HEROIN IN THE SUBURBS: SOME EXPERTS SEE USE ON THE RISE

The Garrett Reid Case Prompts a New Look. "It's Become More
Acceptable, More Social," One Said.

The questioning last week of the eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid
in Montgomery County and his alleged confession of heroin use has
renewed attention to narcotics abuse by affluent suburbanites.

"These stories are not uncommon, but they still seem to shock people,"
said Jeremiah Daley, executive director of the Philadelphia County
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a law enforcement
clearinghouse.

While national statistics indicate that heroin abuse has been steady
in recent years, some Philadelphia-area drug-treatment experts say it
appears to be on the rise.

"We're seeing a number of young, affluent kids getting themselves
hooked on heroin," said Risa Vetri Ferman, first assistant district
attorney in Montgomery County, where Garrett Reid, 23, was taken in
for questioning after his Jeep Liberty reportedly was speeding, ran a
red light, and crashed into a Ford sedan Tuesday in Plymouth Township.
Police said Garrett Reid had acknowledged using heroin that day and
possessed drug paraphernalia.

"I wouldn't call it an epidemic, but it's a trend," she said. She
declined to speak specifically about Garrett Reid or his brother
Britt, 21, whom police questioned after a separate road-rage
confrontation in West Conshohocken the same day.

Kim Bowman, executive director of the Chester County Department of
Drug and Alcohol Services, said she believed more young people were
dabbling with the drug, which can be injected or inhaled in powder
form.

In a survey of 2,839 Chester County high school seniors last year,
Bowman said, 1.3 percent said they had used heroin the previous month
- - above the national average. Four years before, 0.3 percent admitted
using the opiate.

Other law enforcement officials, however, say national statistics do
not support the anecdotal accounts of regional officials.

"Heroin has been and continues to be a drug-trafficking and drug-abuse
problem in the Philadelphia area," Daley said. "It has not changed
much in the past eight to 10 years."

William R. Hocker, spokesman for the Philadelphia office of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration, said heroin use appeared stable.

"Heroin's a mainstay," he said. "It's always going to be
there."

Most studies peg the number of Americans using heroin at a fraction of
1 percent. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration in 2004 estimated that 400,000 people had used heroin
the previous year, compared with 25.5 million marijuana and hashish
users and 5.8 million cocaine users.

But heroin remains one of the most ferociously addictive drugs, and
the tolerance that users develop with prolonged use can lead a
two-bag-a-week dabbler to escalate into a 12-bag-a-day addict. A bag
typically costs $10 to $20.

While heroin use may be steady, there was a dramatic increase in
deaths last year tied to heroin spiked with the painkiller fentanyl.

In Philadelphia, about 70 people died last year from fentanyl-laced
heroin, Hocker said.

In South Jersey, 133 people died between April and September from
spiked heroin, half of them outside of Camden County, said Capt. Joe
Bowen, with the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Bowen said that heroin had lost much of its stigma, and that young
suburbanites routinely ventured into Camden to score from
street-corner dealers.

"It's become more acceptable, more social," he said. "These young kids
are not scared of heroin."

Lloyd D. Johnston, a researcher at the University of Michigan and
principal investigator for its annual survey of drug abuse, said
heroin use among teens increased in the early 1990s, when the purity
rose and forms of heroin that could be snorted or inhaled became more
widely available.

Johnston's survey found that reported heroin use among eighth graders
jumped in the early 1990s, reaching 1.2 percent in 1994. Use later
declined and is now stable at about 0.8 percent.

Some heroin users say they started out first abusing legal painkillers
such as OxyContin, an opiate frequently prescribed for patients
recovering from surgery or injuries.

Most experts say the common impression of a heroin user as a destitute
urban dweller is out of date.

"Our perception of an addict is someone who shoots dope, is homeless,
and has lost everything," said William J. Lorman, clinical director of
residential services at the Livengrin Foundation in Bensalem. "That is
becoming less and less the case. We are seeing more middle-class
working folks, young adults."

In that sense, the case of Garrett Reid is unusual only in that his
father is a famous football coach, known as a practicing Mormon. The
faith forbids use of alcohol, caffeine and drugs.

"It's sad that the Reid family has to deal with a substance-abuse
problem in its midst with all the media attention," Daley said. "It's
sadder still how may thousands of other families in the Delaware
Valley have to deal with this every day."

Authorities served a search warrant Tuesday at Reid's home in
Villanova. They said they had seized a shotgun and a handgun, along
with containers of white powder or residue from a vehicle.

No charges have been filed against either of Reid's sons, and
officials said their investigation was continuing. Police said they
were waiting for drug and toxicology test results.

[sidebars]

WARNING SIGNS OF POSSIBLE HEROIN USE

Unkept appearance

Apathy and lethagy

Change in personality or academic performance

Unexplained possession of cash or valuables

Withdrawal from friends or activities

Excess or sudden sleep

Runny nose

Slurred speech

Eyes that appear "lost" or have a faraway look

Diarrhea, vomiting, or feelings of chill

Source - Heroin Awareness Foundation; Palo Alto Medical Foundation

TO LEARN MORE

Visit www.theantidrug.com

or www.pamf.org/teen/risk/drugs/narcotics/heroin.html