HEROIN USE SPREADING IN S.J. SUBURBS

Kevin grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in Vincentown, complete with a
white picket fence and family dog. His father was a corrections officer.
His mother stayed at home to take care of the kids.

But like a growing number of suburbanites, Kevin, who did not want his last
name used because of the stigma, became addicted to heroin. It capped a
string of drug use that started at age 12 and included cocaine and crack.

"Heroin is more available," said Kevin, 31, who works as a union pipe
fitter and is in a Virtua Health drug-free treatment program. "It's in
easier forms to use, and it's cheap."

Those are two reasons why heroin use in suburban communities has been
increasing for five years, although some law enforcement agencies believe
the trend is leveling out.

The most recent high-profile heroin death came July 4, when Thomas Szumski,
43, a self-employed contractor, was found dead of an apparent overdose in
his Cinnaminson home. He had been in the news because his wife, Kimberly,
disappeared in May and remains missing. Police believe foul play was
involved in her case.

Thomas Szumski's death stunned family and neighbors, who believed he had
been free of drugs for at least a decade.

His death exposed the underlying issue of heroin use in suburbia, and how
it often seamlessly blends itself into daily lives. More and more suburban
residents are bitten by its lure because it is an inexpensive and potent
high. Locally, the number of those seeking treatment is soaring, officials say.

In his 1998 book Heroin, Humberto Fernandez wrote that using the drug
allows a suburbanite to identify with the dangers of the underclass, to
feel like an outlaw, someone willing to play with fire, and to do so in the
relative safety of his or her suburban environment.

Camden County Prosecutor Lee A. Solomon said buyers of heroin in Camden are
often affluent, driving nice cars and wearing expensive suits, he said.
They stop at drug markets to get their fix before heading to work.

Lt. Joseph A. Bowen of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said about 40
percent of people arrested on heroin charges in the county come from
Camden suburbs. Philadelphia police said 20 percent of people arrested on
heroin charges there are from outside the city.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency considers heroin a " serious threat"
due to expanded availability, its cheap price and higher potency that
allows users to steer clear of needles. It's also become more of a
social-use drug.

"It's just kind of creeping and creeping into the suburbs," said William R.
Nelson, acting special agent in charge of the DEA's Philadelphia division.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, cocaine, fashionable in middle- and
upper-class business and social circles, started to trail off and gradually
was replaced by opiates, including heroin, said Ian Gershman, supervisor
for Kennedy Health System's methadone treatment program in Blackwood.

"It's cheap, and it's potent," he said.

The drug's use cuts across all social and economic backgrounds, Gershman
said. There is no typical suburban or urban user, he said. Look out into
the parking lot at the Gloucester Township treatment center, which has
about 180 clients and another 90 on a waiting list. You'll see everything
from beat-up old Buicks to new BMWs. Clients include teachers, accountants
and engineers, he said.

"There's absolutely no stereotype," Gershman said. "The only constant
factor is that heroin use eventually catches up with you."

Patients' ages range from 19 to 63 years old, Gershman said. And they come
from a wide range of South Jersey communities - from Cherry Hill to
Woodbury and Haddonfield. Forty-two percent are women.

Folks treated at the Kennedy clinic come voluntarily, Gershman said. Most
pay the $55 weekly fee out of their own pockets because most health
insurance plans don't cover methadone treatment.

"They want some help," he said. "They need help."

Since New Jersey State Police Detective Mike Sovey joined the narcotics
unit in 1992, he has watched heroin use spread from Camden, Asbury Park and
Atlantic City to Ocean County communities such as Long Beach Island.
People, including teens, are using the drug at a younger age.

Ray Madiou, Virtua's outpatient services coordinator, said the number of
suburban heroin users seeking treatment has tripled since 1998.

In 1998, there were 149,000 new heroin users across the country, according
to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Of those, 80 percent were
under age 26.

Increased purity allows heroin to be inhaled or smoked, avoiding the social
stigma of needles, said Solomon. With alternative delivery methods, there
is less fear of acquiring syringe-borne diseases like HIV or hepatitis.
Some people may feel that taking heroin in ways other than injection is
less addictive, Solomon said, but that's not true.

Dealers largely have not migrated into the suburbs to ply their wares, said
Sgt. Mark Nicholas of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

"For some reason, it stays (in the city)," Nicholas said.

Someone caught with two bags of heroin - perhaps a first-time, nonviolent
offender - would be a candidate for probation and treatment. Prison would
be unlikely.

Day-to-day street-level dealers and buyers in Camden County typically fall
under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor's office. Drug court also operates
in Camden County. For higher-level dealers, Camden works with state and
federal officials.

Kevin, the Vincentown man trying to beat his addiction, has been clean for
two months. He hopes treatment will work for him this time.

"It's just amazing," Kevin said. "Each time you swear you'll never do it
again. But each time the bottom's further and further down."