DRUG WAR TAKES THE BATTLE INTO OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD

There's a war claiming casualties each week and it's not in Iraq.

It's right here in the United States of America.

It's right here in Delaware County.

It's called the drug war. And anyone will tell you, we're losing it.

Long after we pull out of Iraq, we'll still be fighting this one.

Currently, Delaware County officials are battling some bad batches of
heroin. Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs are famous for a
strong heroin market. And that's not something we should be proud of.
We should also be aware that cocaine use is rampant.

A surge in heroin-related deaths that has been affecting communities
in the Northeast and cities as far west as Chicago has also hit
Delaware County, officials report.

Many of the overdoses have involved a dangerous mixture of heroin
with the pain killer fentanyl, prompting county medical examiner
Fredric N. Hellman to issue a statement recently calling the trend a
"significant health issue."

One 19-year-old victim was found unconscious in a home in Drexel Hill May 28.

"Since March 11 of this year, we've had at least six drug-related
overdoses; most of which is heroin," said Upper Darby Police
Superintendent Michael Chitwood. "We've seen the heroin is being cut
with this highly-toxic drug called fentanyl."

And the casualties continue. Heroin-related deaths were reported in
Chester over the weekend.

Who's next? Who cares, right? It's just another junkie.

According to a 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the most
recent available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2.9 million Americans reported using heroin at least once
in their lives, and 663,000 reported using within the past year.

And of those, perhaps some are teenagers trying heroin for the first
time because a buddy suggests it.

That's a sobering thought. Especially since we have a lot of kids
with a lot of time on their hands this summer.

There are also many smart drug dealers who are quite adept at roping
in new addicts. They know the first taste of heroin is euphoric.
Believe it or not, heroin is so addictive it might not take much more
than one taste. And all too quickly, the drug turns from euphoric to
nothing more than a way to keep the user from becoming violently ill.

It's not pretty. And we shouldn't ignore it. We should find a way to
stem the tide. Two things can help: teamwork and battling several
drugs like meth, cocaine, crack and ecstasy.

If businesses don't sell the legal ingredients known to be used to
manufacture the drugs, dealers will have a harder time.

A main weakness of our ongoing war on drugs has been our primary
emphasis on only one side of the drug abuse equation -- supply,
rather than go right to what is likely the real issue - demand.

The only real way to reduce the actual incidence of drug abuse is by
an overall reduction in the consumption of drugs by the total
population and by less tolerance of abuse.

All of us can help in many ways. Spend time with your child. Report
what you think may be a drug house. Report who you think might be a
dealer, whether it's at the mall or in your neighborhood.

In 2004, 2.4 million persons 12 and older initiated non-medical uses
of pain relievers, such as OxyContin, Darvocet and Percocet,
according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office
of Applied Studies. When you don't need a painkiller anymore, don't
save them for a rainy day. Flush 'em. And remember not to drive. Last
year, a Marple man was fatally hit while riding his motorcycle by a
woman, reportedly using prescription drugs. The man's death is a
drug-related casualty.

We need to stem the tide. We all need to admit that drugs are readily
accessible throughout Delaware County, in our schools, in our malls.
They're just a cell phone call away.