PARKER, Pa. (EYT) — Kim Palmer, one of the organizers of Parker chapter of RAID (Residents Against Illicit Drugs), held up a glass container of colorful, bright pills that cold have been mistaken for the colorful candy Skittles at the recent RAID meeting.
“This is what you might see at a ‘Skittles party,’” said Palmer, “but this is not candy.”
The Skittles party story brings home the opiod problem. A Skittles party asks all people attending to bring some prescription drugs from their parent’s or grandparent’s medicine cabinet and then deposit them into a container.
The container of the shiny pills, resembling the candy Skittles, is passed around, and everyone has to take one. One person might take an opiod, but the next one may get a blood pressure pill in a game that resembles Russian Roulette.
“I can’t tell you how many concerned people I’ve talked to since November when we started to kickoff RAID,” said Palmer. “In our city of Parker, we have curbside heroin service — you can be picked up, shoot up, and they’ll drop you off at home. And, the only reason they do that is because they do not want you to die at their house.”
Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Adreassi, Clarion County District Attorney Mark Aaron, and State Representative Donna Oberlander joined forces at the RAID meeting.
Armstrong District Attorney Scott Adreassi and Clarion County District Attorney Mark Aaron both said that we couldn’t “arrest ourselves out of this drug program.”
Awareness of the problem must be increased, and citizens should continue reporting incidents to police.
“You need to shine a light on the drug dealers,” said Andreassi. “They are cockroaches and will run away from the light. Education about the problems of addiction and treatment are also a necessary part of solving the problem.”
Clarion County Sheriff Rex Munsee and Armstrong County Sheriff Bill Rupert at the Parker RAID meeting.
