Pubdate: Mon, 30 Mar 2015
Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)
Copyright: 2015 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/614
Author: Gary Craig

DON'T CUT ANTI-DRUG FUNDS, SCHUMER AND POLICE SAY

In July local and federal police busted a suspected drug trafficking
ring alleged to have moved millions of dollars of illicit substances -
and maybe even tens of millions - across the Rochester region.

Vital to the takedown of the network, police say, was a police analyst
whose job is totally funded by a federal program known as High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HITDA.

The current federal budget proposal from the Obama administration
calls for an annual reduction in HIDTA funding from $245 million to
$193 million - a reduction that U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said at a
news conference Monday he will oppose.

Flanked by police and the mothers of two women whose children have
battled addiction, Schumer said in the news conference at the Public
Safety Building in Rochester that he is proposing a $100 million
increase in the funding.

"When you let these drugs get tentacles into our society, it's so hard
to extricate them," he said.

Throughout western New York, a particularly deadly brand of heroin,
laced with the synthetic opioid fentanyl, has been linked with a rash
of overdose deaths. Nearly 100 people died of overdoses in the
Rochester region last year, and more than half of those were tied to
the potent fentanyl-heroin combination.

The resurgence of heroin shows the need to keep funding for drug
policing and treatment intact, Schumer said.

The heroin mix has been packaged under names like "Lebron James" and
"Diesel."

Lori Drescher, whose son considered suicide while overtaken by a
heroin addiction, said the stigma attached to illnesses like that of
her son make it difficult for families to speak publicly about the
need of continued funding.

"Until we remove the stigma of addiction we know we can't get the
support we need," she said.

Her son, 24, is now in recovery and speaks to students about the
threat of addiction, she said.

"Families with addiction dare not dream about tomorrow. It is like
living Russian Roulette every single day."
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