HEROIN PRESENCE SAD REALITY

News of the arrest of four people and the confiscation of a quantity of
hard and illegal drugs last week in Waterville was, alas, not terribly
surprising.

Local and state police officials have known of the traffic of heroin in the
area for a while, even if the arrest of the four suspects arose from what
could be characterized as "routine" police curiosity.

The search of the premises and discovery of the drugs and other
paraphrenalia was likewise routine — with perhaps the only surprise element
being that the operation went so easily. On the one hand, that suggests
that the alleged drug dealers are not shrewd in disguising their activities
or hiding their illicit products. On the other hand, it also suggests that
the drugs are entirely too easy to acquire and sell.

No one associated with the case expects to follow the drugs back up the
chain of command, leading to the break-up of a sophisticated operation.
What they do hope is that the arrest will cut into heroin use — at least
for a while.

This Spring, Maine endured a rash of incidents involving "hillbilly
heroin," the pharmaceutical drug Oxycontin. Within the drug underworld, it
was only a matter of time and opportunity before the real thing would surface.

Obviously, the four people arrested last Thursday are not the brain-trust
behind the activity. In a lot of ways, that is not good news.

It also appears that they know where to go to get what they want, and then
know to whom to sell it here. That is not good news, either.