HEROIN MAKES A COMEBACK

OxyContin Addicts Using Drug To Avoid Withdrawal Pain

People addicted to a powerful pain medicine are turning to an older
substitute when they run out of their drug of choice.

That's why local law enforcement officers are seeing an upswing in
heroin use in the Taft area.

Heroin is used to prevent the painful withdrawal from OxyContin the
commonly used brand-name for the drug oxycodone, said Kern County
Sheriff's Sgt. Martin Downs, commander of the Taft substation.

The increasing prevalence of heroin in the area was underscored in
early January when deputies seized nearly an ounce of tar heroin when
they conducted a probation search at a Taft home.

OxyContin is a synthetic opiate used as a painkiller for the most
severe pain and is often prescribed to a cancer patient.

Downs estimated there about 50 addicts in the Taft area, are using up
to three tablets a day.

He said the usual dosage for pain relief is one pill per day.

The addiction can be very expensive. It costs $40 per pill on the
street, so an addict can need more than $100 per day to support a habit.

It is a highly addictive, Downs said, and addicts go through severe
withdrawal if they run out of it.

"The withdrawals are some of the most severe I've ever seen," Downs
said. "It's like the worst case of the flu multiplied 50 times."

When taken in tablet form, OxyContin's pain-killing active
ingredients are released slowly.

But when addicts take the pills, they place them in their mouth to
suck the coating off them, then grind up the medicine and snort it to
get the OxyContin into their systems as rapidly as possible.

"It's not time-release. It's immediate," the sergeant said.

But when the drug wears off, they need another dosage or the
withdrawal sets in.

That's where the heroin comes in. Heroin is a derivative of opium and
the drug stops the severe withdrawal from the OxyContin.

"It's so debilitating they'll do anything to alleviate those
symptoms," Downs said.

He said the oxycodone addicts were probably the people who would buy
the heroin, like the drug officers seized on Jan. 5.

Deputies, accompanied by a drug-sniffing dog, Rocco, and his handler,
Deputy Darrin Grantham, went to [Name redacted] about 2;30 that day
to conduct a probation search.

During the search, Rocco signaled that he detected drugs in a jacket
hanging in a closet in the master bedroom, Downs said.

A search located just over 19 grams of Mexican tar heroin, he said.
Deputies arrested the resident, [Name redacted], 29.

The case has been turned over to the Kern County District Attorney,
who is expected to file possession for sale charges, according to Downs.

[Name redacted] is currently free on bail.