FIVE HEROIN OVERDOSES IN THREE DAYS?

Three People Died, Two Were Hospitalized

Between Friday, August 6, and Sunday, August 8, five people in Santa
Barbara overdosed on what is presumed to be heroin. Three of them died
and two were hospitalized.

Based on evidence found at the scenes and statements taken from
friends and family, the county coroner says it's highly likely heroin
was the culprit, but toxicology reports are pending that will confirm
or disprove speculation.

While it's not atypical for there to be a few heroin-related deaths
per year in Santa Barbara, said police spokesperson Lt. Paul
McCaffrey, the fact that the three probable cases occurred in such a
short period of time is not normal, and may indicate that an unusually
strong batch of the drug is right now being doled out on the streets.
"It was definitely unusual to have what looked like three heroin
deaths in just a couple of days," McCaffrey said in an interview with
The Independent.

The first fatality took place at around 2:00 a.m. on Friday, reported
McCaffrey. Police and medical units responded to a residence on the
Mesa and found a 20-year-old man who was soon pronounced dead at the
scene. Authorities found drug paraphernalia nearby consistent with
heroin use, and the victim's roommate told responders the victim had
been using heroin, alcohol, and xanax.

At 4:50 a.m. on the same day, authorities responded to an overdose
case at a residence in the Hidden Valley area. A 31-year-old male
resident - who reportedly had a history of drug abuse, but family
members said had recently cleaned up his act - was pronounced dead at
the scene. Police again found drug paraphernalia nearby consistent
with heroin use.

Two days later on Sunday, reported McCaffrey, a 30-year-old man was
found dead in the bathroom of a downtown residence. His uncle told
authorities both he and the victim had been using heroin. The uncle
also showed symptoms of heroin overdose and was rushed to Cottage
Hospital for treatment.

Later in the day, police were called to the Cottage Hospital Emergency
Room on a suspected drug overdose case. An unresponsive 23-year-old
woman who lives on the Mesa was hurriedly dropped off by two men who
immediately left the area. After the woman was treated for heroin
overdose, she was reportedly uncooperative, refusing to say how she
got the drug and who drove her to the hospital.

During the conversation with McCaffrey - who reiterated that
toxicology reports are pending, but added, "There was ample evidence
in each of these cases that heroin was the drug they used" - he noted
it's been exceedingly difficult to track down the potentially lethal
batch of heroin, as it is with most cases like this.

"A lot of times it's not possible [to find the drug or its source]
because people are extremely resistant to talking about it," he said,
remarking that overdose witnesses will sometimes even try to clean up
evidence before police and medical personnel arrive. And McCaffrey
stated people, before ingesting heroin one way or another, can't
really tell what they're putting in their bodies until it's already
there. "When you buy it," he said, "you kind of know how strong it is,
but you don't really know."

McCaffrey went on to note that there may in fact not be a "bad" batch
out there, and that victims' drug history and tolerance (or lack of
tolerance) to the opiate may have played a factor in their deaths. He
said some addicts will kick the habit for a period of time, but - if
and when they start using again - will try to take the same amount as
they had before and overload their system.

Mixing drugs is also a common cause of death, he said, as heroin
overdose victims will oftentimes be found to have a potpourri of
narcotics in their systems. "When you mix heroin with other drugs,
which a lot of people do, that can be wildly unpredictable," said the
lieutenant. "It might work okay and get you what you want, and then it
might kill you the next time."

When trying to track down the number of heroin-related deaths
countywide in recent years, Sgt. Sandra Brown with the Coroner's
Bureau advised that it's impossible to differentiate between illegal,
street heroin - which is synthesized from morphine - and medically
prescribed morphine, as both substances simply show up as morphine in
toxicology results.

However, according to Coroner's Bureau records on drug and alcohol
related deaths that occurred in Santa Barbara County in 2009, 22
victims - out of 115 tallied - had some form of morphine in their
systems. In almost all of the 22 cases, one or more prescription or
illicit drugs were found in addition to morphine.

Of the 39 people who reportedly died alcohol or drug related deaths in
2008, eight were using morphine. And the narcotic was found in 13
people who passed away in 2007. (This year's figures could not be
tracked down as of press time.)

The Santa Barbara Police Department urges anyone who abuses drugs,
especially heroin, to seek treatment immediately. One local agency to
call is The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA), Project
Recovery. Their number is (805) 962-6195.