Pubdate: Mon, 18 Aug 2014
Source: News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Copyright: 2014 The News-Herald
Contact:  http://www.news-herald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/305
Author: Matt Skrajner

LAKE, GEAUGA COUNTY POLICE INCREASE HEROIN ARRESTS, BUT TOO EARLY TO 
DETERMINE EFFECTS

Police and sheriff's departments have stepped up their enforcement
against heroin crimes, but officials say it is too soon to know the
effect of their increased efforts.

Geauga County Coroner Dr. Robert Coleman said while there have been
some potential heroin overdoses in the county in June and July,
complete testing takes time, so final determinations have not been
made on those deaths.

Public awareness has certainly increased though, he
said.

"Is it really having an effect? It's too early to tell for sure,"
Coleman said. "It's been around for 3,000 years, so it's probably not
going away any time soon."

Geauga County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Scott Hildenbrand
estimated that there has been a heroin overdose in the county about
every other month, compared to averaging about one each month last
year.

In an effort to battle these overdoses, Lake County in June launched
Project DAWN, which seeks to distribute Naloxone, also called Narcan,
to trained responders so they could deliver the potentially
life-saving drug to opiate addicts.

Sandra Allison, Public Health Social Work supervisor with the Lake
County General Health District, said 58 doses of Narcan have been
distributed, but the district has yet to receive any feedback yet of
it being used to save someone from an overdose, or from a responder
seeking a refill.

The district was expected to serve 200 doses in a full year, so at its
current pace they are far ahead of projections.

"We're only in month three," Allison said.

Hildebrand, who is also the fire chief in Hambden Township, said there
are no plans to have law enforcement carry the drug in Geauga, but all
rescue squads have carried the substance for at least a year.

Part of the difficulty with medication is that it must be stored in a
cold, climate-controlled environment.

"When you're putting them in cop cars, it's difficult to do that," he
said.

The Geauga County Sheriff's Office also has made more heroin
trafficking-related arrests in recent months, including the biggest
bust in the county's history in Newbury Township in June. That seizure
recovered 1 kilogram of black tar heroin, in addition to 100 pounds of
marijuana, 6 pounds of crystal meth, vials of steroids and 10 firearms.

Although the office has made more arrests, Hildenbrand said it's
difficult to know for sure if that has decreased the quantity of the
drug coming into of the county. Some measurements are pointing to a
move in the right direction, namely that the price of heroin in the
county has increased recently.

"That could mean it's becoming harder to get," he said.

David A. Frisone, executive director of Lake County Narcotics Agency,
said the price of heroin seems to have remained steady in his
jurisdiction, but arrests have increased.

 From January through June of this year, the agency arrested 21 people
suspected of heroin trafficking, which is more arrests than cocaine,
marijuana and ecstasy trafficking combined, he said.

Part of the increase in arrests is because the agency has learned more
about the typical heroin trafficker as compared to people who sell
other drugs. Heroin traffickers typically handle smaller quantities
and are more mobile, while other drug sellers usually deal larger
quantities, he said.

"We may be displacing (heroin) to a degree, but we're not sure," said
Frisone.

Frisone said he does not think the heroin problem is one that can
solely be solved by increasing arrests. A multifaceted, partnered
approach among health, law enforcement and educators is needed to
truly eliminate the drug.

"It's not going to happen overnight," he said.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D