OVERDOSE DEATHS DECLINE; NO ONE QUITE KNOWS WHY

One hundred and fifty-five people died of drug overdoses in Oregon
last year, continuing a slowing trend since a record number of deaths
two years ago.

Dr. Karen Gunson, Oregon medical examiner, said the number of drug
deaths dropped 26 percent from the 210 deaths recorded in 2000 and 37
percent from the record high of 246 deaths set in 1999.

Heroin continues to be the biggest killer among illegal drugs. Ninety-
five people died of heroin overdoses in 2001, a substantial decrease,
however, from the 195 heroin deaths in 1999. Also last year,
methamphetamine overdoses killed 50 people, cocaine killed 48, and
another 35 died of a combination of those or other drugs. The numbers
add up to more than 155 because in many cases more than one drug was
involved.

Although there were fewer deaths in every category, and the drop-off
has been fairly rapid, Gunson said, "Nobody can quite figure out why."

Said Dr. Gary Oxman, Multnomah County health officer: "I'm not hearing
any evidence that the number of addicts using heroin has gone down,
nor is there any evidence that the supply has dried up."

He said media coverage of the high death rate two years ago and
subsequent public education programs might have helped. As people died
in larger numbers, the county and others urged addicts to sample their
drugs in small amounts to test purity, call 9-1-1 if a friend was
overdosing and not to mix heroin and other substances.

"Our theory is that those news stories and the street outreach and
programs in drug treatment centers and jails reached a sub-population
of users," Oxman said. "People changed their practices to avoid overdose."

Oxman said the heroin addicts who have higher levels of social
functioning seem to be the ones being spared, although no scientific
studies have been done to confirm that observation.

"A lot of the folks we're seeing die are very hard-core, long-term
addicts," he said. "They have legal problems, lots of social problems
and housing issues."

Also cutting into the death rate could be police efforts. Last month,
Portland police seized nearly 13 pounds of heroin and 6 pounds of
cocaine, one of the biggest single-day busts in the city's history.

At the time, drug officers predicted that could have had a short-term
effect on supplies. But Cmdr. Jim Ferraris, who headed the police
bureau's drugs and vice division last year, said supplies are so
abundant that in the long term, the effect of the seizure would be
negligible.

"To isolate a particular reason why drug deaths are down, that's
difficult to do," Ferraris said. "We're glad the numbers are down.
Fewer people are dying due to drug overdoses, and that's a good thing."

Oxman said the county will expand community education programs to
focus on long-term users. And he hopes the intense scrutiny at the
Mexican border, the result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will
slow the flood of illegal drugs.