REGION NEEDS TO TAKE OFF GLOVES IN DRUG BATTLE

Finally.

That's what many in this region are saying in the wake of Thursday's
dismantling of a local heroin distribution ring.

Finally, after years of a devastating epidemic, we are hitting the
dealers, and hard. Now, we can't let up.

Twenty-five were arrested in what officials termed an "unprecedented"
police operation. By all accounts, they weren't low-level street
dealers, but those who supplied them.

The arrests appear to be a big deal.

More is needed.

No other issue has affected this region as much as the ongoing opiate
epidemic, which has claimed hundreds locally, thousands across the
state, and tens of thousands when you consider the families broken by
this barrage of addiction and death.

How bad is it? The state Department of Public Health confirmed last
year that the leading cause of death for young adults in this state
is now opiate overdose a sobering fact.

Much of the misery endured by this region at the hands of OxyContin
and heroin has been chronicled in our "Wasted Youth" reports. By now,
many know that heroin is easy to obtain, costs just $5 a dose, and is
more pure than ever. Addicts can inhale it at first and the heroin
they end up injecting has never been of such high quality.

Heroin dealers want to keep their customers.

But it hasn't just been addicts and their families who have been
affected by this epidemic. We all have. The region's escalating
number of bank robberies, house and car breaks, and thefts have all
been linked to the epidemic, which has had much of New England in its
grip for a decade.

It hasn't abated, in part because of the state's slowness in reacting
to it, but also because many still view an overdose as
self-inflicted, even though new research clearly shows addiction is a
disease, not a choice. Nobody chooses to become an OxyContin or
heroin addict. Still, many overdose cases aren't investigated, for
either lack of interest or resources. Many, in fact, view addicts
with disdain, and ignore them as they do this epidemic.

But the arrests last week involving local, state and federal
authorities are encouraging, as are other recent busts by local
police. Several departments have intercepted sizable shipments of
opiates in the last several weeks.

It's clear that the state and federal governments are starting to
view this epidemic for what it has always been an attack on our
families, friends and communities. The time to strike back is long
overdue, and it's heartening to see it happening.

There is much to do.

No doubt, the heroin trade is already filling the gaps created by
last week's arrests. When we reported "Wasted Youth," addicts told us
they didn't carry the phone number of one dealer, but three or four,
and they never ever had difficulty finding more heroin.

The Thursday raid might not have a lasting impact, but one thing is
clear based on the scope of the operation, we remain in the thick of
this tragic epidemic, which has hit this region hard.

Officials have to keep doing just what they did last week hitting back.

And hitting harder.