Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 Source: New York Times (NY) Page: A22 Copyright: 2009 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws) HEROIN ON LONG ISLAND Heroin is back on Long Island, and it is killing people at a record pace. There were 46 heroin deaths last year in Nassau County and 50 in Suffolk. The related damage from the epidemic -- in overdoses, drug arrests, calls to addiction hotlines -- is also up drastically, officials in both counties report. What has not increased yet, thankfully, is the panic that drove political leaders during the 1970s heroin crisis to employ the self-defeating enforcement remedies that exemplified the failures of the war on drugs. The Rockefeller drug laws sent a generation of nonviolent offenders away for life, creating a lasting injustice while doing little to solve the problem on the ground. We hope this time will be different. This week, the Nassau County executive, Tom Suozzi, convened a summit on the heroin crisis. The district attorney, representatives of federal and local law enforcement, school and social service officials and medical professionals were on hand to offer expertise and guidance. It's to Mr. Suozzi's credit that the focus, was not just on high-profile raids and gang crackdowns, but also on treatment, prevention, education and tough community-based policing. Those offer the best chance of limiting and undoing the epidemic's damage. The heroin being sold on Long Island is deadlier and cheaper than ever. A bag on the street costs about $6 or $7, less than a pack of cigarettes. What makes the situation even more dangerous is the misconception among users that snorting or sniffing heroin, rather than injecting it, will not lead to addiction. The means to easing this crisis are known. What's needed is the will to carry them out, and the money. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake