LAWRENCE, Mass. - Miguel Tavera came to Lawrence last March, living with relatives and working several jobs so he could send money back to his wife and two young daughters in the Dominican Republic. But when the 27-year-old was laid off several months ago, he had to find another way to make money. He hooked up with two local drug dealers who offered to pay him to fly to the Dominican Republic and carry small, tightly-wrapped packages of heroin back into the country in his stomach. [continues 1081 words]
As the region struggles with opiate addiction, another perilous drug threat looms - abuse of methamphetamines. "It's on its way," Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. "And it scares the hell out of me." North Shore "meth" cases, for now, are isolated. Beverly police arrested a Hells Angel with a small amount of the drug in October 2004. Last December, another Beverly man was charged with having 21 grams of the drug. Police initially pulled him over for driving erratically. He was described in a police report as "extremely high strung," a tell-tale sign of methamphetamine abuse. [continues 380 words]
As police predicted, the North Shore saw an upswing in housebreaks, bank robberies and purse snatchings last year - crimes police blamed directly on the continued use of OxyContin and heroin. "We've seen it," said District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. "That increase, that rise, was fueled by (opiate) abuse ... from people who are addicted." Figures provided by Blodgett's office show an increase in armed robbery, assault and battery, burglary, shoplifting and unarmed robbery. A dramatic jump was seen in home invasions, which more than doubled, from 12 prosecuted cases in 2004 to 25 in 2005. [continues 296 words]
As police predicted, the North Shore saw an upswing in housebreaks, bank robberies and purse snatchings last year - crimes police blamed directly on the continued use of OxyContin and heroin. "We've seen it," said District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. "That increase, that rise, was fueled by (opiate) abuse ... from people who are addicted." Figures provided by Blodgett's office show an increase in armed robbery, assault and battery, burglary, shoplifting and unarmed robbery. A dramatic jump was seen in home invasions, which more than doubled, from 12 prosecuted cases in 2004 to 25 in 2005. [continues 228 words]
MIDDLETON - Essex County has been awarded a $200,000 federal grant to educate kids about the deadly consequences of using heroin and the prescription painkiller OxyContin. Congressman John Tierney is expected to present the grant money to local officials during a 10 a.m. ceremony Monday at the Middleton Jail. Fighting opiate abuse requires partners at the federal level, Tierney said, "to grapple with a problem of this size." "The more we recognize these issues cross city, town and states ... the better off we are," Tierney said. [continues 382 words]
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n042/a06.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) NORTH ANDOVER -- Kathleen Lawrence was smart, came from a two-parent, middle-class family, had a passion for running to stay fit and was so health conscious that she refused to eat meat. To all outward appearances, she had the perfect life. But the attractive blonde also became a drug addict while in high school, and the demon ended up taking her life at age 21, turning her into yet another tragic story that knows no social or economic boundaries. "She came from a good family," said her father, Timothy Lawrence. "She had a lot of opportunities. She fought it as if it was a disease -- like she had cancer. And the disease just beat her." [continues 1020 words]
Dr. Patricia Walsh said the words 'heroin addict' should conjure up a new image in people's minds. The psychiatrist at Union Hospital said the opiate addicts she treats are increasingly white, middle class and young. "It's definitely a different population," she said. "Now we are seeing kids that look like they could be on the 'Leave it to Beaver' show." Opiate abusers were once confined to inner cities and considered "down-on-their-luck" types, she said. Today they are kids with cash and nice cars. "It used to be alcohol or marijuana," Walsh said. "Today it's opiates." Walsh is tapped when a patient comes to the hospital and opiate abuse is a suspected source of the problem. This could be anything from a respiratory infection to injuries from a car crash. Sometimes, no one knows these kids have a drug problem until they are admitted and suddenly exhibit withdrawal symptoms, she said. [continues 89 words]
