Northport Student Shares Journey From Addiction to Recovery

Tom Snyder's descent into addiction is a story that repeats every day on Long Island: A slow progression from marijuana and alcohol, to prescription pills, to hard drugs such as heroin.
 
Snyder, 19, who grew up in Northport, told his cautionary tale to a packed room in the Northport Library Monday as a panelist for the Northport-East Northport Drug and Alcohol Task Force's Town Hall meeting. The meeting was intended to shed light on the area's growing drug problem.

Snyder said he first began smoking marijuana at 13, moved to prescription drugs a year later, and eventually became addicted to Oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription pain reliever with effects similar to heroin. One pill a day turned to five and then ten.

"The pain medication is very accessible, it's actually scary," Snyder said. "I remember at times just having pockets of pills and thinking 'I don't even know what to do with these.'"

Snyder went to rehab in February 2012 and relapsed in June. He fell in with the same crowd and his drug use escalated from pills to heroin, which he said was both ubiquitous and cheap.

"It's something I really thought I was never going to do," he said, "but next thing I know there's a needle in my arm."

Soon enough, Snyder's family and Northport High School Drug and Alcohol Counselor Anthony Ferrandino interfered: He was going back to rehab. When Snyder finished rehab and moved back to New York, he kept his return quiet and didn't fall back in with friends who used.

It's been eight months since Snyder last used and he's since graduated from Northport High School. He now spends much of his time reaching out to young adults struggling with drug addiction.

"I'm only 19, I haven't gone to college yet," he said, "but when I'm not using drugs, all these things are possible. I can actually live a life, I don't have to be dependent on a substance."

Snyder said that seeing his family hurt and disappointed was the biggest kick in the pants. Once he had the motivation to fix the wrong he felt he had done to them, he said it was easy to stay clean.

"Once you're doing the right thing it feels good and it's a positive snow ball," he said.

Snyder also emphasized the critical importance of having drug counselors available in school.

"It's good to have someone to talk to, someone to pour my heart out to," said Snyder. "I think every school should have one. If it wasn't for Anthony, I wouldn't be up here talking today."

Ferrandino, co-chair of the DATF, was part of the panel speaking at the DATF meeting, along with Legis. William Spencer, D-Centerport. Both stressed the importance of establishing communication about drugs and alcohol with children from an early age and setting clear boundaries and expectations.

"Communication is the cornerstone of prevention," said Ferrandino. "It should be an ongoing discussion that starts early on with age-appropriate topics."

Spencer urged parents to monitor prescription medications in the home and discard any unused medications at one of the drop box locations provided through Operation Medicine Cabinet. The Northport Police Department maintains one of these drop boxes at village hall. All medications are accepted, including liquids and over the counter medications.

The DATF was created several years ago to educate and protect children from drug and alcohol use. It is comprised of residents, students, parents, local government, law enforcement, business owners, behavioral health care agencies, youth bureaus, local libraries and school personnel.

The DATF is involved in many initiatives and programs, one of which was a survey conducted in 2007 and 2011 which reflects drug use trends among local teens and young adults. The survey is attached as a PDF.

For more about the DATF or to get involved, visit their Facebook Page.