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Drug Addiction And What It Means In A Path To Recovery
By David McKay--Published: February 26, 2015, 6:13 pm Updated: February 26, 2015, 7:07 pm
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22News spoke with recovering addicts and outlines some of the treatment programs available to help them.


GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)- Opiate abuse has been described as an epidemic in Franklin County.

The Opioid Task Force in Franklin County has become a model for others across the state but they continue to battle a crisis that has become rooted in younger generations.

Troy Purcell said he’s battled addictions in his life, but the worst started with morphine given to him after neck surgery. “I got off it after about six months and then I just ended up doing any opiates I could and then I ended up starting to use heroin about March of last year,” Purcell said. Yet while he’s tried to stay drug-free, it’s been difficult, “I can get a month or two clean and then I just end up relapsing so…”

Recovering addicts 22News spoke with said people aren’t shooting up by the train tracks or doing drugs in a dark alleyway anymore. It’s happening in your next door neighbors home or in the school systems.

Don Wright was addicted to crack cocaine, and said the drug dependency makes an addict feel helpless. “An individual becomes trapped and becomes stuck in that drug use and seemingly feels that there’s no way out,” Wright said.

Wright found support at the Recover Project on Federal Street in Greenfield.

“Gives them the ability to start receiving support, building a network and gives them a leg up on recovery,” Clarice Rivera, an intern at the Recover Project said.

Project Director Linda Sarage is a recovering alcoholic who discovered that its not just about treatment. She said, “Our job here at the Recover Project is to say- And then what, and then what?” Sarage said their goal is to create a sustainable lifestyle with peer-to-peer support for recovering addicts. “We’ve decided in recovery that no longer can we keep silent.”

On March 15th at 6pm, Greenfield Community College will host a panel discussion on the need for treatment and support.





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