Pubdate: Sun, 27 Feb 2005
Source: Star-News (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Wilmington Morning Star
Contact:  http://www.wilmingtonstar.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500
Author: Ken Little
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose)

HEROIN IMPACT GROWS

Illicit Drugs Hit Area Youths Hard

Adam shepherd never knew what hit him.

The 18-year-old Cape Fear Academy graduate had just completed his freshman 
year at the College of Charleston and was back home in Wilmington for a 
summer job. On May 30, 2003, Mr. Shepherd went to a party at an apartment 
complex in Ogden.

A few hours later, he was dead, the victim of a lethal mixture of heroin 
and cocaine.

"This was a kid who never got in trouble, never missed a curfew," said his 
mother, Cindy Shepherd. "All the coroner could say was, 'I couldn't believe 
I saw this beautiful young man dressed in preppie clothes laying on the 
floor.' "

Heroin and other illicit drugs cut a deep swath through the Cape Fear 
region, experts say, and many young people pay the price. Old stereotypes 
about heroin no longer apply, as the drug overtakes youths whose upbringing 
is worlds away from the inner city.
Ms. Shepherd said her son inhaled rather than injected the heroin and 
cocaine "speedball" that killed him.

"Parents are so naive," she said. "We think we have wonderful kids, they 
get great grades and they don't get into trouble and they're out there 
doing this stuff and nobody wants to talk about it."

Paramedics with New Hanover Regional Emergency Medical Services see the 
effects of heroin on a daily basis. Last year, EMS personnel responded to 
43 heroin overdoses. Fourteen of those people were in full respiratory 
arrest, said Sean Gibson, performance improvement coordinator for New 
Hanover Regional EMS.

'A younger population'
"It's a younger population and it's predominately a white male population. 
What is sad is you will pull up to the scene and there's a kid lying there 
with a needle in his arm and they're not breathing. They're blue," Mr. 
Gibson said. "They never know what they're buying."

Paramedics generally administer an agent called Narcan, which reverses the 
effects of narcotics in the body.

"Some of these kids know what they're doing. They've been through it 
before," Mr. Gibson said.

In 2004, the average age of a person who overdosed on heroin in New Hanover 
County was 31.

"Most of them are white males. There was one 16-year-old female who 
overdosed on heroin last year," he said.

Fatal heroin overdose figures are not available, primarily because a 
conclusive cause of death must be determined by the medical examiner. Mr. 
Gibson said many more non-fatal overdoses are the result of a combination 
of drugs, sometimes mixed with alcohol, and the individuals treated don't 
volunteer information.

Paramedics answer many drug-related calls downtown, in the business 
corridor along Market Street and in neighborhoods surrounding the 
University of North Carolina Wilmington. It's easy to tell when a 
particularly potent batch of heroin hits town, Mr. Gibson said.

"You know when you're seeing weeks of two or three heroin overdoses," he 
said. Between Feb. 15 and Wednesday, three people were treated for heroin 
overdoses at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a hospital official said.

Law enforcement agencies wage a continual war against drug trafficking in 
Wilmington. The city police Vice and Narcotics Unit made a major heroin 
bust Feb. 20 in a room at the Sleep Inn on Market Street. Detectives seized 
more than 900 packets of heroin, worth in excess of $20,000 on the street. 
Frankie Johnson, 22, of Wilmington, was charged with felony trafficking 
along with Javaun Delfyette, 20, of Brooklyn.

Two days later, 25-year-old Harris Black, Mr. Johnson's brother, was 
charged with selling heroin in the Hillcrest housing complex in Wilmington. 
Detectives used evidence found at the scene of two overdoses in the Sigmon 
Road Wal-Mart parking lot to locate Mr. Harris.

"It's no secret that heroin has been on the increase in our area. We have 
had more overdoses in recent years," said Sgt. Jeff Allsbrook, of the Vice 
and Narcotics Unit.

Cheaper, more potent
Heroin in Wilmington is relatively easy to find, and it's cheaper and 
generally more potent than it was several years ago, Sgt. Allsbrook said.

A bag of heroin can be purchased on the street for $20 to $25, Sgt. 
Allsbrook said. There is no such thing as a typical user these days, he added.

"It goes across all lines – male, female, white, black, kids in college, 
working people. I can't really say it's one group," Sgt. Allsbrook said.

Much of the heroin that finds its way to Wilmington comes from the New York 
City area, he said. Other distribution centers include Philadelphia, 
Newark, N.J., Baltimore and Washington, said Emmett R. Highland, resident 
agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration office in 
Wilmington. The DEA coordinates with local law enforcement on many drug 
investigations.

"In terms of regionally and in the Wilmington area, we have seen a rise in 
heroin seizures," Agent Highland said. "One of the contributing factors to 
the rise of heroin in Southeastern North Carolina and what we see on the 
east coast is Columbian heroin, as opposed to west of the Mississippi, 
where you would see a lot of Mexican heroin."

Most of the illegal drugs entering the states comes from Mexico. There are 
organized drug networks and transportation conduits getting heroin and 
other drugs to Wilmington, he said. Agent Highland would not elaborate.

"There are a number of challenges with regard to heroin when we have 
established routes and established organizations with the heroin trade," he 
said. "There is more cause for concern and we are constantly evolving our 
methods and responses. We're also forecasting, to a certain extent, trends 
that we see regionally and domestically."

One trend is the strength of the drug.

"I do know that the potency has increased over the last several years and 
the method of ingestion has changed, too, from injecting it to snorting 
it," Agent Highland said.

Sgt. Allsbrook said many people also abuse OxyContin, Vicodin and other 
prescription drugs to get a similar narcotic high.

"Heroin use kind of runs hand in hand with other opioids," said Kenny 
House, clinical director of substance abuse services at Coastal Horizons 
Center in Wilmington.

The popularity of the drug "is constant, but I think that the trends over 
the last several years have shown younger and younger people have 
experimented and become dependant and we're concerned about that," Mr. 
House said.

Mr. House said about 160 Coastal Horizons clients are receiving treatment 
for opiate use, which can include methadone therapy and counseling. The 
center serves clients from New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender and surrounding 
counties. Another 20 clients are participating in a clinical trial 
involving Suboxone, a newer medication effective in treating opiate 
dependence without producing euphoria.

"It's very successful," Mr. House said. Most of the heroin addicts being 
treated at Coastal Horizons are doing so voluntarily, he said.

A losing struggle
Keith and Rachel Thompson tried everything in their power to help their 
daughter Blaire beat an eight-year battle with heroin. The 26-year-old died 
of an overdose Dec. 23 in a Wilmington hotel room.

Ms. Thompson graduated magna cum laude from UNCW and was a former Pender 
County elementary school teacher. She could have been anything she wanted, 
her parents said, until she was introduced to drugs.

Mr. Thompson lamented the lack of long-term treatment options available to 
addicts.

"There's nothing out there. Everything is structured for 30 days," he said.

Blaire Thompson was drug-free for 90 days before the fatal dose of heroin 
entered her system.

"It was one event. What some people don't know is that the first time you 
use it can be your last," Mr. Thompson said. "The recent arrests that they 
had were good arrests, but it's not going to put a dent in what's out 
there. The reason it's so cheap is because there's so much out there."

On their way back from the funeral home on Christmas Eve, the Thompsons 
paid a visit to the home of the person they believe sold the heroin to 
their daughter.

"We went and knocked on his door. I just told him he had one less person to 
serve," Mr. Thompson said.

Mr. Thompson is state director of Dads and Mad Moms Against Drug Dealers, 
an organization seeking passage of legislation in North Carolina called the 
Drug Dealer Liability Act.

The law would allow families of victims to sue drug dealers in a way 
similar to lawsuits brought against businesses that sell alcohol to minors. 
Neighbors could also sue a persistent drug dealer, Mr. Thompson said. A 
form of the law exists in 14 states, he said.

"For years, I was focused on keeping the tree alive that was my daughter. 
Now that my one tree is dead, meaning my daughter, I can see the forest. 
Somebody has got to take a stand," Mr. Thompson said. "Drug users 
eventually die. Dealers just go on."

The Thompsons have told their story to a national audience, recently 
appearing on Good Morning America. They still have many unanswered questions.

"Until somebody is arrested, Keith and I won't let this go," Mrs. Thompson 
said.

Ms. Shepherd, whose son Adam died in Wilmington in 2003, said she and her 
husband, Jim, also continue to seek answers from authorities about his 
overdose death.

"We just want to know what happened," she said.

The Shepherds lived in Wilmington for nine years. Mrs. Shepherd said her 
family moved here from California so Adam and his sister would not be 
exposed to harmful influences. They moved to Moore County soon after Adam's 
death.

"I just said I cannot stay in Wilmington anymore. We were naive, thinking 
it was small town, Bible-belt, everybody goes to church, but it does go on 
here," she said. "It's so important for other parents to know."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom