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Community Corner

Causes of Drug Abuse Discussed at Drug Free Massapequa Meeting

Assemblyman Joseph Saladino among guest speakers.

As a teenager, some of the pressures of modern-day life may seem insurmountable, especially if they don't have the right support system in place to help them deal with many of the unique problems teens are facing these days.

According to Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, R-Massapeua, one of the guest speakers at Drug Free Massapequa's August meeting, parents need to establish themselves as that support system by sitting down with their children before the new school year to discuss how to avoid substance abuse.

Drug Free Massapequa president Janice Talento also invited two other special speakers this evening: Steve Pinto, from the Long Island Coalition on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (LICADD), and Helaine Teuschler, who is a recovering drug and alcohol user.

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Steve Pinto discussed how issues such as cyber bullying lead to drug use.

“Long Island has really been unique in the past few years,” he said. “When I say heroin crisis you all know what I’m talking about. This is causation.”

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Pinto discussed the pressure to fit in, and how some people take out that pressure on others by bullying them (either in person or over the internet) can lead some teenagers to turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope.

“People don’t wake up and decide to be substance users,” he said. “Things lead up to it.”

Pinto said that parents need to be aware that a lot of bullying now takes place on the internet, and that very few teenagers talk to their parents about it. Your average teenager is already facing an identity crisis, and dealing with bullies only makes it worse.

Helaine Teuschler spoke on her own experiences with drug and alcohol use. She grew up in Seaford and was an excellent student. However, she felt intense pressure to stand out in the school.

“If I couldn’t be the best then I’d be infamous,” she said.

Before long she turned to drugs and alcohol, because when she was drunk or high she could convince herself that whatever actions she did were not her fault because she was not in control.

Teuschler was in an out of rehab for years, and eventually became sober in the early 1990s. She undertook cosmetic surgery that went bad and became addicted to the pain pills the doctors gave her. It numbed her life and she ended up having very few relationships with her family members.

“You can’t get love when you can’t give love,” she explained.

Teuschler has now been sober for three years and has found herself growing closer with her family and forming new friendships. She is not at all in denial about the way that drugs have affected her life, though.

“I had a horrendous, messed up life because of drugs and alcohol,” she said. “When you pick up drugs and alcohol everything stops. Your maturity stops and your relationships stop.”

Janice Talento wrapped the meeting up by promoting the Drug Free Massapequa Long Island (DFMLI) Junior League, which is hoping to have students from towns such as Wantagh, Seaford and Plainview join in order to spread drug awareness.

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