By Greg Sleter
Heroin use throughout Long Island continues to be a much talked about problem and one that is also receiving more attention from school officials, parents and law enforcement. While police effort is a key weapon in the fight against this highly addictive drug, a leading member of the Suffolk County Police Department's Narcotics Division said educating young people on the dangers of heroin is equally important.
During a recent presentation at a meeting of the West Islip Chamber of Commerce, Det. Lt. Bill Burke, who leads a 32 person team focused on combating the heroin problem in Suffolk County, reported the number of drug overdose death linked to heroin or other opiates continues to rise: 118 in 2006, 137 in 2007 and 150 in 2008. Those figures also account for more than half of total drug overdose deaths in the county.
"Unlike some other drugs in the past, heroin is a problem everywhere," Burke said. "We see it in all zip codes and we also continue to see younger victims as well."
In addition, he noted the past decade has also seen a dramatic increase in the number of heroin-related arrests in Suffolk's seven police precincts. According to figures presented by Burke, heroin arrests have risen from 270 in 2001 to 425 in 2005 and 1,172 in 2009. "The growing number of arrests is also indicative that we are focused on the problem," he added.
Although Afghanistan is perhaps most widely known as the country where much of the world's heroin stems from, Burke noted that nearly all heroin on Long Island is sourced from Columbia, and is delivered through several methods such as boat, motor vehicles and even through human transport.
And while law enforcement officials work to stem the tide of heroin getting on the street, Burke said the best way to reduce the problem is to reduce the demand. This can be done by parents and schools educating youngsters — and in the case of parents themselves — on the dangers of trying heroin, even once. "We have seen instances where people have been killed the first time they tried heroin," he added.
The main dangers with today's street-level heroin is multi fold, Burke said. The first is that the dose needed to get most individuals high is inexpensive, usually priced between $7 and $10 per bag. The second issue is that the drug is more pure and as a result stronger, and third is that today's heroin can be snorted and does not have to be injected as in the past.
But while law enforcement does its best to keep heroin off the streets, the narcotics detective said a big weapon in the fight is education. Parents, he said, need to know the warning signs of drug use and not be afraid to intrude on the lives of their children. "The law says I'm not allowed to search a kids' room, but there is nothing stopping a parent should they suspect something," he quipped.
Among the warning signs of heroin use parents should watch for include declining performance in school, change in energy level, change in physical appearance, use of perfumes of colognes, new friends, wearing drug related clothing and use of eye drops. He also warned parents to secure prescription pain killers that are opiate based as they are often the gateway drugs to heroin use.
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