This story looked at one family's struggle to come to terms with the heroin overdose of their son and brother. Following it is a sidebar on the availability of heroin in Sussex County, Delaware. They were published in the Delaware Coast Press.
By Terry Plowman
Coast Press EditorWhen a Delaware state policeman delivered the tragic news that his son had died of a heroin overdose on March 17, 1996, Don Webster of Rehoboth Beach, was "shocked, but not surprised."Cape Henlopen High School graduate Scott Webster, 27, a jovial, fun-loving young man, had struggled with a drug problem for several years, and his family had been intimately involved with that struggle.
"His problem was well-known," said Webster. "We just didnít know when (an overdose) would happen."
Scott Websterís final trip to the hospital, wasnít the first time drugs landed him there.
It was an incident that occurred several years earlier, when his "druggie friends" dropped him off unconscious at Milford Memorial Hospital, that really made Scottís family aware of the depth of his problem, according to his father.
After Scott spent three or four days in intensive care, his family convinced him to get into a drug rehabilitation program at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford.
That was just the beginning of several rehabilitation efforts over the next few years, including a 10-month stay in 1994 at a religious rehab center in California. Each one gave the family hope that Scott would be able to stay clean.
But every time Scott came out of rehab, his downfall was in "getting into the same old rut with the same friends," according to his brother, Donnie Webster Jr.
He said people in the coastal Sussex area are unaware of how available heroin is. "A lot of people put blinders on," he said. "Itís a lot more prevalent than we can imagine." (See story below.)
Struggle continues
Scott Websterís downward spiral continued despite his familyí efforts to help him. They tried professional help, they tried heart-to-heart talks, they even threatened to have him arrested, just so he would get some kind of treatment.
Scottís reaction wavered from a recognition of his drug addiction ? and efforts to kick it ? to a complete denial that anything was wrong, according to family members.
Shortly before Scottís death, his stepmother, Lyn Webster, spent five days with him at home, trying to "dry him out," according to Don Webster. He later sought treatment at the Kent-Sussex Detoxification Center in Ellendale. But not long after, Scott was back with his old friends, partying and doing drugs.
"Everybody gave him so many chances," said Scottís brother Donnie. "You can talk until youíre blue in the face, but until they want to turn around, they wonít."
His father added, "We did what we could, but Scott was the one who made the choice."
On March 17, 1996, Scott Webster was rushed from a house in Bethany Beach to Beebe Medical Center. But he was already dead, with a needle mark in his arm.
The state medical examiner concluded that he died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine.
What can be done?
The Websters are still at a loss to offer advice about steps a family can take to head off such a tragedy.
They blame Scottís death on a fatal combination of a drug dependency with the easy availability of drugs.
Don Webster said he thinks harsher penalties for drug traffickers should be enforced, and his son Donnie rails against the open-air drug markets in West Rehoboth and elsewhere.
Both wonder how known local drug users and traffickers can so easily escape arrest.
Donnie Webster Jr. complains about the "revolving door" at prisons, which release drug offenders with little punishment or treatment.
(Gov. Thomas Carper recently proposed a tripling of state funding for drug treatment programs for inmates.)
But despite their complaints about these external influences, the Websters recognize that it was Scottís own addiction that was his personal hell, both physically and psychologically.
"Two weeks before he died, I tried to tell him he was at rock bottom," said Donnie. "But that just wasnít enough. (Getting help) has to be something that person wants to do."
Is heroin available in Sussex County?
By Terry Plowman
According to State Police Cpl. Preston Lewis, heroin is not a major problem in Sussex County, and no arrests related to the drug have been made in recent years. Local police also report no recent arrests for the drug.
However, since November 1996 there have been two deaths from heroin overdose in Sussex County and one in Kent County, according to the state medical examiner. "Itís deadly," Lewis said.
The number of people seeking treatment for heroin use has increased at the Kent-Sussex Detoxification Center in Ellendale, according to Susan Mumford, a registered nurse at the facility.
The facility has seen the number of its 16 beds used by heroin abusers increase from none or one several years ago to two to four today, Mumford said. "Heroin is back," she said, noting that most of the users treated at the detox center are ages 18 to 22.
According to a former heroin addict who lives in Sussex County, "(Heroin is) not here in a big way ó itís by no means flooded the area." But he said "dope" is readily available within the circles of those who use the drug. He said users regularly drive to Philadelphia to buy heroin in quantities for personal use and to sell to others.
How does it start?
Don Webster, a Rehoboth Beach resident whose son, Scott, died of a heroin overdose last year, said he believes his sonís decline into serious drug abuse began when he started following concert tours by the Grateful Dead rock group.
A Sussex Countian who says he "experimented" with heroin but was not addicted to it, said the "Deadhead" culture has influenced younger fans to try the drug, mainly because the bandís leader, Jerry Garcia, was a known heroin user.
He said he thinks very few Grateful Dead fans have tried heroin, but said the drugís use is "the dark side of the Dead tour." "They start out snorting it, and within a year, theyíre shooting (injecting) it," he said.