Pubdate: Sun, 15 Jun 2014
Source: News Journal, The (Wilmington, DE)
Copyright: 2014 The News Journal
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/1c6Xgdq3
Website: http://www.delawareonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/822
Author: Christopher Bullock

HEROIN BATTLE IS EVERYBODY'S FIGHT

The heroin problem has officially reached epidemic proportions. In the
state of Delaware and in many other areas throughout the country,
heroin has become one of the most widely abused and certainly one of
the most devastating illegal substances. Today, heroin is cheaper,
purer and more addictive than ever.

A nationwide crackdown on prescription drug abuse has caused their
price to triple, causing many addicts to turn to heroin. So far this
year, New Castle County has had 10 suspected heroin-related deaths in
all areas of the county involving all races and sexes. Additionally,
so far this year there have been 34 suspected heroin overdoses and
county police have conducted 165 criminal heroin investigations. In
2013, NCCo police seized 270 percent more heroin than it did in 2012.
Just recently, an undercover police operation resulted in the largest
heroin bust in county police history, seizing 13,500 bags of heroin,
with a street value of $41,000.

It can be easy for people not affected by this problem to ignore the
damage it does to society but if the crisis continues, we will all
feel the negative impact heroin has on communities. Heroin users go to
extreme lengths to support their habit. This often includes committing
property crimes like theft and burglary. No one is immune to these
risks.

The fact is these crimes are being committed in every community in the
state, whether they are in urban, suburban or rural areas. Property
crime not only results in the loss of property but can also frighten
residents and bring down home values. They are also a drag on
government resources. Although New Castle County Police has done a
good job in combating property crimes with a 28 percent reduction in
burglaries and 27 percent reduction in thefts compared with last year,
these crimes use up precious resources. The cost for heroin-related
illness, death and crime cost the sate of Delaware millions of dollars
annually and also results in increased health-care costs due to
emergency room visits from overdoses and treating other physical
side-effects of drug abuse. It eats away at our tax-dollars in many
unseen ways.

Fighting the heroin epidemic reactively is significantly more
expensive than efforts to prevent the addiction in the first place.
Education and prevention programs help to stop the addiction from ever
occurring and cost less than arresting and incarcerating users.

Currently, programs like the Heroin Alert Program do a good job of
teaching kids about the dangers of drug use. We need to make sure we
are continually refining our approach to ensure the message is getting
through to the kids. While they surely know drugs are bad for you, we
must impress upon them the many negatives consequences it can have on
the rest of their lives. Once users become addicted, we must also make
certain they receive the treatment they need. Rather than throwing
addicts in jail, they should be given the opportunity to go through
treatment programs. Funding for treatment programs and facilities is
hard to come by but if it can be increased, the effects will certainly
be seen.

There are also policy changes that can help stem the heroin crisis. In
the event of an overdose, many witnesses do not call the proper
authorities for fear of the consequences. Last July, Gov. Jack Markell
signed into law Senate Bill 116 which grants immunity to individuals
who report a drug overdose. This law will hopefully ensure that
witnesses to an overdose seek medical assistance immediately without
fear, preventing needless loss of life. Additionally, we must ensure
that all first responders have access to Naloxone, a potentially
life-saving drug which quickly reverses the effects of heroin in the
event of an overdose.

With some minor changes, we can make a big difference in our fight
against this deadly drug. It will take a joint effort involving law
enforcement, education programs, treatment facilities, faith-based
institutions and an effort on behalf of elected officials to direct
resources to this crisis. This problem affects everyone and the sooner
we can tackle it, the better off our communities

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Christopher Bullock, president of New Castle County Council and pastor
of Canaan Baptist Church, lives in Wilmington.
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