SEATTLE HAS A RECORD NUMBER OF HEROIN DEATHS

SEATTLE -- Seattle and its surrounding county recorded a record number of
heroin-related deaths last year, according to a preliminary report compiled
by local health officials that is likely to solidify the city's unwanted
reputation as a prime center for heroin abuse.

Along with its fame for high-tech innovation and cultural vibrancy, Seattle
has long battled a grim notoriety for its heroin problem, one that was
aggravated by the 1994 suicide of Kurt Cobain, the grunge rock star and lead
singer for the group Nirvana, who had struggled with heroin addiction.

One federal study of 1997 emergency-room admissions has identified Seattle
along with Baltimore, San Francisco and Newark, N.J., as the top cities in
the United States, on a per-capita basis, for heroin-related problems.

The data compiled here by the Seattle-King County Public Health Department
shows that the area had 138 heroin deaths in 1998, with at least 12 other
deaths believed to have been caused by use of the drug, with toxicology test
results still pending.

Henry Ziegler, head of the prevention division for the department, said
Wednesday that the results, to be formally released next month, already show
that the deaths have surpassed the 1996 total of 134, and that they
represent only the "tip of an iceberg," since heroin is also a factor in
many deaths that may be officially attributed to heart failure or infection.

Ziegler said the deaths "seem to reflect pretty generally a cross-section of
our community," buttressing the contention of many drug-abuse experts that
heroin abuse cuts across many different age and socioeconomic groups. "This
drug is not a problem just in the inner city, in the Bowery," he said. "It's
all over."

There is little debate that the problem has long been particularly severe in
Seattle. Although final comparative figures for 1998 are not yet available,
Seattle has been at or near the top of the list of cities for heroin deaths
on a per-capita basis in recent years.

But why heroin abuse is particularly bad in Seattle is a matter of some
debate. Among the factors offered by experts are Seattle's location as a
port "gateway" for drug shipments, a reputation for low prices and more
potent forms of the drug here, and the self-fulfilling nature of its image
as a center for heroin use.

Some have even found evidence of higher drug use in cities, like Seattle,
with a strong music scene. "Nashville, for instance, also has a serious
cocaine problem, a serious heroin problem as well," said Joycelyn Woods,
executive vice president of the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates, a
nonprofit group with chapters in 40 cities. "You never hear about it, but
it's there." But the contention that drug use is a byproduct of the music
world has, in turn, angered many musicians, who say the connection is
unfair.

Some drug-treatment advocates here say Seattle is hampered by a lack of
facilities for helping addicts. One study a few years ago found that King
County had at least 20,000 opiate addicts, with only 1,750 slots available
for treatment.

The advocates have also faulted a state law that limits each licensed clinic
to treating no more than 350 patients. On Friday, the state Senate will hold
a hearing in Olympia on a proposed bill that would lift that restriction and
would also allow family doctors, under state guidelines, to provide
methadone treatment in their offices.

King County officials also say they hope to address the problem with a
mobile methadone clinic, for which they recently received a federal grant.