It was about 1:30am when I met the

gentlemen in a secluded area down on the

shores of the black river. I promised I

wouldn’t reveal his name so

we will call him “G.” He

agreed to this interview for

two reasons. 1.) I used to be

one of his friends biggest

customers when I was using

and 2.) He tells me he actually

feels bad sometimes when he

thinks about all the lives in

this town that he has helped to

ruin. “ I mean the kids, man.

The older people are making

up their own minds. But the

kids of those people, the

ones who buy shit from me;

They get their minds made

up for them. Then their parents sell all the

shit from the house ; and the kids go with

out while mommies in the closet with the

stem.” He is shaking his head.as he say this

like he could will the picture that he most

likely has in his mind, of a little kid sitting in

an empty living room while mom and dad

are in the bathroom for hours at a time. I

ask him why he deals, it if it makes him feel

that way. “Gotta get mine though.” He tells

me. We start to walk slowly and he begins

to tell me that he has seen the same thing as

those kids in the empty living room. “ Your

mom was hooked on drugs? I ask him.

“Shoot, she was a junkie first rate. She died

when I was ten.” I pass along my

condolences and he just

smiles at me with a

crooked grin as he

sidesteps a mud puddle .

There is a part of me that

wants to tell him all the

problems I’ve had with

drugs, and how it’s dealers

like him that made life so

difficult, for so long. But I

decide that I want to ask him

more important questions,

so discretion is the better

part of valor, at this point. “

Your not from here right;

so how did you come to

sell stuff up here?” At first

he shrugged his shoulders, scuffing the

pavement with his gleaming white Nike

uptowns. Then he began to fill me in. “ See, I

had this fiend that lived on the block back

home in the city, He tells me that a n******

can make mad loot up here. He yells me that

for dope you can get (3) to (4) times more

up here for what you can back home. So me

and a couple of my boys we take a ride up

here last summer and we got us a hotel

room. Then we just went out to the club and

scoped it out. We met this fiend (drug

addict) ………. (continued…….

SYNOPSIS:

Watertown has seen an increase of drug use and an epidemic of addiction, the availability of hard drugs is so prevalent that prices are dropping and the Jefferson county jail is practically at capacity. What is it about our sleepy little burg that draws so many dealers, and creates even more? We did the leg work to get you the story.

The Weekly Stash Newsletter “ Investigating the human condition”

Date: 3/26 ~ 4/2 2010 Volume 1, Issue 2

Watertown’s

Epidemic

blogtalkradio.com/grid lock

8pm Mon/Tues/Thur/ LIVE!

“My interview with one of H2otowns most prolific pharmaceutical entrepreneurs"

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the same faces out there making sales to the

fiends. It seems to work on a few different

levels, it keeps the cops from recognizing the

same faces, it keeps the fiends from getting

friendly with the guys and hustling them out of

product, and it makes the guys hustle harder

so they have enough money to last them till

they can come back to make more.” He smiles

at me like he just revealed the holy grail to

me. Just then his phone rings again and this

time he doesn’t seem to require privacy so I

just wait for him to finish and he says, “ sorry

bro but I gotta go get this money” as he

reaches out for a hand shake. After our “bro

hug” I graciously tell him thank you for being

so candid, and assure him that his identity is

safe. He pulls his hood up over his head and

hunching his shoulders he strides down the

walk way where a car pulls up just as he

reaches the end. He gives me a little salute,

jumps in the front seat, and he’s gone. As I

walked back to my house I thought about what

I had learned tonight.

Watertown is flooded with hard drugs. The

people who bring the drugs here, simply do

not care if people are ruining their lives. They

see the population of Watertown as nothing

dumb hicks and “fiends.” The people that

“host” these out-of-towners actually believe

that these people are their friends. But are to

often used and disrespected in their own

homes. For the most part the self esteem is so

low and the addiction threshold or craving is

so high that they either don’t care or see it as

an even trade. They give up their dignity, take

the risk of going to jail, and are hardly

compensated for the risk they take in turn

they get the privilege of furthering their

addiction with people like “G’s” drugs. We

have so many drugs here because of several

reasons. The first being: Selling drugs in

Watertown, is easy and exaggeratedly

profitable. The price here is easily three to five

time as much as it is, even in Syracuse. That

kind of profit brings the captains of the

industry to the area………..Continued.

…..) and she put us on to this dude. We

made us a deal with him that we make sure

he’s taken care of and he does all the hand to

hands for us .

I notice that he is fumbling around in his

pocket for something, then I hear it, it’s his

phone, on vibrate. He looks at it and tells me

he’s got to take this call and steps away from

me. I make sure that I walk far enough away

so I don’t hear what he’s talking about. As I

light up a cigarette I notice the glint of moon

light reflecting off the glass laden surface of

the mighty black. I flash back to being a kid,

jumping the fence across the street from

Art’s Jug so we could get to the service

catwalk, and cross over to the water street

tussle. We used to go there as kids and

explore the abandoned warehouses. I’m

reminded of how much Watertown has

changed. In those days we didn’t mother’s

selling their body for a crack hit or people

overdosing on heroin at a stop light. We

didn’t have the population that we have now

either. Nor did we have the rate of

unemployment due to the level of unskilled

population. Seems like even though we have

a comparable amount of manufacturing and

a developing diversity in the range of

employment available, we still don’t offer

much in the way of job training for those

that are permanent residents. I digress, and I

notice “G” is off the phone now and walking

back to where I’m standing. “ listen bro, we

got to speed this up, I got places to be” I nod

my head and toss out my cigarette, expelling

a plume of smoke. “Okay man, I just have a

couple more questions anyway” I tell him. “ I

was hoping you could let me in on how the

operation works, you don’t have to be

specific just the broad strokes of it. “ Yeah,

sure, I mean it’s really no secret. We come

up here with about three or four guys we

trust from back home. We bring up about

*** coke and then we sell it as fast as we can

and get the hell out of here. Then when we

are ready to come back we bring three or

four different guys with us. So we don’t have

She is seventeen, on her own, pregnant, And has been addicted to cocaine for almost two years.

Tel: 315-782-2002

Mobile: 315-523-6143

:theweeklystash@usa.com

Manufacturer’s of Suboxone r

“community at it’s Very best”

The Business of Addiction

Downtown Watertown

The second reason is the ease at which dealers can operate in this town. They don’t stand out on street corners and flag down cars here. They sit in a house and play Playstation while they have their “fiends” run all over town selling their dope for them. Then it’s just a matter of sitting back and collecting the money. Another reason, more to the heart of the problem is of course demand. Watertown has 13% addiction rate to go along with about a whopping 19% user rate. Let break that down. According to the National Institutes for Drug Addiction, Watertown has approximately 4,300 persons addicted to either cocaine, heroin, or a mixture of drugs that include methamphetamine, psy-chedelics, marijuana, and assorted pills, that if I named them all, would take up the entire page. According to that same study, Watertown has an additional 1000 users of drugs. These are people that admit to using but have never sought any form of medical care due to their usage. Now here is where it gets stunning. Wa-tertown’s population in 2008 was 27,310. That is nearly 1/5th of the population. Watertown has little or no activities for our children of low income. There is practically no community activities geared toward troubled neighborhoods, we used to have playgrounds that had activities in the summer. Or at least the programs that are in place are not well advertised. And there is hardly any employ-ment opportunities or training for those that are unable to qualify for loans. It is as if our community has lost all sense of responsibility to each other. If there is no hope of ever elevat-ing oneself out of poverty then medication of the soul seems like an attractive alternative to the feelings of inadequacy and shame that are so prevalent in our community today. We have no more outrage at the condition of our broth-ers and sisters. It is hope that wakes the tired eyes in mornings of discontent and allows us to not only “get by” but thrive on the challenges that life has in store. When we allow our com-munity to become stagnant, and it’s people to fall on the way side, we allow the same for our moral convictions. Soon we become as stone. Unmoved by the plight of others,. unfazed. We haven't got the time. Between episodes of “Jersey shore” and our dedication to our gadgets. We con-vince ourselves that someone else will help them. When we decide collectively to commit the selfless

act of concern, and when we can look past our stereotypes, prejudices, and assumptions, we are truly helping ourselves become the person that we wish we were. In turn, making the com-mitment to uplifting your community as a means of insuring that your family has a community that of-fer's the best chance possible for its residents to not only survive but flourish, with each person having the opportunity to reach their unlimited potential.

By…...Joey Spencer

The practice of addiction treatment facilities in the Watertown New

York area, of “cutting short” the treatment of addicts, at precisely the

same time as their insurance runs out, is reprehensible and detrimental

to the well being of the patient. In Watertown, there is a pervasive

practice of manipulating addicts while they are most vulnerable. There

is the common instances of coercing those with manageable addiction

issues, into entering unnecessarily into in-patient treatment facilities.

Then there is the “get even” attitudes of some addiction professionals.

For instance, if the person seeking treatment should have the audacity

to retain independent thought, and wish to take part in structuring his

or her own treatment; they are treated as though they are incapable of

co-managing their own care. While being presented with an attitude

that is both callus and arrogant. According to OASAS, NIDA, and the

International Center for Advancement in Addiction Treatment, (all of

which are the foremost authorities on Addiction) The single most de-

cisive factor in creating a comprehensive recovery program that is suc-

cessful and permanent, is essentially empowering the patients in their

own healing process. However, it seems that in our region, some ad-

diction professionals are more concerned with being right, not having

their authority challenged, and filling the beds of in-patient treatment

facilities. They have struck up a symbiotic relationship with these facil-

ities, with the goal of “hording“ patients and their Medicaid insurance

payments. Instead of treating the patient with dignity and respect, they

are treated as a means of cash flow. Regardless of the well being of the

patient, they are coerced into treatment solely for the collection of

Medicaid funds. This practice ignores the welfare of the patient and

focuses only on the extrication of dollar amounts from the Medicaid

program. This is happening everyday at the Samaritan Behavioral

Health out-patient care facility on outer Washington street in Water-

town. There is a sense of indifference toward the concerns and input

from patients. There is an attitude of superiority, where every addict is

looked at as unintelligent yet manipulative. There is also the intoler-

ance of independent thought. If a patient has his or her own beliefs

concerning spirituality, the disease model of addiction, or the manner

in which he or she would like to address their issues. They are treated

with distain not only by staff but by other patients at the goading of

staff. I have personally been told by staff, “if you do not find god then

you will never stay clean.” This of course is the opinion of a single staff

member and not the entire program. However, this demonstrates the

lack of respect for independent beliefs, and the audacity of staff. This is

a problem that needs the attention of someone who can enforce state

policy. And see through the staging of administration.

C oming Next Week ………. The summer jobs preview ~ A

listing of seasonal jobs that will be available soon. “ I got skills” ~ We interview VESID and give you the details on how to get trained. Featured Articles~ “ Taxes~ Where does the money go.” “Pay it forward~ getting your charity on”

Tel: 315-782-2002

Mobile: 315-523-6143

:theweeklystash@usa.com

……...From page 1

The First Annual Meeting Of The Silver7s Foundation ~~ The meeting schedule is tentatively set for 7pm on Wednesday April 21st. This is a strategy session for completing the non-profit status paper work. This is also chance to bring up ideas for public notice of our services. Snacks and drinks will be available. Please confirm your attend-ance with Joey Spencer. 315-523-6143 The meeting will take place at: 173 E. main street apt# 1 Watertown ny 13601.

204 Franklin Street

Watertown NY 13601

Ph. 315-405-8318

Cell. 315-921-3453

Silver7s Foundation was founded with the principle that individualized addiction treatment, allows the addict to be more comfortable with the idea of what recovery is, and it also allows the empowerment of inclusiveness. In creating his/her own recovery program, they became invested in their own future, while bolstering their sense of self. It also produces a more invested participation. We are opposed to any treatment that requires the addict to surrender there will and life over to the care of anything other than themselves. We are not subscribers to the theory that addiction is an incurable life long disease. These are poisonous ideals, coercive and destructive in their practice. And Proven to be unsuccessful. We are dedicated to helping addicts gain the knowledge, confidence, support, and finances, in order to get comprehensive treatment, for the individual. Instead of manipulating the addict to change any life long belief systems. We hope to accomplish this through our research into behavioral modification technics, medication as need-ed, group counseling, and positive reinforcement through family involvement and/or group activities. The financial aspect will be administered through donations, grants or endowments. We would greatly appreciate any support. Donations to be made out to: The Silver7s Foundation 173 E. Main Street Watertown NY 13601 Ph. 315-782-2002 Fax. 315-658-4751 Email: silver7s@live.com

APRIL 2010

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