VALLEY HIGH SCHOOLS Poland arrest cites trafficking

Police said school officials have cooperated in the investigation, which continues.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Township police have arrested a Poland Seminary High School student and expect to make more arrests in the trafficking of prescription drugs.
According to police reports, a 17-year-old boy was arrested around 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Northeast Ohio Regional Center for Adolescent Treatment in Niles, where he had been admitted for substance-abuse treatment.
According to reports, the teen will be charged with aggravated trafficking, a fourth-degree felony. Police Chief Carl Massullo said several more arrests were expected.
Probe goes on: Massullo said the arrests are the result of a two-month investigation that continues into the illegal sale of drugs at the high school. He said police have gathered a considerable amount of information.
The drugs are Xanax, a pill commonly prescribed for anxiety, and OxyContin, a painkiller often prescribed for cancer patients. Police said both can be highly addictive in large doses and can be fatal if taken improperly.
Massullo and Lucinda Caparso, the police department's youth diversion specialist, said the drugs are readily found on the street.
About drugs: Xanax is a tranquilizer used for short-term relief of anxiety disorders and, in some cases, for alcohol withdrawal, fear of open spaces and strangers, depression, irritable bowel syndrome and premenstrual syndrome.
Trumbull County authorities have called OxyContin "the new drug of choice on the streets."
According to a Partners Against Pain Web site, its therapeutic actions include euphoria and feelings of relaxation.
In Trumbull County, 29 people were indicted last week on charges of illegal sales or use of OxyContin. The coroner's office has said nine people died in the county in 2000 from the effects of the drug. Figures for Mahoning County were not immediately available.
Massullo said school officials have been very helpful in the Poland investigation.
"We have been working closely with officials at the high school, and it is to be noted that this is a problem that exists at virtually every high school," the chief said. "We are not immune from it."
Zero tolerance: Principal Brian Wolfe said that every school has to deal with drugs and alcohol and that Poland Seminary's problem may be no better or worse than any other.
Wolfe called the school's zero tolerance for illegal drug and alcohol use one of the toughest possible. It allows the district to take action if the smell of alcohol is detected or actions by a student suggest possible drug abuse.