News (Media Awareness Project) - US IA: Officers Say Task Force Cut Heroin Deaths |
| Title: | US IA: Officers Say Task Force Cut Heroin Deaths |
| Published On: | 2006-07-07 |
| Source: | Des Moines Register (IA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-18 07:03:38 |
OFFICERS SAY TASK FORCE CUT HEROIN DEATHS
There Have Been No Fatalities Tied To The Drug In The Past Five Months
Cedar Rapids, Ia. -- Heroin deaths, which had skyrocketed in eastern
Iowa in recent years, are down because of a multi-agency police task
force, law enforcement officers said Thursday.
Heroin overdoses caused the deaths of 25 people in eastern Iowa in
the last five years, U.S. Attorney Charles Larson Sr. said at a news
conference in Cedar Rapids. There have been no heroin deaths in
eastern Iowa in the last five months, a decline he attributed to a
task force formed in August.
"It does disrupt a network that is bringing those drugs in," Larson said.
The Des Moines Register reported in February that of 24
heroin-related deaths in Iowa, 20 were in eastern Iowa.
The U.S. attorney's office has prosecuted 20 people in the last year
on heroin-related charges, Larson said. Among them are a 17-year-old
boy in Cedar Rapids who bragged about selling high-potency heroin
that caused the death of one person and the near-death of another.
The new heroin is up to 90 percent pure, a big change from the 1960s
and 1970s, said Rick LaMere, a federal Drug Enforcement Agency agent.
The opiate, which costs about $300 for a half-ounce, can be snorted,
which takes away the stigma of needles, he said.
The increased purity has caused more overdoses, said Linn County
Medical Examiner Don Linder.
"With a single use, you may not be addicted," he said. "But with the
high purity, it could kill you."
Iowa drug officers turned their attention to heroin when
methamphetamine seizures dropped following Iowa's 2005 law limiting
the sales of pseudoephedrine, said Ken Carter, director of the Iowa
Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
[Sidebar]
No "Drop Dead" Yet
A dangerous combination of heroin and fentanyl, a narcotic, has not
yet appeared in Iowa, law enforcement officers said Thursday. The
drug combination, known as "Drop Dead," has caused a number of
overdoses in Chicago, the source of most drugs in Eastern Iowa, the
officers said.
There Have Been No Fatalities Tied To The Drug In The Past Five Months
Cedar Rapids, Ia. -- Heroin deaths, which had skyrocketed in eastern
Iowa in recent years, are down because of a multi-agency police task
force, law enforcement officers said Thursday.
Heroin overdoses caused the deaths of 25 people in eastern Iowa in
the last five years, U.S. Attorney Charles Larson Sr. said at a news
conference in Cedar Rapids. There have been no heroin deaths in
eastern Iowa in the last five months, a decline he attributed to a
task force formed in August.
"It does disrupt a network that is bringing those drugs in," Larson said.
The Des Moines Register reported in February that of 24
heroin-related deaths in Iowa, 20 were in eastern Iowa.
The U.S. attorney's office has prosecuted 20 people in the last year
on heroin-related charges, Larson said. Among them are a 17-year-old
boy in Cedar Rapids who bragged about selling high-potency heroin
that caused the death of one person and the near-death of another.
The new heroin is up to 90 percent pure, a big change from the 1960s
and 1970s, said Rick LaMere, a federal Drug Enforcement Agency agent.
The opiate, which costs about $300 for a half-ounce, can be snorted,
which takes away the stigma of needles, he said.
The increased purity has caused more overdoses, said Linn County
Medical Examiner Don Linder.
"With a single use, you may not be addicted," he said. "But with the
high purity, it could kill you."
Iowa drug officers turned their attention to heroin when
methamphetamine seizures dropped following Iowa's 2005 law limiting
the sales of pseudoephedrine, said Ken Carter, director of the Iowa
Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
[Sidebar]
No "Drop Dead" Yet
A dangerous combination of heroin and fentanyl, a narcotic, has not
yet appeared in Iowa, law enforcement officers said Thursday. The
drug combination, known as "Drop Dead," has caused a number of
overdoses in Chicago, the source of most drugs in Eastern Iowa, the
officers said.
Member Comments |
No member comments available...
