ADDICTS TURNING FROM HEROIN TO PILLS

Number Of Prescription Drug Doses Seized Has Jumped 256% In A Year, While
Heroin Seizures Have Fallen

Gaston County police say that a crackdown on heroin has caused people
addicted to that drug to turn to Xanax, Vicodin, OxyContin and other
prescription drugs to get high.

Between 2001 and 2002, the number of pill doses seized by Gaston County
police jumped 256 percent -- from 1,930 to 6,862.

The steep increase followed a drop in the number of heroin packets seized
by police -- from 2,039 in 2000 to 736 in 2001 and 604 in 2002.

"(Heroin users) want pills," said Sgt. Jay Human of the department's
narcotics division. "They won't get the high they want from crack,
marijuana or cocaine."

In 2003, county police have so far seized 916 doses of various pills and no
heroin, Human said.

The pills include OxyContin, a painkiller with an opiate base. People grind
up the prescription drug and get a heroin-like high by swallowing, snorting
or injecting it. Medical professionals say it's as addictive as heroin.

OxyContin became a household name when it began to sweep across North
Carolina in the late 1990s. Cleveland County physician Dr. Joseph Talley
was indicted and lost his medical license after the federal Drug
Enforcement Agency said he was prescribing massive doses of OxyContin and
other drugs to patients. Four of his patients died of overdoses.

But while neighboring counties were grappling with OxyContin trafficking,
Gaston was battling Dilaudid, a prescription drug with an opiate base,
which has been popular since the 1970s.

Police were able to lower sales of the drug in the 1990s by targeting mid-
and high-level dealers and bringing in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Dealers were prosecuted in federal court.

Dilaudid sales declined and heroin took its place. Human says it's a cycle:
the shift from Dilaudid to heroin to other prescription drugs.

Gaston police have seized increasing amounts of marijuana, cocaine and
crack over the past two years. But that's less a result of the drug cycles
and more because police are going after major drug kingpins, Human said.

The most common pills seized in 2002 were Vicodin, a painkiller, and Xanax,
an antidepressant.

OxyContin, Xanax and other prescription drugs are relatively cheap and easy
to sell, Human said.

People can obtain pills from doctors if they provide the right symptoms.
With insurance or Medicaid, they can purchase a bottle of pills
inexpensively, then sell it for up to $40, Human said.

Within the last several months, the number of people requesting
antidepressants and other pills from Gaston County's Emergency Service
Department, which serves substance abusers and people with mental
illnesses, has risen, said Julee Phifer, who oversees the department.

"They come in and say, 'I've got to have Xanax,' " Phifer said. "We say
that we need to do an assessment (first)."

The fact that many dealers can legally obtain prescriptions makes it tough
for police to make arrests, Human said.

He said those who are arrested often don't serve time because trafficking
of drugs like Xanax, which don't have an opiate base, carries less severe
penalties than trafficking other drugs.

Pills Up, Heroin Down

6,862

Number of pill doses seized by Gaston County police in 2002, a 256 percent
increase over 2001, when there were 1,930 doses.

604

Number of heroin packets seized by Gaston County police in 2002, a 71
percent drop from 2000, when there were 2,039 cases.