Pubdate: Wed, 07 Apr 1999
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 1999, The Tribune Co.
Contact:  http://www.tampatrib.com/
Forum: http://tampabayonline.net/interact/welcome.htm
Author: A Tampa Tribune staff, wire report. Staff writers Ace Atkins and
Vickie Chachere contributed to this report. 

NUMBER OF DRUG DEATHS IN FLORIDA RISES

When Tampa General Hospital emergency doctor Cathy Carrubba trained in
Philadelphia 15 years ago, heroin overdoses were all too common.

These days she's noticed the return of her old enemy.

"It's kind of deja vu for me," she said. "It [the emergency room
visits] runs in batches depending on what's on the street. It's been
pretty outrageous."

Tampa isn't alone.

Drug deaths in Florida last year increased at such a dramatic rate
that the state's new drug czar described the crisis Tuesday as
"totally out of control."

Heroin deaths were up 51 percent from 1997 and cocaine-related deaths
have climbed 65 percent since 1992, including last year's 8.6 percent
jump.

Most of the 1,128 cocaine-related fatalities and 206 deaths from
heroin use were in the state's most populated areas. More than 400 of
the cocaine-related deaths were recorded in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Tampa reported 13 heroin-related deaths in 1998 and three in 1996.
There were 72 cocaine-related deaths last year and 58 in 1996.

St. Petersburg had 10 heroin-related deaths last year and seven in
1996. There were 52 attributed to cocaine last year and 32 in 1996.

"Heroin has been on the rise for over a year now," said Lt. Louis
Potenziano, head of the Tampa Police Department's Quad Squad.

He said new methods of taking the drug, such as smoking and snorting,
and falling prices have made the drug attractive to new users.

A gram cost about $300 last year but is now going for $180, Potenziano
said.

"We're also seeing a different clientele using heroin," he said. "It
used to be inner city. Now, we see it on the north side of Tampa."

James McDonough, director of the Office of Drug Control Policy in the
governor's office said many of the victims in the state were long-term
addicts in their 30s and 40s who finally succumbed to years of drug
abuse.

He also warned that a purer drug is killing many - including
first-time users.

The number of young people and suburbanites taking up new forms of
smokable and snortable heroin is worrying national drug policy experts
as well.

"The new users are thinking it is safer when in fact they are just as
dead after they use it," said Bob Weiner, spokesman for Barry
McCaffrey, director of the national drug policy office in Washington.
"Some of our new national media ads are targeted at kids using heroin
to show the deadly impact."

Eight of the 1998 heroin victims in Florida were younger than 20 years
old while 187 were between 20 and 50. Most of the victims, 83 percent,
were men. By race, 150 were white, 38 Hispanic, 17 black and one
listed as "other."

Heroin deaths in Florida have virtually doubled over the past two
years in a state where more than 1 million people are being treated
for some form of drug dependency. There are an estimated 12.8 million
drugs users in the nation, McDonough said.

McDonough, who was named to head up the state's drug program in
February, plans to unveil a strategy this summer with the state's law
enforcement and social services agencies to try to reverse the trend.

Also playing a part in the equation is the scarcity of drug treatment
programs. Typically, people don't seek drug treatment until their drug
use is spiraling out of control.

In Hillsborough County, there is at least a two-month wait for
treatment in an in-patient treatment center and often the wait can be
as long as six months, said Pat Marsicano, general manager of the
Hillsborough County Drug Alliance, which helps fund treatment centers.

There is at least a two-week wait for out-patient treatment. The
county program provides about $1.8 million to help five local
treatment agencies.

"It's critical because you have them at a point when they have a
motivation to help themselves, and they're told to wait," she said.
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