Pubdate: Tue, 05 Aug 2014
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2014 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact:  http://www.telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Note: Rarely prints LTEs from outside circulation area - requires 
'Letter to the Editor' in subject
Author: Scott J. Croteau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose)

POLICE TRYING TO TRACK DEADLY DRUG SOURCE

8 Fatal Overdoses in 5 Days in Worcester

WORCESTER - Three more people died from overdoses Tuesday afternoon, 
the latest in a string of casualties that has authorities on a hunt 
for the source of the deadly drugs.

Officials said the rate of drug overdoses puts the city on track for 
more than 500 this year 2014, roughly five times more than the 96 
overdoses in 2006. In 2013, there were 447 drug overdoses, police 
said, not all of them fatal.

"When you have people dying in your community you have to get to the 
source or the cause of the deaths," Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said. 
"If it involves drug overdoses and the source is illegal narcotics, 
we have an obligation to ensure public safety for the entire 
community regardless of who is victimized."

The Tuesday deaths come on the heels of a gruesome discovery Monday 
inside an Outlook Drive apartment. Three men were found dead in the 
apartment of what authorities suspect were heroin overdoses. The 
three men, ages 49, 54, and 55, have not been publicly identified.

In the first five days of August, eight drug overdose deaths have 
occurred. Police suspect heroin as the cause in seven of the deaths. 
Investigators are awaiting autopsy results.

"We are looking at all available evidence and devoting a significant 
number of resources to identifying the source of the substances," 
Chief Gemme said. "We are certainly concerned with identifying the 
cause of deaths, whether it is from a bad batch of narcotics or 
high-quality doses. We want to identify what is causing these deaths."

District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. called the Worcester overdose 
numbers this month alarming. He said investigators are seeing drug 
overdoses routinely across the county.

The sources and cause of the overdoses remains an open question. It 
could be someone putting out potent heroin, or users are falling 
victim to a higher quality heroin.

"We believe there is a possibility users are mixing heroin with other 
substances for a greater effect," Chief Gemme said. "The majority of 
heroin we are seeing is very high-quality heroin."

Police in the city have seen a range in the quality of heroin. Tests 
have shown purity rates of 17, 19, 33, 36, 41, 51 and 67 percent 
pure, Chief Gemme said.

"With heroin there is no quality control," Mr. Early said. "That is 
why someone using heroin is rolling the dice every time they use it."

Red, yellow and purple flower petals were scattered outside the 
basement apartment on Outlook Drive on Tuesday, a day after the men 
were found dead.

Ereca Diaz, a neighbor, said the last time she saw the man living in 
the apartment, who she knew as "Frankie," was Friday.

On Sunday she smelled an odor like garbage coming from her neighbor's 
apartment. Monday she alerted building managers.

"I just had a gut feeling something was wrong," she said. "It was 
real quiet in his apartment. Usually you hear some noise in there."

She did not have any knowledge of her neighbor using drugs.

In all of the deaths, investigators have to determine the quality of 
the drug and whether it was cut with other substances. Mr. Early said 
Tuesday his office is reviewing whether criminal charges - such as 
homicide or manslaughter - can be pursued in the deaths. 
Investigators will have to see if there is a link between the deaths.

Chief Gemme said his department recognizes overdoses as a public 
health issue. His officers have undergone training to administer 
naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, which is used to reverse an 
opioid overdose. Officers are expected to begin carrying Narcan 
relatively soon.

"We want police to have the ability to administer Narcan in order to 
save lives in the community," Chief Gemme said.

Chief Gemme believes officers could be equipped in the next couple of 
weeks. The department anticipates having to administer about five 
doses per week.

The Police Department routinely sends out seized heroin for testing. 
Drug investigators have found that heroin is being sold for as little 
as $8 for a small bag - a cheap alternative for those addicted to OxyContin.

"You can get a bag of heroin for less than a pack of cigarettes," Mr. 
Early said.

Prescription drug users sometimes move to heroin, a cheaper 
replacement but lacking the quality control of prescription drugs.

Derek S. Brindisi, the city's director of Public Health, said July 
and August tend to be the months with the highest number of drug 
overdoses. There were 39 in July 2013 and 42 in August 2013, he said. 
This July there were 43.

Opioids are the leading cause of drug overdoses in the city, he said.

"There's a heavy use of prescription drugs out there," Mr. Brindisi said.

The city continues to monitor drug overdoses and also to educate 
health care providers and dentists about over-prescribing in order to 
reduce the amount of drugs on the streets. The city also conducts 
prescription drug take-back events.

The Health Department also works to educate city youth about 
prescription drug use.
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