeowner, so trash left
behind tends to remain. Another
reason, however, is not so ob
vious. As my next door neighbor
explained, addicts park their cars
in front of the lots after making
their buy, “ get high and then drink
a bottle of wine," leaving both the
syringe and the bottle behind.
“ It’s that drughouse," she said.
Concern about the drughouse
has been a common bond among
the neighborhood's diverse resi
dents. A meeting of the neigh
borhood crime watch committee
late last summer drew 30 people,
many of whom had been burglariz
ed. Since the drughouse became
known about two years ago,
numerous residents have called
police to complain about the
thefts or have filed a drughouse
form with the drugs and vice
department of the Police Bureau.
Their concern is easily under
stood. Many have lived here for a
number or years and own their
own homes.Others, like us, have
moved here recently because of
the relative inexpense of living in
inner northeast. To be sure, the
area’s reputation as a high crime
district worried us a little at first,
but the lure of low rent for a large
house, combined with the evident
charm of the neighborhood, con
vinced us it was worth the risk.
Sometimes we have to wonder,
however.
It’s 1 a.m. on an autumn night
and my wife and I are soundly
asleep in our upstairs room when
the unmistakeable roar of gunfire
splits the night. A dozen or more
shots fired in rapid succession
explode somewhere in the im
mediate neighborhood. Each shot
sounds like a cannon. Scrambling
to pull on a pair of pants, I run
down to the phone to call 911.
After reporing the gunfire, I go out
to look around. The shooting has
stopped and I can’t find anyone or
anything on our street. At the
drughouse, the lights are on but
nothing unusual is happening, ex
cept that there are no customers
waiting at this particular moment.
The next day I scan the papers for
a report of a murder or shootout.
Nothing. Calls to the police for in
formation are also fruitless. A few
weeks later we heargunfire again,
and again I can learn nothing
about it. When it happens a third
time, I make no further effort to in
vestigate its source.
January 22, 1988, 1 a m. Ex
hausted after spending the even
ing working, I am about to go to
bed when I hear the sound of
men’s voices shouting and a loud
slamming noise. As I rush outside
onto my porch, two police officers
with flashlights are forcing their
way into the drughouse. “ It’s a
raid!” I tell my wife. “ They’re final
ly raiding the drughouse!" We
watch as the bright police flash
lights continue flashing out of the
windows as they search the
house. After a couple of minutes,
another uniformed officer comes
walking up beside the drughouse
from the backyard and enters
through the front door. Mean
while, people in cars — apparent
ly would-be customers unaware
that the raid is going on — con
tinue to park in the neighborhood.
By this time, my next-door neigh
bor is watching from her own front
porch. One of the would-be
customers parks his car in front of
her house and gets out. “ Don't go
in there,” she warns him firmly.
He gets the message and quickly
leaves.
The next day and several days
thereafter, I make several at
tempts to get more detail about
the raid. I finally learn from an of
ficer who had been on the raid that
cocaine was found in the house.
He refused to provide any further
details, however.
January 23, Saturday, the night
following the raid. Midnight. I am
again up late working. On a break,
I watch the drughouse for a few
minutes from my living room win
dow. Their television is on. its
blue-gray glow lapping like a tide
at the curtained windows. The
lights in the house go on for a mo
ment, then off again. Someone
com es out. O utside, another
customer pulls up. They're at it
again.
POSTCRIPT:
A ccording to
police, three drug houses and one
meth lab have been discovered in
the
neighborhood
portrayed
above. At this writing, one of the
drug houses, the one described
above, continues to draw traffic.
Whether or not drugs are still be
ing sold there is, however not
known. With the approach of
warm weather, neighborhood re
sidents, here as elsewhere in
North and Northeast Portland, are
worried that the drug activity and
related crime may again rise to the
fered pitch of previous summers.
What You Should Know About Crack!
Editor's Note: The following is an
article written by Joseph Wallace,
the African-American author of
“ The Crack Busters W orkbook” , a
new publication of North Ameri
can Publications, a solely Black-
owned and operated publishing
house.
It is estimated that more than a
m illio n Americans have tried
crack. Crack is prepared by con
verting powdered cocaine into a
smokeable base.
Smoking cocaine base pro
vides a more intensified high
because it is absorbed more ra
pidly through the blood vessels in
the lungs, as opposed to snorting
cocaine powder which is ab
sorbed more slowly through the
blood vessels in the nose.
According to users, the high is
intense but last only a few min
utes. Another dose is required to
continue the high. A $10 dose or
"rock" may provide three "tokes”
or inhalations, each delivering a 5
to 10 minute high.
Once the crack user
finishes using the drug,
within minutes he ex
periences a devastating
“ com e-dow n” called
“ the crash” .
Intense craving tor this drug is
what makes it so addictive. Once
a person starts fortheevening, he
or she will continue to use the
drug until either their money runs
to cause addition after the first oc
casion of use. After two to six
weeks of use addiction is almost
certain.
Crack is a devastating problem
is our society. Because it is so ad
dictive the addict will continue to
use the drug regardless of the
damage they do to themselves
and those around them. Crack de
stroys families, careers, creates
major financial disruptions. The
crack addict will definitely be a
majordisruptive force in his or her
family. Heads of households can
not possibly fulfill their respon
sibilities, marriages are strained
to the breaking point. But perhaps
worst of all, young people, many
of them with tremendous poten
tial, are ruined by their addiction
to this drug and the way it
unavoidably drags them into the
drug subculture.
Crack abuse because of the
cravings and the need for cash
has caused a major increase in
crime.
From the point of medical risks,
crack is extremely dangerous and
often fatal. Hospital emergency
rooms report that crack usually
kills in one of three ways: 1) Heart
failure: crack can cause irregular
heart rhythms or increased blood
pressure to the point of total heart
failure. 2) Complete respiratory
failure results when cocaine in
terferes with the center in the
brain that controls breathing. 3)
Fatal brain seizures. Persons suf
fering from epilepsy or other
seizure problems are especially at
risk. Crack can also cause fatal
seizures in persons with no his-
terns. Crack addicts after a ses
sion of use find it almost impossi
ble to get to sleep. 3) The in
dividual is constantly broke, crack
users w ill spend all of their
available cash on the drug. Watch
for extreme financial problems for
unexplained reasons. Watch for
the disappearance of money or
valuables from the home. 4) Major
changes or disruptions in the per
sons life; loosing jobs, failing in
school, chronic lying, major mood
swings for unexplained reasons,
association with persons known
to be part of the drug culture. 5)
Some persons high on crack tend
to be nervous, talkative, overanx
ious to say the right thing. 6) The
presence of crack related drug
paraphernalia. Crack is smoked in
a small glass water pipe. The pipe
is heated with a butane torch that
looks like the butane canister us
ed to refill cigarette lighters.
Rehabilitation Programs
Once an individual is hooked
on crack, it is very d ifficu lt to over
come the addiction. But it can be
done. In almost all cases it is
necessary to get professional
help. That is, to enter into some
kind of drug rehabilitation pro
gram. Basically drug rehabilita
tion programs fall into three
categories.
1) Inpatient detoxification and
rehabilitation
2) Outpatient rehabilitation
3) The support group
Inpatient detoxification and
rehab involves confining the in
dividual in a hospital setting
usually fora period of 30days. The
person is physically removed
from the drug environment, re
ceives medical attention, indivi
dual counseling and attends
group meetings. Inpatient detox
must be followed by long term
outpatient rehabilitation.
Outpatient programs are
a good a lte r n a tiv e
because sessions may
be attended after work
and do not interrupt the
productive side of the ad
dicts l i f e . ____________
out or it is impossible to obtain
more of the drug. Once the crack
userfinishes using thedrug, with
in minutes he experiences a de
vastating "com e-down" called
“ the crash” . It is characterized by
a state of severe paranoia or fear
that can last for several hours.
Crack use results in the expen
diture of huge sums of money. Be
cause of the overpowering ora
vings and trying to avoid the
crash, a person who begins a ses
sion of crack use, will be unable to
stop until all of their cash is gone.
For example, a crack user may
have $200 in cash and decide to
buy two $10 vials of crack. But
because of the craving for more
and fear of the crash, that person
w ill be compelled to keep going
out to buy more crack until the
$200 is gone. It doesn't matter
that the money may have intend
ed to pay rent or buy food for
children. Once the crack session
starts all cash will be spent. A day
or a week later the peson has
more cash, the craving asserts
itself, resulting in another ses
sion of crack use. This kind of pat
tern can go on for years.
Scientist today tell us that co
caine is one of the most addictive
substances known to man.
WARNING: Do not experiment
with crack. Crack has been known
tory of seizure problems at all.
Note that these kinds of deaths
are occurring in young people in
their 20's and 30's.
H eadaches, vom iting
and stomach pains, may
be symptoms of a co
caine overdose.
Headache, vomiting and sto
mach pains, may be symptoms of
a cocaine overdose. Persons with
these symptoms should cease
using the drug immediately and
get medical attention. Chronic
use of crack can lead to inflamma
tion of the lungs and chest infec
tions severe enough to require
hospitalization. Diabetics are at
h ig h ris k beca use c o c a in e
elevates blood sugar levels. From
a psychological point of view,
continued crack use can cause
hallucinations and such high
of fear, anxiety, paranoia
and depression that hospitaliza
tion is required.
While it is impossible to tell for
sure, there are certain patterns
that may indicate crack use. 1)
Weight loss. People who use
crack tend to loose a great deal of
weight. 2) Change is sleeping pat
An outpatient rehabilitation
program involves an individual’s
agreement to attend counseling
and group therapy sessions w ith
out the confinement of the inpa
tient hospital setting. These
meetings may be attended after
work for example. O utpatient
rehab continues until the addic
tive behavior is completely rooted
out. This may take anywhere from
a few months to several years.
Support Groups . . . Cocaine
Anonymous is an example of a
support group. This is a group of
people who have come together
to give each other support in over
coming their addictive behavior.
The philosophy of cocaine anony
mous is that the ex-addict is best
able to understand the problems
of the recovering addict. Other
support groups are formed by
church and community organiza
tions. There are drug prevention
organizations that w ill give advice
on how to set up a support group
in your community.
Crack addiction is very difficult
to overcome. Determining which
type of program w ill help an ad
dict depends upon the individual
and how much the addiction has
taken control of his or her life. An
inpatient program is indicated if:
1) The individual is using large
amounts of the drug and is ab
solutely unable to stop. 2) Severe
emotional and behavioral pro
blems such as a tendency to
wards violence, or the develop
ment of severe paranoia or de
pression. 3) The presence of me
dical com plications such as heart
problems, lung infections, etc. 4)
The addict has been unsuccess
ful in other outpatient programs.
Outpatient programs can be
successful for those highly m oti
vated to overcome their addic
tion. Outpatient programs are a
good alternative to in patient
detox for many because meetings
and counseling sessions may be
attended after work and do not in
terrupt the productive side of the
addicts life.
Support groups such as co
caine anonymous are usually free
of charge. The requirements are
simple, walk in, attend the meet
ings with sincerity.
Business Says Yes
to “ Get Drugs Off
School Grounds”
Contest
As covered in USA Today, stu
dents hoping to win one of three
$5,000 first prizes from the na
tional SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
contest are doing projects to in
fluence their own peers in a
positive way — away from drugs.
While some youth are suc
cumbing to drugs such as co
caine, crack, POP and other dead
ly substances, a massive grass
roots campaign sponsored by
private sector business people
and professionals has over two
and a half m illion students from
all states committed to getting
drugs off school groudns in the
next five years.
WHAT IS
VOURCHU
UKMG
IN SCHOOL
IMS
YEAR?
Business sponsors of the na
tional SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
Contest are concerned about the
future workforce and the fact that
drug and alcohol abuse reduce
the desire to learn and inhibit the
d e ve lo p m e n t of e m p lo ya b le
skills.
The contest encourages build
ing self-esteem and setting good
examples for one another. To do
this student are adopting a com
mon sense moral code booklet
entitled "The Way to Happiness” .
“ The Way to Happiness’ book
forwards time honored values
such as “ being temperate and not
using harmful drugs, being com
petent, industrious, honest, wor
thy of trust, and fulfilling obliga
tions.
B usiness sponsors donate
c o p ie s o f " T h e W ay to
H appiness" book to schools.
Some also give gift copies of the
book to patients, clients, custo
mers and employees to help
children.
The concept behind the con
test and overall campaign pro
gram is that a child experiencing
an inability to deal with stress,
cope with daily problems related
to school, relationships, life, or
just being happy — have a tenden
cy to fall prey to drug use as an
easy solution.
"The Way to Happiness" book
supplies practical know how to
deal with these areas of life. It of
fers common sense guidelines
that are workable and practical,
and lead to better survival.
The SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
Contest is part of a grassroots
campaign, started in 1981 by the
Concerned Businessmen’s Asso
ciation of America. Already the
campaign has over 20,000,000
c o p ie s o f " T h e W ay to
Happiness" book that have been
handed on as gifts from person to
person.
For more information about the
SET A GOOD EXAMPLE CON
TEST and "The Way to Happi
ness" book, call 1-800-782-6767.
FOR HELP
1-800-554-KIDS
1-800-241-9746
1-8090-COCAINE
1-800-662-HELP
*
s