HEROIN'S LOST HISTORY

This isn't William Burroughs' heroin. The author of the Beat classic "Naked Lunch" and internationally known junky seldom -- if ever -- encountered heroin in the 1950s as deadly and potent as that available today in many Vermont communities.

Heroin, in a manner of speaking, has cleaned up its act, and in the process has become the preferred drug of a new generation of substance abusers. This new, more dangerous heroin already has killed and destroyed lives across this state, with the toll rising every year.

In the old days, a heroin addict typically had to inject the drug into his arm, a messy, painful process that discouraged many would-be experimenters. The heroin was so adulterated with other ingredients that mainlining was the only way to get an effective dose.

Today's heroin is easier and move convenient -- Ivory Snow-like in its purity, even more lethal in its power to take over a life. It can be smoked or snorted; no need to turn your body into a dart board. It has also gained a certain cultural cache -- as seen in such hit Broadway musicals as "Rent" and in fashion imagery -- as the drug of choice among edgy trendsetters.

Lt. Thomas L'Esperance, new head of the Vermont State Police's drug task force, said that a dealer can buy a bag of 21st-century heroin in Holyoke, Mass., for $5 and sell it in Vermont for $35.

You do the math.

"What was once a stop where you would get 10 to 20 bags of heroin, which would be a significant amount in the late 1990s, now it's not uncommon to see officers taking 200, 300 bags at a time," L'Esperance added.

So far, it's been an unbeatable combination -- big money and severe addiction. Toss in a shortage of resources to combat drug abuse and Vermont has a heroin crisis.

L'Esperance would like to hire more undercover officers to investigate heroin and other drug cases, but he doesn't have enough money. "I think that the drug problem itself may be underfunded; it's not just enforcement," he said.

Progress is being made. Following the well-publicized, heroin-related deaths of several young Vermonters, the Legislature increased funding for drug programs. A methadone clinic is expected to open in Burlington in the near future. Most important, more Vermonters recognize the trouble heroin brings to their communities and want something done.

Each generation apparently has to learn about heroin anew, the American cultural memory doesn't seem to retain earlier lessons about the drug. But if the past is any guide, American society should have no tolerance for this evil drug.