HEROIN-RELATED DEATHS PLUNGE, BUT OTHER DRUGS TAKE GRIM TOLL

There is some good news concerning Lane County's drug
problem.

After more than a decade of an alarming rate of increase,
heroin-related deaths actually plummeted 41 percent last year,
according to statistics recently released by the county medical
examiner's office.

In addition, 10 fewer people died in 2000 from all drug overdoses than
in 1999 when 51 people died.

"Oh my God, that is so great," said Heidi Schultz, the director of the
needle exchange program for HIV Alliance, when informed of the statistics.

But the data revealed some sobering news as well.

Of the 20 people who died from heroin overdoses in 2000, most had
mixed a lethal combination of the highly addictive opiate with other
drugs or alcohol. And deaths from other drugs, which typically are
responsible for far fewer fatalities, increased dramatically in the
past year, said Frank Ratti, Lane County deputy medical examiner.

Methamphetamine-related deaths jumped up to eight in 2000 from one in
1999. And deaths involving methadone - a drug most commonly used to
treat heroin addiction - increased from one to nine.

The increase in methamphetamine-related deaths stunned county drug
prevention and treatment specialists.

"I think people sucked in their breath," said Lane County Heroin Task
Force coordinator Brinda Narayan-Wold. "I think we all sucked in our
breath. If we had one (death) last year and now all of the sudden we
have eight - now that's heartbreaking."

Methadone use may be on the rise because more treatment clinics are
prescribing it and more physicians are prescribing it more often to
treat other symptoms such as pain, Ratti said.

"If use of something dangerous goes up, then we're going to see more
deaths," he said.

"Heroin use must be going down, and the thing with methadone is that
there are two, three clinics prescribing it and more physicians are
prescribing it."

In most cases, methadone used for heroin treatment comes in a liquid
form while doctors prescribe pills. In the majority of overdoses in
which methadone is one of the key ingredients, it was ingested in the
pill form, Ratti said.

Greater education and public awareness, more available treatment and
an increase in enforcement may be the reason for fewer heroin-related
deaths, he said. Ratti said he may be able to formulate a more precise
reason for a decrease in heroin-related deaths once statewide
statistics become available in a couple of weeks.

Lane County drug prevention and treatment specialists agreed that the
decrease in heroin-related deaths may be due to the multifaceted approach.

The county received a multimillion-dollar grant that opened up
hundreds of treatment spots for adults and youths, law enforcement has
cracked down on the drug trade and some agencies have been pushing an
educational approach known as harm reduction strategy, Narayan-Wold
said.

"That's what promotes change," she said. "It's everybody that steps up
their roles to put forth a coordinated effort to attack the problem."

The reduction in overdoses is great, but there aren't fewer heroin
users in the county, said Schultz, of HIV Alliance.

The needle exchange program served more than 600 people in 2000,
providing not only clean needles but also harm reduction information
such as how to clean needles, how to take drugs more safely and how to
deal with a heroin overdose, she said.

"I would like to think that there is more education going on around
overdose," Schultz said.

Eugene Police Capt. Steve Swenson agreed.

"Maybe part of it is enforcement, part of it is prevention and part of
it is treatment," he said. "It's hard to get excited about a one-year
turnaround. Next year, it could double."

The police department has been consistently "plugging away" at the
drug problem, he said.

"You hate to make predictions or take credit for a one-year dip but
you hope that the message is getting out," Swenson said.