OREGON DRUG DEATHS DECLINE

Heroin remains the top killer, but overall fewer people have died this
year than in the same stretch of 1999

Deaths from illegal drugs have dropped significantly in Oregon in the
first six months of the year compared with record-high numbers from
1999, state officials said.

In a report that will be released today, Oregon Medical Examiner Karen
Gunson said 101 people died of drug overdoses and other drug-related
problems between January and June, a 32 percent decrease from the same
period last year.

Heroin continues to be the leading cause of drug deaths in Oregon. So
far, 68 people have died from heroin this year, 40 in Multnomah
County, a 43 percent decrease statewide compared with the same period
last year.

The drug -- black tar heroin, or "chiva" on the street -- is cheap and
readily available on the West Coast. It's imported from Mexico and
South America.

Other drugs, though less lethal than heroin, come into play.
Cocaine-related deaths are down 29 percent compared with this time
last year. But deaths from methamphetamine use are up by 5 percent.

While the drop is welcome news, Gunson said she still is concerned.
"If you look at 1994, the trend is still upward," she said. "It's
still not good news."

Drug deaths in Oregon have more than tripled since 1989, peaking last
year when 246 people died. Of those, 79 percent were attributed to
heroin overdoses.

Record deaths in Portland and Seattle prompted studies by the national
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reported last week
that while heroin overdoses have increased in other major U.S. cities
in the 1990s, the most dramatic rises occurred in Portland and Seattle.

Dr. Gary Oxman, director of the Multnomah County Health Department,
said he suspects the heroin problem is more widespread than statistics
show.

"There are a lot of communities out there who just don't know because
they've never asked the question," he said. "We've looked at it, and
we've seen what's there."

Last year, as the number of drug deaths reached record numbers, a
group of health workers, police, social workers, elected officials and
former addicts held several workshops in attempts to get to the root
of the problem and devise solutions. Prompted by the Recovery
Association Project, the former addicts' group, county officials
implemented education programs to warn drug users of the potential
dangers.

No one is sure why the number of deaths has decreased so dramatically
from last year, although officials suspect awareness among the user
population has made a difference.

"I'm wondering if the publicity helped," Gunson said. "Is it because
we made such a big stink about it?"

Oxman agreed that education of heroin users may have come into play.
He said he gets that sense based on anecdotal evidence given by
addicts in recovery programs.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that some of the outreach we've done is
taking affect," he said. "People are being more careful and seeking
help quicker, we hope."

While he agreed that the educational programs have helped, Ed
Blackburn, director of Hooper Detox, a drug treatment center, said
there is still a huge drug problem in Portland.

"We're still turning people away at Hooper," he said. "There doesn't
seem to be a decline in the number of people who are using."