HEROIN DEATHS SOAR

Drug Now Part of LV Mainstream

Nothing came between Steve and his one true love. Four wives didn't. Jail
and prison didn't. Neither did death, disease or destitution.

For 27 years nothing got between Steve and his obsession. They first met
when he was a junior at the University of Arizona. Steve was looking for
something different, something exciting.

Heroin fit the bill.

By the time the 47-year-old Las Vegas businessman realized there was no
such thing as a perfect drug, it was too late. He was addicted and it took
years and plenty of heartbreak for him to overcome his addiction.

Unfortunately, Las Vegas drug counselors and law enforcement officers
agree, stories like Steve's are no longer as rare as they once were.

In fact, if the number of heroin-related deaths in Las Vegas over the past
few years is any indication, heroin is swiftly moving up the popularity scale.

By all accounts heroin has found its way out of the gutter and into the
mainstream.

The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office has seen a steady increase in
the number of opium-related deaths since 1995 when 26 people overdosed. In
1996 the number was 46 and in 1997 it was 54. Last year 90 people died from
overdoses. Seventy-eight have died this year.

The recent deaths of two high-profile Las Vegans illustrate how the
powerful drug has permeated all levels of society. Wealthy gaming figure
Ted Binion had heroin in his system when he was killed last year and Las
Vegas Review-Journal editorial writer and columnist Rafael Tammariello died
of an overdose of opiates this summer.

Although Steve didn't lose his life to heroin, he lost just about
everything else. In addition to his wives, he lost the carpet store he
owned and countless jobs. He even ended up on the streets for awhile.

Steve, who agreed to tell his story if his last name was not used, said he
hopes his story would help educate the public.

The moment Steve realized he was addicted remains crystal clear in his
mind, probably because it was repeated again and again in the coming years.
It happened the first time he was forced to quit using heroin, the first
time he was arrested.

"It was unbearable, it was unbelievable," Steve said. "I had involuntary
muscle spasms. I was up all night. I had hot and cold sweats. I was
vomiting all of the time, and I had diarrhea. It was 10 or 12 days of pure
hell."

The number of people who are using heroin is increasing for a variety of
reasons.

Higher Potency

"The number one reason it's gotten more popular is the potency of heroin
now as opposed to 15, 20 years ago," said Larry Espadero, director of
chemical dependency at Montevista Vista, a privately run mental health
facility in Las Vegas. "It's so pure now you don't have to inject it. You
can snort it or smoke it and still get there. And you're going to get there
real quick."

Heroin is now hitting the streets of Las Vegas without being diluted by a
series of dealers, said Vinnie Hartung, a Metro Police narcotics detective.
Instead of the drug being 30 percent pure, it's now more than 80 percent pure.

Now that needles aren't synonymous with heroin, counselors are treating
more and more middle- and upper-class drug users, Espadero said.

"There are people who are professionals with families who are trying it out
of curiosity," Espadero said. "They tell themselves that since they're not
using a needle it can't be that bad, and then the addiction rears its ugly
head."

Hartung said the saddest heroin arrest he has ever made was that of a
high-ranking member of the Mormon Church. The father of five had injured
his back and turned to heroin when he could no longer obtain prescription
pain medication.

"I had the guy's wife call me, and he was hocking everything," to support
his habit, Hartung said.

Thanks to movies and television, many people are under the misconception
that all drug users look unkempt and strung out and have track marks from
the needles they've stuck in their arms.

"When you're high on heroin, you function normally," Hartung said. "It's
when they aren't using it that's it's easy to tell they use it. They look
like they're walking to a fire wherever they go."

Espadero said he has heard of physicians, nurses and pharmacists who have
become addicted to heroin or other opium-based drugs.

"Intelligence doesn't have a heck of a lot to do with it. If it did, there
would be a lot fewer users," Espadero said.

Entertainers and business people like heroin because it relieves stress,
said Metro Police Sgt. Thomas Keller.

"The initial feeling is euphoria, it's instantaneous," Steve said. "You
feel like life is great. You think 'I'm sitting in a gutter, but I don't
care, everything is wonderful."

Dr. Mel Pohl, medical services director of Charter Hospital's addictive
disease program, said employers have to be incredibly astute to recognize
heroin addiction.

"Work performance problems come last," Pohl said. "People may be ruining
their lives, their finances and their nasal passages, but they can continue
to work for a long period of time."

Later, when small problems pop up, they are often ignored, Pohl said.

"The work place is not geared to recognize symptoms until they are severe,"
Pohl said. "How many bosses want to confront someone who is looking a
little weird? They'll think about it, and they'll mutter under their
breath, but they won't do something until something really bad happens."

Steve said he began using heroin in college because psychedelic drugs,
alcohol, Quaaludes and marijuana interfered with his studies.

"I was searching for something that I could do every day," Steve said. "I
wanted something where I could still function and be happy."

But, as time went on, Steve's need for heroin increased. Instead of lasting
eight hours or more, his "highs" only lasted an hour or two. He ended up
jobless and homeless. He also resorted to stealing and panhandling in order
to get his next fix.

It wasn't until he found God 10 weeks ago that Steve said he was finally
able to stop using heroin.

But when one addict quits, savvy drug dealers are quick to fill the gap
with new sales tactics and new customers, Keller said.

Dealers sometimes give their cocaine clients free heroin, Keller said. Or,
they will sneak it into their clients' cocaine or marijuana to show them
how much better the "high" is when the two are combined.

That's probably why few people are treated for a single addiction anymore,
Espadero said. Most addicts are fighting alcoholism in addition to two or
more drug addictions.

Although much of the heroin that comes into the United States is from Asia
and South America, the heroin sold in Las Vegas comes from Mexico. A
kilogram of cocaine sells for $13,000, and a kilogram of heroin is valued
at $21,600, according to the DEA. One kilo is 2.2 pounds.

Although neither the Metro Police Department nor Drug Enforcement Agency
keep statistics by drugs, the DEA has seized 3.57 kilos of heroin so far
this year in Clark County. Last year, it seized 0.6 kilos.

According to the DEA, some drug rings are highly organized. Others are far
less sophisticated.

Organized Dealers

Those responsible for the heroin in Las Vegas are very well organized,
Hartung said. In fact, it's believed that one family supplies all of Las
Vegas and those who work high up in the hierarchy must be family members or
have ties to the family, making it difficult for law enforcement officers
to infiltrate.

In Las Vegas, drug addicts are often given a pager number, and when they
want heroin, they page someone at a distribution center. That person then
pages a runner who carries a small supply of drugs to sell on the street.
The page to the runner will include a pre-arranged code number that
indicates a drop-off location.

The runner and a partner then drive to the drop-off point and after the
client pays the driver, the passenger will pull heroin or cocaine-filled
balloons out of his cheek and give them to the client.

To insulate the upper echelon, the runners never pick up drugs or return
money to the main distribution center , Hartung said. The runners also are
only allowed to carry so much cash and drugs because the more they are
caught with, the harsher the legal ramifications.

"They always drive beaters too because they don't want us to seize them,"
Hartung said.

The drugs are hidden in the runners' cheek so he can easily swallow them if
pulled over by the police, Hartung said. They always have a drink with them
to aid in the swallowing.

Runners typically work from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. and make $100 to $200 per
day. They also are given a place to live and living expenses.

Hartung said the number of heroin overdoses isn't simply increasing because
heroin usage is on the rise. People also tend to overdose on heroin because
they never know the purity of the heroin they are purchasing and because
few realize the disastrous effect alcohol and barbiturates can have when
combined with heroin.

Heroin can slow the respiratory rate down to three or four breaths per
minute and when alcohol or barbiturates are also introduced into the body,
the person can stop breathing.

Keith, a 53-year-old Las Vegas drug addict, knows enough not to drink when
he uses heroin. Unfortunately, he says, it's not so easy to stop using
heroin, crack cocaine and marijuana.

Keith, who also agreed to tell his story in exchange for anonymity, said
he's stopped using heroin a few times, once for eight years, but he keeps
going back to it. He started using it again just three weeks ago.

Even though he admits to spending up to $50 a day on heroin, Keith said it
was hard to come up with the $100 a month he needed for methadone
treatment. He was disabled in a car wreck and is living on his wife's
income and what little money Metro officers can give him in his role as a
confidential informant.

His life is "pure hell, pure agony" right now, Keith said.

Keith's and Steve's stories are remarkably similar. Both lost a parent at
an early age, both felt as though they didn't fit in as teenagers and both
wanted to escape reality.

Like Steve, Keith also ended up in prison on a few occasions and has lost
countless jobs over the years. His advice to anyone contemplating heroin is
- -- don't.

"I could've been a pretty good businessman if not for my earlier choices, I
kick myself in the ass all the time," Keith said.

Keith said he hopes he'll one day be able to stop using heroin for good.
"I've got to stop," Keith said. "It's a life or death situation now."