COUNTY SEES DROP IN SUSPICIOUS OVERDOSES

Stiffer penalties for drug dealers who sell to individuals who die
from an overdose have created a significant drop in suspicious drug
overdoses, according to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Rick Davis said Friday that suspicious drug overdoses have
gone down dramatically since two men were recently charged with
second-degree murder after dealing drugs that caused fatal overdoses.

One of those men, James Arnold, pleaded guilty earlier this week to
the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, among other drug
charges, and is awaiting to be sentenced.

The second man, Nikolas Flores, has been charged with the
second-degree murder of Christopher Waters and is still awaiting
trial. "Since the last second-degree murder charge was issued for
this type of crime, there have been no suspicious drug overdoses,"
Davis said. In 2008, Davis' office investigated 14 suspicious drug
overdoses that had signs a drug dealer was involved.

"In the six months since Mr. Flores was charged, we have had no case
of overdoses that appear to be from drug dealers selling drugs to
someone who later overdosed," Davis said.

While these numbers are down, Davis said there are still drug
overdoses in the county.

"There will be people who self-abuse drugs they have been prescribed
and subsequently overdose," he said. "The word is out that we will
prosecute for a homicide when we can. It seems, so far, to have been
effective to go this route." Davis said that although Arnold pleaded
to a lesser charge, the involuntary manslaughter charge carries a
stiffer penalty than a drug charge. Some people think charging a drug
dealer with murder may be too harsh and that the buyer knows what
they are getting into, but the sheriff said family members disagree.

"Anyone who would say that it's too harsh may feel differently if it
was a close relative of theirs who died as a result of the drugs they
were sold," he said. "I have received many e-mails from these
families that are heart breaking." Davis said the step up in charges
came about because conventional methods of charging drug dealers were
not working. The sheriff came to the decision to seek harsher
penalties after attending a Drug Enforcement Administration meeting
in Asheville.

"During the meeting, agents were saying that the trend appeared to
look like prescription drugs would out-pace other drugs such as
methamphetamine and cocaine in use in just a few years," he said.
"There is federal legislation to put stricter policies on
prescription drug distribution, but that can take a long time. We had
to do something locally." Davis said when he came back to Henderson
County after the DEA meeting, he met with his detectives, who echoed
that belief -- prescription drug overdoses are skyrocketing.

"We needed to look at charging these drug dealers with harsher
charges," he said. Davis said the increase also had to do with
methamphetamine and drugs in that category becoming harder to get due
to the work of local law enforcement.

"It's a case of availability," he said. "In this case we have had
success in getting meth and other drugs off the streets, and now
dealers are turning to prescription drugs." Davis said a key in
keeping prescription drugs away from teens, who seem to be the
primary users, is for anyone prescribed narcotics to keep them under
lock and key.

"Those who are prescribed the drugs also need to remember to only
take the drugs as specifically prescribed," he said. "If someone
finds themselves abusing their own prescriptions, they need to seek
help immediately from their doctor." Davis also said that if anyone
suspects their prescription drugs are being stolen, they should
report it to the authorities immediately. "Never share prescription
drugs," he advised.

Another proactive method Davis' office has taken is talking to
school-age kids about the risks of overdosing on drugs.

"Parents should be the first step in talking to their children about
drugs, but they can call on us if they need help," Davis said. "The
Internet is also a great source for parents to research prescription drugs."