Pubdate: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 Source: Star-News (NC) Copyright: 2008 Wilmington Morning Star Contact: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500 Author: David Reynolds Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) 3 HEROIN DEATHS REPORTED IN 2 MONTHS Police Investigating Possible 'Crisis In The Making' At least three people have died of heroin overdoses in Wilmington in the past two months, leading police to investigate a possible heroin "crisis." The deaths and a recent non-fatal heroin overdose have Wilmington police searching records to see how the death toll compares to other years. Though the count isn't done, Lucy Crockett, spokeswoman for the agency, said the sense is that heroin has taken a heavy toll in late 2007 and early 2008. "There is a general agreement that we are seeing a possible crisis in the making," she said Thursday in a written statement. As a result, Wilmington police also are consulting with local drug treatment experts as well as the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office in the hope of coming up with a way to warn users. Crockett said police try to catch drug dealers, but a rise in overdoses is a challenge that must be addressed by the community. Also, she said, more heroin overdoses might have occurred without being reported to police. While officers investigate deaths, if rescuers revive an overdose patient, police might not be notified, authorities say. Capt. Bruce Hickman, a police officer in Wilmington for 27 years, said heroin always has been prevalent in the community, but heroin use goes in cycles. In the past year and half, heroin seems to have become more common, he said, while crack cocaine use has fallen off. Among the fatal overdoses police investigated from Dec. 6 to Jan. 25, the victims are men ages 16, 24 and 48, according to police. Also in January, a 19-year-old woman overdosed in the bathroom of the McDonald's in the 2500 block of Carolina Beach Road. The woman survived. In that case, the state took a young child into custody because adults with the child were using heroin in the public rest room, police have said. Since early November, Wilmington police have investigated at least 10 allegations of Schedule I drug possession and at least 10 allegations of Schedule I possession with intent to distribute, according to Wilmington police reports. Heroin is a Schedule I controlled substance along with LSD, peyote, mescaline, mushrooms, quaaludes and Ecstasy. Cocaine is a Schedule II controlled substance. Hickman suggested several possibilities for the rise in heroin deaths. Heroin use ebbs and flows, he said, as a new generation of users comes along who are too young to know the health risks the drug caused its predecessors. Also, he said, police have recently seen some heroin users combine the drug with other substances, such as alcohol or Valium, making for more unpredictable consequences. "One time can be all it takes with heroin," Hickman said. Another possible factor, he said, is that in the world of illegal drugs, users know little about what they're buying. Just as police shut down one supplier, another steps in who may be selling heroin in a more potent form. He also said that as police have gone after crack dealers, heroin seems to have filled the void. In addition to overdoses, Hickman said, heroin users face the additional risks of hepatitis and HIV, which may be transmitted through needles. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath