Drugs in Franklin are much more than a “just stay away from them, they’re bad for you.”

Franklin, one of the safest cities in the state of Massachusetts, has been touched by the hand of deathly drugs, some of which can be a surprise to the common adolescent.  These drugs are becoming more prominent in the town, which also calls for more information and education.

Kristin Cerce, Director of Physical Education at Franklin High School informs us that the Community Coalition, a place where people can go and voice their issues to a supporting group, has been working vigorously with the town to introduce the effects of drugs to the students at FHS.

Cerce states: “It needs to be a community event, so we do a lot of prevention and information educational components.”  

With the information educational components within the school, we are becoming more informed about the drugs.  However, this is just the start of what needs to be done.

It is said that prescription drugs are the start and foundation to the heroine usage.  Statistically, every 4 out of 5 people who are heroin users have started by being prescribed to strong painkillers such as percocets or vicodin. The information and prevention should be around these areas because they are more serious than what adolescents make them to be today: “party drugs.”  

Benjamin Waters, of Franklin High School has also teamed up with the Community Coalition and has created a branch that has reached out to the adolescents in Franklin.  It is called the Student Coalition.  

Waters states: “The Student Coalition is a place where people can come and give their opinions.  We are really urging the administration to teach more about the issue of these drugs other than to ‘just stay away.’  The heroin issue really starts with the prescribed percocets.”  

He also says: “A bottle of percocets is the same equivalently to a bag of heroin chemically.”  

With this information, Waters, along with Cerce are using their best efforts in trying to continue with the information and prevention for these drugs.  

They may not seem so scary when chasing the high, however the deaths in Franklin have increased significantly due to overdoses of heroin that’s in circulation throughout the town.  If the thought of doing heroin does not scare you, then the thought of death should.  

One drug should not mess up your one life.