Published: June 04, 2009 06:33 am      

Knowing the signs

Seminar teaches recognition of drug-abuse indicators

Ashland — Bill Eckler said there was one question asked of him more than any other during his career in law enforcement.

How can one tell when someone is using drugs?

Eckler, who was one of Kentucky’s first DARE officers, said that query was put to him by parents, teachers, employers and numerous others.

These days, Eckler and his partner, Darrell Cook, conduct workshops to teach others how to recognize the tell-tale signs and symptoms of substance abuse — some obvious, others not so much.

The Ashland Housing Authority is hosting Eckler and Cook for a two-day seminar on the topic that began on Wednesday at Scope Towers.

According to Mica Williamson, senior occupancy specialist with the housing authority, the program originally was intended for agency staff members only.

“It was an area (Housing Authority Director) Rick (Young) wanted us to be a little more educated in,” she said. “He wanted to make sure everyone knew what to look for in terms of behavior.”

However, the decision was eventually made to open the program to anyone who might benefit from such training, including police officers, medical personnel, teachers and social workers.

Young said he and his staffers “run into a lot of people who are using illegal drugs,” and he wanted his people to be able to walk into an apartment and tell whether substance abuse was taking place there.

Additionally, Williamson said, it’s beneficial to be able to recognize signs of drug addiction during the process of screening prospective tenants.

“Once people are in, it’s very hard to get them out,” she said.

Williamson said she learned about the course offered by Eckler and Cook from Ashland Police Department Sgt. Tim Renfroe, who attended a session in Morehead.

Eckler, who began his career with the Irvine Police Department, has taught drug and alcohol abuse awareness classes for various organizations, including the U.S. Air Force. Cook is currently state coordinator for the Department of Criminal Justice Training’s drug classification and evaluation program, which certifies police officers as drug recognition experts.

During a lecture on Wednesday, said there are a number of very clear signs of addiction that might not appear so obvious to the untrained eye.

For example, he said, a residence littered with empty cough syrup bottles or cold pill packages could be an indication the occupant is hooked on dextromethorphan, or DXM, the active ingredient in many over-the-counter cold and cough remedies.

Being addicted to DXM, Cook said, is “like signing your death warrant.” People who are hooked on it experience symptoms to those who are addicted to PCP, or angel dust, he said.

Cook and Eckler both said they were glad the housing authority had asked them to put on the seminar because it gave them the opportunity to spread their message outside the law-enforcement community.

“We feel like we have something valuable to share,” Cook said. “We’ve tried to compile all this information and put it at a level where people can understand it and use it.”

The program, which is free of charge, was scheduled to resume at 8 this morning. Anyone interested in attending the second day should contact Williamson at (606) 325-7112, (606) 324-9177 or (606) 922-6422.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.