John Nichols introduced two members of the Fox Cities Victim Response team -- Oshkosh Police Department Detective Sergeant Joe Framke and Matt Johnson, president of the Solutions Recovery Club.
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John Nichols
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OPD Detective Sergeant Joe Framke
Det. Sgt. Framke announced that the Oshkosh Police Department (OPD) is looking forward to starting a new program in the near future -- Law Enforcement Addiction Assistance Program (LEAAP). The focus of the program would not be to arrest people caught in possession of heroin or other opiates, but rather to assist them to get help rather than to arrest and incarcerate them, working in partnership with the medical community and the law enforcement community.
Framke said it's important, like with mental health, to break the stigma that drug addicts are bad people, but rather to recognize that addiction is a disease and that many people became addicted following the use of opiate drugs for post-surgery pain control.
Framke said, however, that the addict must want help before any help will be successful.
Framke also said the synthetic Fentanyl is becoming available and is extremely potent, with even just a few grains causing overdose. He said that now they must be prepared to assist their undercover agents if they accidentally become exposed to this synthetic Fentanyl or heroin. Narcon is the drug that resolves overdose issues, and the County recently received a new supply of Narcon from an anonymous donor. Framke said that Winnebago County generally has a reasonable supply of Narcon, though the drug companies supplying the drug have increased the price for it dramatically.
Framke observed that heroin is now cheap because it's so readily available. He said that many drug cartels have switched from trafficking marijuana to selling heroin because it's cheaper and because when people get addicted to heroin, it's a much more serious/demanding addiction. They know the addict will come back because it affects the mind/body chemistry and causes one to become hooked quickly. He said heroin hit sells for about $40 a hit here, but it's only about $15 in Milwaukee. He said that whatever happens in Milwaukee in the drug world quickly travels to Oshkosh.
In the near future, the OPD will offer a program whereby addicts will be allowed to turn over drugs without consequences.
Framke is also a member of the Winnebago County Drug Task Force Committee, which is composed of a number of organizations throughout the county working to combat drug addiction issues. He said the "new" Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is helping to prevent "doctor shopping," which is when opiate addicts go from doctor to doctor seeking a prescription for opiate drugs.
Next Matt Johnson talked about Solutions Recovery Club. He said it's been existence for 10 years, and it's supported by private donations.
Matt Johnson
Mr. Johnson said the organization is a 12-step organization helping anyone who is struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol. It has a communication center at the corner of Bowen and Parkway and hosts 25-30 12-step meetings weekly for anyone who needs/wants help. It also operates a safe home for women who are attempting to get out of bad situations/drug or alcohol addictions.
It recently hosted the Addiction Run, which was held to provide outreach and awareness in the community of the Club's activities. He said 1,000 participants ran/walked in the 5K.
He said the group hopes to break the arrest cycle for drug addicts and provide opportunity for them to obtain treatment.
He noted that most of the Club's team are former addicts, having alcohol and/or drug addictions. "We've found that it's easier for us to connect with those suffering from addiction."
The goal of the Club's programs is to have people get off drugs/alcohol and get on the right path to being responsible citizens.
Both Framke and Johnson said that each case is decided upon on a case-by-case basis as to whether the addict goes to jail or is offered treatment. Both said that the addicts must want help in order to be eligible for treatment. They observed that a typical heroin withdrawal episode can last from 72 hours to 3 weeks, wherein the addict feels like he/she is suffering from a severe flu, a very unpleasant experience.