. 

Certainly drug abuse is a significant problem in the state, however Shumlin feigned to have only recently discovered the magnitude of the crisis while viewing a locally produced motion picture, The Hungry Heart– a documentary providing an intimate view of the often unseen world of prescription drug addiction from the viewpoint of a Vermont Pediatrician. Hopefully, Shumlin was not really surprised by the film’s revelations as drug abuse and its related criminal activity have been a serious problems here in Vermont for over twenty years. Vermonters have been at risk of succumbing to the seductive effects of a cornucopia of prescription and street drugs and/or being victimized by the users and their criminal suppliers for far too long. This is an important issue that should already have had the attention of Governor Shumlin and the state’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General William Sorrell  and they should have already pressed the full resources of the state toward resolving the emergency.

When Governor Shumlin chose to present the problem of Vermont’s exploding drug abuse problem as the sole issue in his “State of the State” address he communicated a false impression that the state was overwhelmed by drug users and drug pushers. In the days that followed national media focused their spotlights on Vermont - interpreting Shumlin’s message as a notice that Vermont had become a haven for drug use.

In short order the story morphed from one of supporting rehabilitation for prescription drug users to an announcement that Vermont had become “The Heroin Capital of America”.  Shumlin failed to intervene to effectively manage the message, and direct the focus of the story to the state’s efforts to control the problem and provide aid to those affected.  Almost overnight Vermont’s franchise had been transformed from the “Green Mountain State” to the “Brown Mountain State”

A story with that title “Brown Mountain State”, appearing in Vice Magazine, suddenly gained wide attention after Shumlin pronouncement. In that 3,000 word exposé, Vermont is portrayed in a way few Vermonters would recognize – riddled with drug havens with law enforcement and government unable to exercise any degree of control over the problem. The detailed story became reference material for the national media. Shumlin continued to press his story before the national press, apparently unaware of the damage it was causing or possibly more interested in promoting his own persona than controlling the devastating impact the story could have on Vermont’s vacation businesses, gourmet food producers, artists and craftsmen (and craftswomen).

Thanks to Governor Shumlin this undeserved reputation is beginning to be attached to Vermont products and destinations. It is not surprising that Shumlin’s “chickens have come home to roost” – in a recent Rolling Stone article “The New Face of Heroin”; Vermont’s difficulties are highlighted at length and includes an illustration of a fictional “sugarmaker” getting his fix - on a tin of maple syrup labeled ”State of Vermont Pure Hereon” This image graphically expressed what many across the nation are surely thinking - Is this what Vermont has become? ; a bucolic mountain countryside obscuring uninhibited, unrestrained drug dealing and use. Without a strong message to the contrary, the allusion is rapidly becoming the reality for those considering vacationing here or buying goods produced here.

Peter Shumlin’s desire for national attention comes at the expense of the reputation of Vermont and Vermonters. Far from being Vermont’s foremost pitchman, Shumlin has become Vermont’s marketing undertaker, burying Vermont’s hard-earned reputation as New England’s Paradise under an indecorous and unfitting shroud of a drug ridden nightmare. If demand for Vermont products and reservations at tourist destinations begin to decline – we won’t have to look beyond the penthouse of the Pavilion Building in Montpelier for the source of the problem.

H. Brooke Paige