JERSEY'S RATE OF HEROIN USE DOUBLE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

TRENTON - - Heroin is used by 18- to 25-year-olds in New Jersey at more
than twice the national average, and officials who released a report on
drug abuse yesterday said the highly addictive drug is easy to get in the
Garden State. While marijuana was reported to be the most-tried illegal
drug in the state, the federally funded report showed that 5 percent of
young adults had heroin habits, compared to 2.5 percent nationally. New
Jersey's shipping ports, small geographic size and high population density
make distributing heroin easier here than in other states, said Carolann
Kane-Cavaiola, assistant commissioner for the state's Division on Addiction
Services. "We're the first ones that get it," Kane-Cavaiola said. "In New
Jersey, the DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration), along with other
law enforcement and emergency rooms know that we have the best and cheapest
heroin in the country."

The results of the 2003 New Jersey Household Survey on Drug Use and Health
have prompted officials to plan to open two more methadone clinics, in
Ocean and Gloucester counties. The expansion is the first in more than a
decade and will bring to 36 the number of centers around the state where

heroin addicts can receive legal drugs to help wean them off heroin.

Joseph Krisza, Middlesex County chief of detectives and the commander of
the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Task Force, said his
office has seen heroin use steadily rise in the county over the last few years.

Rising along with it has been the purity of the heroin on Middlesex County
streets, he said.

"That increases addictions and it increases the danger of overdoses,"
Krisza said.

The snorting of heroin has fueled its resurgence, making it more of a
recreation drug than in the past, he said.

The survey, conducted in 2002 and 2003, found marijuana was the most used
illegal drug in New Jersey, with 30 percent of those surveyed reporting
that they tried it at least once. The national average is 40.6 percent.

The younger a person first uses marijuana, the greater the likelihood
they'll use other drugs later in life. Eighty-three percent of those wh o
first tried pot at age 11 or younger reported using other drugs in their lives.

"Marijuana, we're concerned about because it is the most frequently used
even though we're below the national average. It's being used by young
children and it starts out innocently, and it becomes a gateway to more
serious (drugs)," said Ed Rogan, spokesman for the Department of Human
Services.

Cocaine, hallucinogens and nonprescribed stimulants and pain relievers
followed marijuana use, respectively. Use of drugs such as crack, steroids,
ecstasy, sedatives, methamphetamines and tranquilizers were the least reported.

"We need to continue to focus our efforts on preventing drug abuse among
young people," said Human Services Commissioner James M. Davy. "Delaying
the age of onset of abuse has a significant impact on drug use later in life."

The report found that New Jerseyans are smoking more cigarettes but
drinking less alcohol and using less illegal drugs than th ey were in the
1990s. But because the adults surveyed were interviewed over the phone,
illegal drug use is likely to be seriously underreported, according to the
survey. Estimates for residents having had alcohol (87 percent) or smoked
cigarettes (58 percent), often more socially accepted behaviors, were
expected to be more accurate.

Residents also lag behind the rest of the country in getting treatment, a
serious concern for officials since drugs are a major factor in child
abuse, poverty and homelessness, and can contribute to mental illness.
Those treated for drug addiction, including alcohol and tobacco, are
expected to increase from 61,000 in 2003 to 65,000 in 2006.