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"We talked about me coming to Gosnold years ago," said Curcuru. "When Ray and the Board were determined to transition, he called me and I was very excited about the opportunity to take on a new role." While Curcuru is managing the operations for Gosnold in Falmouth (corporate headquarters is also there), Mashpee, Orleans, Centerville, Cataumet, Provincetown, Brockton and Dartmouth, Tamasi is embracing his new role as president and focusing on research, prevention and early intervention. THE OPIATE CRISIS AND HOW IT CAN LEAD TO CHANGE Gosnold began seeing a lot more patients addicted to opiates back in 2000, following the increased prescribing of opioid pain relievers to manage pain. Drugs such as Oxycontin were designed to provide time- released pain relief, but they quickly became drugs of abuse. "People figured out that if they crushed up the pills, then they could break the time-release feature and get the full effect of the medication in about twenty minutes, compared to twelve hours. This produced an immediate euphoria," Tamasi said. "When the medical community became sensitive to this and started writing fewer painkiller prescriptions, the people who were already addicted sought an alternative, and the available alternative was heroin." The opiate drug crisis that is plaguing so many communities along the South Shore is not news at Gosnold. "As overdose events began to impact middle class and upper middle class young people, communities recognized the need to take action," Tamasi said. Pointing out that while the crisis has most dramatically affected people 18-30 years of age, Gosnold is seeing patients come from ages far older as well. OPENING THE DOORS TO OUTREACH AND NEW APPROACHES TO ADDICTION The crisis has led to the widespread attention now being given to heroin and prescription medication abuse. "I think that society is changing the way it looks at addiction," Tamasi noted. "All of this focus, although driven by tragedy, will change the way we treat addiction and how we can better prevent it." The "war on drugs," as it has been called, led to incarceration for many people with drug problems. That is no longer the case. "We are beginning to treat addiction as the medical problem that it becomes," he said. Gosnold is working with law enforcement personnel and medical staffs to intervene with those who suffer heroin overdoses. "This crisis has led to an unprecedented level of cooperation between police departments and the medical community," said Tamasi. McCarthy said that a move to pair a specialist from Gosnold with police officers to reach out to non-fatal overdose victims has produced extremely positive results. Working together with emergency room staffs regarding patients who are brought in to the hospital after an overdose has led to 75-80 percent of those people deciding to seek care. "This dispels the myth that people with addiction don't want help," she said. "They do, but people in active addiction rarely can make that decision voluntarily. We are reaching out to them and their family at a time when they are most vulnerable, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive." Gosnold currently has staff in emergency rooms at Tobey and South Shore Hospital, with discussion currently underway with two other hospitals. MONITORING PRESCRIBING PRACTICES Another initiative in Massachusetts is the prescription monitoring program that requires doctors to track the prescribing of opioid based medications. "Some individuals, driven by the power of their addiction, go to different doctors to get multiple prescriptions from different pharmacies. The monitoring program provides information that doctors can use to help reduce excessive use of the medication," Tamasi said. GOSNOLD'S TAKE ON MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Massachusetts voters will determine the fate of marijuana legalization (Ballot Question #4) in the fall. Gosnold understands that marijuana is considered a harmless drug by many, but the center does not share that view. "If you consider legalization of marijuana, all you need to do is look at Washington and Colorado, which are states that have already sanctioned legalization," said Tamasi. "In Colorado, the highest percentage of marijuana users is 14-18 year olds, which means they are still being serviced by the black market. It is a specious argument to vote to legalize something because it is not as bad as something else, namely alcohol. Legalization of marijuana is not good for any society. It provides no redeeming value." To find out more about Gosnold, visit the website at www.gosnolds.org or call 1-800-444-1554. 29 TheSouthShoreMagazine.com