Pubdate: Thu, 28 Sep 2006
Source: Community Recorder, The (KY)
Copyright: 2006 The Community Recorder
Contact:  http://news.communitypress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4226
Author: Jason Brubaker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

VICTIM'S MOTHER SAYS EDUCATION IS KEY TO PREVENTION

INDEPENDENCE -- Linda Gutapfel thinks that her son might still be 
alive if he had fully known the dangers of what he was doing. That's 
why she's set out to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Gutapfel's 22-year old son, Johnny, was found motionless in the foyer 
of their Independence home on August 27, dead of an apparent heroin 
overdose. Linda says her son was not a drug-user, and was likely just 
experimenting.

"I just want people to know that this can happen the first time you 
try this," said Linda. "You don't have to be an addict. I don't know 
for sure if it would have saved his life, but I'm about 99 percent 
sure he wouldn't have done this if he had known more about it."

Gutapfel has taken her fight public, saying that families need to be 
aware of a possible escalating drug situation on the area. On the 
weekend of Johnny's death, Independence Police Detective Jim Moore 
said there were at least eight other drug overdoses in the city that 
police responded to, although none resulted in fatalities.

"We really just try to investigate these from the drug aspect, but 
it's not easy," said Moore. "Most people won't talk to us, because 
they don't want to get in trouble, or give up their dealer's name. I 
think this is really a regional problem, but it is definitely hitting 
close to home for some families."

Rumors of heroin laced with fentanyl have been circulating in the 
Northern Kentucky in recent months, after the death of a 16-year old 
Boone County boy who overdosed in May. Fentanyl, an extremely potent 
painkiller, showed up in the toxicology reports of Dwayne Carroll, 
who passed away May 26.

However, Moore said that until the toxicology reports for Johnny are 
released, there is no way of knowing whether the heroin he snorted 
was laced with fentanyl. He said that Johnny's inexperience with 
drugs could have played a role in his death.

"A lot of times, when you buy illicit drugs on the streets, you have 
no way of knowing what is actually in them," explained Moore. "You 
never know how potent it is, and there's no way to be able to know, 
especially if you don't have much experience with it. Someone who has 
never done any illicit drugs could easily overdose on something their 
first time, even if it wasn't laced with anything. That's why this is 
so scary."

Jim Liles, the director of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, 
said he has noticed an increase in heroin use in the area this year. 
He said the task force already had more heroin seizures this year 
than in the past five years combined. He also agreed with Moore, 
saying that the unfamiliarity with the drug is likely a contributing 
factor in many of the overdoses.

"Let's say that if I'm a heroin user, I may be buying stuff that's 
about 10 percent heroin from my dealer," said Liles. "Then, maybe 
that dealer gets arrested, so I go somewhere else. Now, I may be 
buying stuff that's about 30 or 40 percent heroin, but I'm still 
ingesting the same amount, because I don't know any differently. 
That's why it's so easy to overdose on heroin especially, because 
there's no consistency."

Liles said he believes that the influx of heroin may be coming out of 
the South American region, where it is becoming a big-money drug 
similar to cocaine.

"Heroin is strange, because it will be here for a while, and then it 
will disappear," explained Liles. "There's no really rhyme or reason 
to it, but we know there is a lot of money in heroin trafficking now, 
because of the availability. I think they may just be looking for a 
foothold in Northern Kentucky, because we have been finding more lately."

Johnny's brother, 18-year old Chris Cunningham, said he has several 
friends struggling with drug addictions, who he has been trying to 
aid in any way possible.

"If I could have helped Johnny, I would have," said Chris. "I found 
him on the floor, and tried to give him CPR, but it too late by then. 
Now, we're just trying to help my friends, who are going through some 
of the same things, because now I've seen what it can do to you."

For her part, Gutapfel said she is simply looking to get the word out 
to parents and kids alike, who may have easier access to the drug 
than many believe. She plans to speak at an Independence city council 
meeting in October, and is trying to get a letter sent to all parents 
in the Kenton County School system. She said that Johnny's death has 
put her on a mission to save others from a similar fate.

"I think it has helped me with the grieving process, to try and get 
the word out so more parents don't have to go through this," said 
Gutapfel. "I know that doing this will help to save someone else, I 
just know it. People just need to know that it is out there, and it 
is bad. If we can save even just one person from going through what 
we've had to go through, it will be a good thing."
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