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Crime & Safety

Lindbergh High School to Hold Town Meeting on Heroin Use

Use of the drug has reached almost epidemic proportions in the St. Louis area. The Lindbergh School District hopes to arm parents and students with information to help keep area kids safe during its Wednesday evening meeting.

Heroin use in the St. Louis area has grown at an alarming rate, resulting in more addiction problems and overdose deaths. More than 200 people died of overdose deaths in the St. Louis area in 2010, according to the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse (NCADA).

In fact, NCADA reported that the number of calls about heroin problems increased dramatically in 2010 from all across St. Louis—even in South and West counties and other nearby areas. Additionally, arrests and requests for heroin addiction treatment are increasing in mid-Missouri.

But the heroin issue doesn’t just affect adults—it affects more and more St. Louis-area kids and teens every day.

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“Heroin has become a problem of epidemic proportion in our local St. Louis area,” wrote Dan Duncan, director of community services for NCADA. “If you think that it doesn’t affect your kids, you’re dead wrong.”

That’s why the Lindbergh School District is holding a town hall meeting on heroin use at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Lindbergh High School auditorium at 500 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

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The meeting, co-sponsored by the NCADA’s St. Louis Chapter, the St. Louis County Police Department. St. Louis County Children’s Services and STEP UP!, will teach parents what they can do to help fight the heroin epidemic.

"Whether you just have questions, or have a child who is in trouble, NCADA is a place where you can turn for help," Duncan wrote. "Do not hesitate to give us a call at 314-962-3456."

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