Pubdate: Sat, 27 Jan 2001
Source: Blade, The (OH)
Copyright: 2001 The Blade
Contact:  541 North Superior St., Toledo OH 43660
Website: http://www.toledoblade.com
Author: Erica Blake

LENAWEE OFFICIALS SAY POTENT HEROIN CAUSING DEATHS AMONG USERS

ADRIAN - For nearly three decades, Detective David Seeburger has seen 
the effects of drugs on this Lenawee County community.

But it's been only within the last five months that he has seen 
deaths because of a heroin overdose.

Lenawee law enforcement officials are warning potential drug users 
that a new strain of heroin may have found its way into the county. 
To date, four known drug users have died because of it.

"I'm thinking this drug is more potent than it normally is. Usually 
they dilute it to some extent but this appears to be more pure," said 
Detective Seeburger, an officer at the Lenawee Sheriff's Department 
for 27 years. "We' re thinking that these drug users are getting more 
pure stuff and they don't know it."

Lenawee County experienced its first in a string of drug overdose 
deaths in August. The 28-year-old victim was driving back from the 
Detroit area with a friend when they stopped on the road to shoot the 
liquid drug into their veins.

Police were called to the scene after hearing reports of a suspicious 
car. They found one man inside dead, the other on the brink.

"Toxicology reports showed that there was heroin in his system, and 
enough to kill him of course," Detective Seeburger said. He did not 
release the victim's name.

A second heroin overdose was recorded in September when a man in his 
mid-50s was found dead in his bathroom after injecting the drug. This 
man, the detective said, was a known drug user who had injected 
heroin for many years.

He didn't even make it out of his bathroom, Detective Seeburger said.

A third case occurred shortly after, when a 35-year-old man was found 
dead in his home - his veins laced with heroin and crack cocaine.

The man's death occured just weeks after he moved to Lenawee County 
and months after his wife died of a drug overdose in Oakland County's 
Farmington.

"This stuff is deadly," Detective Seeburger said. "And once you use 
it, it could be too late to back out of it."

Karen Stafford-May has seen how difficult it is to recover from 
heroin addiction. A substance abuse therapist at Bixby Medical 
Center's Sage Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Ms Stafford-May 
said local medical facilities have not seen an increase in heroin 
addicted clients.

But, she added, that could be because the popular detox drug, 
methadone, is not available in the county.

"The treatment of choice is methadone and the closest places you can 
go to get that is Ann Arbor or Toledo," she said. "It is very 
dangerous but there are treatments available. The smartest thing to 
do is seek medical help because the withdrawal is surprisingly 
violent. And that medical treatment is always confidential."

Lenawee County law enforcement officials said they have not heard of 
similar problems in neighboring Hillsdale and Monroe counties. The 
Hillsdale County Sheriff's Department confirmed that no heroin 
overdoses have been reported in at least the last decade.

County Lenawee Sheriff Larry Richardson said his county's statistics 
are alarming, but not surprising. Saying that drugs have been a 
continuous problem in the county, Sheriff Richardson said his 
department will continue to target drug dealers. And residents, he 
said, must educate themselves.

"We want to educate the public and let them know that we do have a 
problem of heroin in Lenawee County," he said. "It's on an upswing 
and it has to stop."

The recent deaths have prompted the department to order an 
educational video on heroin to be possibly used in the schools or to 
youth groups, Detective Seeburger said. He said he plans to review 
the video before disseminating it to the community policing and 
school liaison officers.
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