Pubdate: Wed, 30 Apr 2014
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
Copyright: 2014 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html
Website: http://enquirer.com/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
Author: Sheila McLaughlin,

DETERS: CHARGE HEROIN DEALERS WITH MURDER IN OD CASES
	
SHARONVILLE - Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters revealed Wednesday
that he and Ohio Attorney General are working together on a bill that
would allow murder charges against drug dealers who sold lethal doses
of heroin.

Deters made that announcement in front of a town hall-style heroin
summit called by DeWine as the number of heroin deaths seemed to be
spiraling out of control.

It was the 12th in a series of community forums DeWine is holding
across the state to come up with a plan of attack for the growing
heroin epidemic.

"I think it would be a very good deterrent in our community," Deters
said of a proposal that would make it easier to hold dealers
accountable for fatal overdoses.

Now, it's nearly impossible to convict drug dealers in fatal overdoses
because there must be proof that a dealer knew the drugs would kill
the user.

Deters said he'd rather see treatment available for addicts who get
into trouble with the law and thinks drug courts, such as the one
established in Hamilton County in the 1980s are the way to handle
those cases.

"I'm much more inclined to give them treatment instead of
incarceration," he said.

Deters was among a panel of speakers to address the crowd of police
officers, educators, treatment professionals, and some parents of
addicts. The panel included Orman Hall, director of the Governor's
Cabinet Opiate Action Team; Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell;
Ralph Shell, superintendent of Clermont Northeastern Local School
District; Scott Gehring, who heads Sojourner Recovery Services in
Butler County; Mary Haag, executive director of the Coalition for a
Drug Free Cincinnati; and Tom Boehle, a local father who recently lost
his son to an overdose.

The resounding theme of the summit was that a prescription for the
epidemic must include treatment, prosecution of heroin dealers, and
prevention education that continues each year for school-age children
and is tailored to their age group.

"The problem is bigger than just arresting people," Blackwell
said.

Progress will come with grassroots efforts that include churches, law
enforcement, the business community and schools, DeWine said.

He expects the number of heroin deaths in Ohio to be well over 1,000
after 2013 numbers are tallied. The Ohio Department of Health recently
reported 680 heroin deaths occurred in 2012, representing a 37 percent
increase over 2011.

"What we see is heroin deaths going straight up. There is no
indication in 2014 that they are going to flatten out," DeWine said.

Clermont Northeastern's Shell said he is concerned about the number of
kids coming into the district whose lives are being affected by drugs.
Eleven percent of next year's incoming kindergarten students have been
taken out of their homes by court order because of a parent's drug
abuse, Shell said.

"We need to start with these kids early," he said.

Carol B., a Cleves mother of three who does not want her last name
used because her son is a recovering heroin addict, thinks that
solving the heroin epidemic "begins and ends with with the excessive
amounts of opiates on the street."

"We need more meetings like this to get the community involved. I want
resources, availability of different types of treatment programs,
dialogue with medical professionals," she said.

It is unclear when any action will come out of the community forums.
DeWine spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said DeWine had talked about holding
up to 15 summits. He would then appoint a committee to review forum
findings and come up with statewide recommendations to curb drug abuse
to prevent addiction.
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