Teen Drug Use Focus of Two Special Events

Officials want to better educate parents and teenagers about the reality of drug use with a few special events next month.

Students and parents can learn about the dangers of drug and alcohol use at the annual Reality Tour sponsored by the Wayne Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse.

Students will re-enact scenes that show popular settings where they are pressured into trying drugs and alcohol.

A question and answer session with recovering drug addicts will follow the presentation. The Reality Tour will be held Oct. 16 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

A Wayne resident who lost a child to drugs is also scheduled to speak.

The township and the school district are co-hosting a special community forum about the rise in teenage drug use on Oct. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Wayne Valley High School. The event is designed for parents of high school and middle school students.

Details about the latest trends in heroin and prescription drugs and other substances will be discussed at the forum.

“Effective communication and education can help our community overcome this most challenging issue,” Mayor Chris Vergano said in a statement. “For that reason, we strongly encourage attendance at this very important event.”

Organizers said the event was “triggered by the rising trend of substance abuse among young people, including those in Wayne,” a statement released Thursday said.

 Vergano said last week that the two officers from the department’s patrol division were reassigned to its narcotics unit because of “all the activity going on with narcotics.”

Police Chief John Reardon could not be reached for comment.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes, Superior Court Judge Rukolph Filko, and representatives of the police department’s narcotics and youth bureaus, and school district officials will speak about the latest trends in drug and alcohol use among teenagers.

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.