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Heroin rampant in Mass., U.S. says
Thursday, October 16, 2003 -
BOSTON -- A new federal report detailing heroin use in Massachusetts has state lawmakers, medical professionals and law enforcement oofficials calling for more state and federal resources to win the war against illicit drugs.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy found in a recent survey that Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of illegal drug use in the country, with heroin use reaching epidemic rates.
Heroin-related deaths rose 76 percent over the last three years, and more than half of those who reported to alcohol or drug treatment programs last year were addicted to heroin.
The heroin crisis has become so severe that Gov. Mitt Romney acknowledged during a summit of five New England governors last week that elected officials have probably been "missing the boat" and are not doing enough to address the problem.
'Snuck up on us'
"The extent of the problem has snuck up on us. The war on drugs hasn't been won," Romney said.
Law enforcement officials and medical experts said Romney's comments were typical of elected officials who have not recognized that heroin use across New England has steadily increased since the mid-1990s.
At least two heroin-related deaths were reported in Pittsfield in September. Official statistics are compiled by the state Department of Public Health in Boston, which reports nine opiate-related fatalities among Berkshire County residents from 1999 and the beginning of 2002. Statistics for last year and this year are still being compiled.
Pittsfield Police Chief Anthony Riello said that while his department has received more funding for narcotics investigations and has made more heroin arrests recently, the issue can't be solved by targeting drug dealers alone.
"There is no simple answer. You need prevention, you need interdiction, and you need treatment. Unless you attack this problem from all fronts, you're not going to win," Riello said.
Riello added that while most police in New England have seen a sharp increase in heroin-related crimes, it probably surprised some in the law enforcement community that the Northeast now leads the nation in rates of heroin use.
State Rep. Peter J. Larkin, a Pittsfield Democrat who is assistant vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he had written a letter to Romney asking him to urge President Bush to make heroin treatment programs a priority.
Lack of resources
"We're awash in drugs. Heroin and cocaine are overwhelming us," Larkin said. "Every community in the state has been crying out for funds. Meanwhile, our resources have fallen off the table."
The Bush administration has requested $600 million over the next three years to boost substance abuse treatment programs as part of its Access to Recovery legislation. The legislation would provide vouchers to people seeking community-based alcohol and drug treatment services.
Larkin and other lawmakers want Romney to press the case that Massachusetts, which has become a major market for heroin, should be a priority when those funds are allocated.
"If the president has pledged $600 million, we need it now," Larkin said. "If Gov. Romney is unwilling to address raising taxes, he should raise the clarion call to the president to fulfill the pledge he made."
Berkshire County District Attorney Gerard D. Downing said that part of the lack of public awareness of rising heroin use can be blamed on a decades-old stigma of who is a typical heroin user.
"The fear I have is that the public still tends to think of the heroin junkies with the needles in the back alleys, but the profile of the user has changed," said Downing, president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association. "That profile is getting younger."
Law enforcement officials have said that the street price of heroin has dropped to an average of just $4 per bag, down from $40 per bag in the 1990s. In addition, the drug is so pure that users can snort it or smoke it -- rather than injecting it intravenously -- which has broadened its appeal, especially among young people.
The drug is also becoming more popular among more affluent people and those who live in the suburbs, according to law enforcement officials.
Colombian drug lords have set up distribution centers throughout the state, and heroin is now being imported directly to Boston and a half-dozen other Massachusetts cities.
The White House survey found that New England has the highest rate of heroin use of any region in the country.
Lack of awareness
"I don't think this has snuck up on us at all," said Wayne E. Pasanen, chief of Emergency Medicine at Lowell General Hospital. "It's just a lack of awareness on the part of our political leaders. Even among the presidential contenders, no one has a plan for addressing heroin. This is one of the greatest social problems in modern America being swept under the rug."
Pasanen, who is also medical director of methadone clinics in Lowell and Lawrence, said that what's needed is a comprehensive public education campaign to teach people about the dangers of heroin.
"Ask any politician what heroin is, and he doesn't have a clue," Pasanen said. "He would not know what class of drug heroin is, the difference between heroin and cocaine. Education is the best treatment for opiate dependence. People also need to have access to treatment that works."
Pasanen also believes that policy-makers need to focus more of their attention on prevention programs rather than targeting heroin dealers.
"We spend an inordinate amount of time and resources on incarcerating people who are addicted, when we should be focusing more on the medical aspect of how to treat the user," Pasanen said.
Pasanen said that Massachusetts has been progressive in its treatment of drug users in that it provides insurance coverage for Medicaid recipients -- who comprise a large portion of heroin users -- to receive methadone treatment.
On the other hand, state leaders have made steep cuts to the Department of Public Health over the last two fiscal years, which forced the department to close half of the DPH-funded detoxification beds in the state.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~7514~1701673,00.html
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)
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Tom
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