DRUGS IN USERS' SYSTEMS COULD BE BASIS FOR CHARGES

Needle marks on the Hurst teen- ager's arm were among the only pieces of
evidence police found when he overdosed on heroin at home in November. The
unconscious teen was taken to a hospital; several hours later, he recovered
and was sent home.

Weeks later, police found only hesitant witnesses who reported that the
same teen had bought heroin from someone in a car that pulled up to a house
in Hurst. The teen injected the heroin, suffering a second overdose -- and
survived again, police and witnesses say.

The young man will not be charged with a crime. In most cases, police say,
charges are not filed against those who overdose on heroin, because little
or none of the drug is found in their possession. In rare cases, a pregnant
woman can be charged because heroin or other drugs are found in her system
and have endangered her fetus.

But prosecutors and police say that the outbreak of reported heroin
overdoses in the Metroplex, particularly in suburban cities, could change
that. If the public demands that the legal system respond, they say, users
could face possession charges based on drugs found in their systems, as is
the case with people suspected of drunken driving.

"Quite frankly, who's going to pay for something like that?" Denton County
District Attorney Bruce Isaacks said. "But it's something that we could see
more often down the road if public opinion wants it."

The main obstacle in charging heroin users with possession or public
intoxication, police say, is lack of physical evidence. Heroin users
display few clear physical characteristics, police said.

Laboratory results from tests on heroin users can take weeks, prosecutors
say. And drug agents and police say that, in exchange for information about
drug dealers, they sometimes agree not to seek possession charges against
heroin users who have only a small amount of the drug.

"A possession charge means an officer has to seize a usable amount," said
police Cpl. Doug Blue, who investigated the Hurst teen's Jan. 4 overdose.

"There may be needles and syringes lying around, but that in itself is not
enough for a drug possession charge. And many times, users out here buy
just enough to use and there isn't much lying around."

Users can be charged with felony possession of a controlled
substance/heroin when less than a gram is seized. One capsule would be
enough to charge someone, a Tarrant County drug agent said.

Generally, it's easier to file charges against dealers because they have
sizable amounts in their possession. If convicted on a charge of possession
of a controlled substance under 1 gram, a dealer could be sentenced to a
maximum of two years in prison.

"Possession of drug paraphernalia is an option," Blue said. "But again,
officers must be able to prove what those items were used for." Heroin
users can be charged with public intoxication, but that charge is difficult
to prove.

In most cases, officers make arrests on suspicion of public intoxication
based on physical characteristicharacteristics such as slurred speech,
bloodshot eyes and an unstable gait. Often, officers can smell alcohol on a
person and run a breath test and not wait weeks for "Charging users based
on what is in their system is a thorny issue," said Rick Curtis, an
associate professor of anthropology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
in New York City.

"If you did that, there would be an increase of users not going to
treatment for fear of being arrested. It could also mean an increase of
overdoses," said Curtis, who has researched heroin for 20 years. Bob Noble
III of Fort Worth said he would prefer to see users charged based on drugs
found in their systems. His grandson, Heath Noble, 22, of Bedford, died
Nov. 18 of a heroin overdose.

"Everybody in the loop should be held accountable," Bob Noble said. "By
charging a user, that could be a tool used to find out the suppliers."

It appears no one has taken a comprehensive look at overdose cases in
Tarrant County. But 28 people were arrested in 1997 on heroin-related
charges, according to recently released figures from the Tarrant County
Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit. Agents also seized less than
3 pounds of heroin.

In 1996, drug agents arrested 28 people and seized about 11 pounds of
heroin in Tarrant County.

In Northeast Tarrant County, agents seized slightly more than a
quarter-pound of heroin in 1997, according to Tarrant County drug
statistics. Three Northeast Tarrant residents died of heroin overdoses last
year, and detectives say that two other residents may have died from
overdoses. In 1996, agents confiscated less than three-quarters of a pound
of heroin in Northeast Tarrant.

But authorities point out that the number of heroin-related seizures in
1997 in Tarrant County ranked well below those of marijuana, cocaine,
methamphetamine and amphetamine.

"I would project more arrests in 1998," said Bill Koos, chief prosecutor
for the Tarrant County narcotics unit. "It's going to be more of a focus
for law enforcement."

© 1998 Star-Telegram