The growing heroin problem

Posted 8/21/12

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Signs of the heroin epidemic in Sullivan County and beyond are everywhere. The police agencies in the county send a seemingly endless stream of notices about heroin-related …

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The growing heroin problem

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SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Signs of the heroin epidemic in Sullivan County and beyond are everywhere. The police agencies in the county send a seemingly endless stream of notices about heroin-related arrests to local media outlets. At a recent Town of Liberty meeting, resident Terry Bauer sought support for addiction treatment programs and said she was providing shelter to a friend who is dealing with heroin withdrawal; state Sen. John J. Bonacic announced that he is part of a joint task force, which will examine the “alarming” rise of use of heroin and other opioids in New York.

Bonacic said, “The growing epidemic of heroin use throughout New York State is alarming. It transcends regions, race, gender and economic status. We must do everything in our power to help stop this highly accessible and addictive drug from poisoning our communities.”

Ironically, one reason that heroin use is on the rise in New York State is because the state took an effective measure to battle the abuse of prescription drugs, and that pushed many abusers to heroin.

In August 2013, a new law took effect requiring all physicians in the state who prescribe opioids, such as Oxycodone and Hydrocodone, which are chemically similar to heroin, to check a state database to ensure that patients are not “doctor shopping” and getting multiple prescriptions from different providers.

By most accounts, the new law has driven down the supply of opioid prescription medications and driven up the cost to abusers. Sullivan Couny Sherriff Mike Schiff, in an interview with The River Reporter, said that has had a direct impact on the number of people now seeking heroin.

He said the new law has “made it very difficult to get the pills, so the next thing in line, the cheapest and best high, is heroin. Because it’s cheap compared to the other drugs, it’s the drug of choice right now, that’s what we’re seeing.”

The battle against heroin and other drugs is not new, but neither is it a battle that law enforcement is winning.

Schiff said, “I’ve been in law enforcement for 36 years, and we’ve been in a war on drugs since the time I became a trooper. The end result is heroin is cheaper and more prevalent than when we started. We’re not winning that battle. I think we’ve got to look at alternatives, and I’m not sure what they are, but it’s going to entail partnerships with the schools, mental health providers, drug facilities. We’ve got to take a broader view on this.”

The harm that comes from illegal drugs reaches far beyond the single consumer. Inevitably, drug money funds activities that are harmful to a community. “Drugs in general fund organized crime; that’s how drugs are distributed. You may have a local guy, but ultimately it’s coming from an organized level somewhere.”

He said that’s not necessarily the case with some of the marijuana “grow houses” that have been shut down in the county in recent years, but even in those cases, when the marijuana is sold wholesale, “It’s probably being bought by someone linked to a gang or organized crime of some kind. And it’s a cash cow; it’s like alcohol was during prohibition. It’s funding the other stuff; it’s funding the guns, the hard drugs, human trafficking.”

One program that the sheriff’s office has used to try to prevent drug abuse and drug dealing is the Drug Awareness and Resistance Education, or DARE, program. The program teaches fifth graders about addictions of all kinds, and attempts to teach them to make good choices. But Schiff thinks that doesn’t go far enough.

He hopes to create a new DARE program for high schools, “because that’s where we could address the problem when it really starts coming into focus, and it becomes real. In fifth grade, it’s more about teaching the students what not to get involved with. By the time they’re teenagers, it’s something different, but I think it’s something we should be doing and we’re going to attempt that this year.”

In the meantime, the problem continues to expand in the community. As Bauer told members of the town board, “So many individuals living in Livingston Manor, Callicoon and Jeffersonville are homeless, have no transportation, and have no ability to get to crisis and outreach centers. This drug is a monster.”

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