HEROIN IS BLAMED IN STRING OF OVERDOSES IN BLOOMINGTON

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Police and doctors believe a local resurgence in the
popularity of heroin is responsible for some of the 10 deaths in the
community attributed to drug overdoses so far this year.

Heroin may be more commonly associated in the public mind with tough urban
neighborhoods than the shady streets of a central Indiana college town. But
police do not believe the drug is a newcomer to Bloomington.

"My sense is that it's not a new problem, but it has increased, and its use
has probably expanded across a lot of socioeconomic groups," said police
Capt. Joe Qualters.

Qualters said he first saw signs of a local heroin market three to five
years ago.

This year, local and federal investigators report they have bought a total
of more than 40 grams of heroin from local dealers through undercover agents
at $300 to $400 a gram.

Each gram of heroin usually produces about 10 doses, but that varies
according to purity, detective Bill Jeffers said.

The more pure the heroin, the more powerful - and potentially deadly - it
is.

During two days in July, one Bloomington family lost two people to heroin,
according to coroner's reports.

Roberta Kelley found her 22-year-old son, Ryan Kelley, convulsing on the
floor of his bedroom on July12 after he apparently injected himself with
pure heroin. He died before the ambulance arrived.

The following morning she found her husband, Michael Kelley, dead from an
overdose of the same drug.