Pubdate: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 Source: Standard-Times (MA) Copyright: 1999 The Standard-Times Contact: http://www.s-t.com/ Author: Polly Saltonstall, Standard-Times staff writer GAIN FOOTHOLD IN SUBURBS Crack cocaine filters into Fall River Suburban police report growing numbers of arrests involving illegal narcotics, including heroin, now cheaper and purer than ever before. Growing numbers of suburban residents also are seeking treatment for addictions to these drugs, particularly heroin. And while alcohol and marijuana remain the substances most abused by youngsters, school administrators say they also are seeing more drugs in schools. "The idea that all drug use is in the inner city just does not seem to be the case," said Brian Silvester, southeast regional manager for the state Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. In 1998, at least 1,616 admissions to substance abuse treatment programs in the state came from SouthCoast suburban towns, according to the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. While the bulk of those people cited alcohol as an addiction, a high number also used other narcotics, including 426 marijuana, 277 cocaine, 79 crack, 402 heroin and 311 IV drugs. The percentage of people seeking treatment who cited heroin as an addiction, exceeded the state average in Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Rochester, Somerset and Swansea. The number of admissions for heroin addictions came close to doubling between 1997 and 1998 in Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Somerset and Wareham. "We all have problems," said New Bedford Police Lt. Melvin Wotton. "There's a not a community around here untouched by drugs." Regional school administrators report increasing use of marijuana by students, but guidance and substance abuse councilors also note that more students appear to be aware of heroin, cocaine and designer drugs, such as ecstasy. Peter Abraham, guidance director for Freetown-Lakeville's Apponequet Regional High School, believes there is "at least as much, if not more" drug use among high school students today than 10 years ago. Although he doesn't sense an increase in the use of harder drugs like heroin, drugs are "very accessible," he said. "Granted there's more (anti-drug) education in schools and on TV -- and certain kids are receptive. The effort is there, but the message doesn't seem to be reaching enough kids," Mr. Abraham said. "It's just my own perception, but I think more and more kids are starting this at the middle school age." Two years ago, five seventh and eighth graders at Wareham Middle School were hospitalized after taking LSD, and a 19-year-old high school dropout was later found guilty of supplying the drugs. "Anybody who tells you their school does not have a problem, you know right off the bat that they are not dealing with reality," said Ellen Banach, vice president of Southcoast Hospitals Group Systems Integration. Ms. Banach has helped coordinate an outreach effort by the hospital to identify and address youth issues. High school students participating in the focus group interviews said drug and alcohol use were common. They cited stress and pressure as a major motivating factor. Many suburban users show up on city streets buying or selling drugs, police say. Lt. Wotton estimates that at least 30 percent of the people charged with drug-related offenses by his department have come into New Bedford from the suburbs. He notes his department also has participated in drug raids recently in Fairhaven, Dartmouth and Acushnet. "To say they don't have a problem there is absurd," he said citing one bust last November involving 774 bags of heroin in Dartmouth. Mark Sadeck, 28, and Lee Lydon, 25, each were charged with possession with intent to distribute and consipracy after police seized the heroin and $598 in cash from a house at 797 Tucker Lane, Lt. Wotton said. Former addicts say the suburbs traditionally have been the place to buy drugs that have not been diluted for street sales. "You have some money and you want to buy in quantity, you go to Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown," said one recovering heroin user. "You buy right from some guy in his nice house." A shift in the image of heroin from something injected by a junkie with a needle to a drug used by glamorous people like actor Robert Downey Jr., models and musicians has made the drug more socially acceptable to middle class users, says Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh. The result has been more occasional, recreational users in the suburbs turning to heroin, instead of cocaine or marijuana, he says. "It's still a city problem," he says, "but we're seeing heroin float out to the suburbs." Heroin has made a comeback in Wareham during the past two to three years, in part because its purity is now so high it can be snorted or smoked and not just injected, says Wareham Police Det. Kevin Walsh. Crack and powder cocaine also remains popular, particularly among 16- to 25-year-olds, while marijuana is in with those 13 to 20. Heroin ranks high with the 30- to 50-year-old set, he says. "But that age is decreasing," Det. Walsh warns, echoing other law enforcement officials around the region, "because heroin is becoming more chic. The purity makes it easy to ingest in different ways too." In Westport, drug arrests rose from 67 in 1997 to 81 last year, including 32 arrests for possession of marijuana, 13 for possession of cocaine, 6 for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and 15 for possession of ecstasy and other designer drugs. Police Chief Michael R. Healy noted a trend toward heroin and designer drugs. Last year, police found a major drug manufacturing lab in Westport turning out ecstasy, a so-called designer drug. "Heroin was popular in the 1970s and early 1980s, then it seemed to die down," Chief Healy said. "It's coming back. Cocaine was a big drug in the mid 1990s, but because of the cost factor of cocaine, people are turning to heroin." On a decline five years ago, drug use is now back up to what it was a decade ago, according to Freetown Police Chief Carleton Abbott, whose department makes an average of three to four drug-arrests a month. "Heroin is more visible, maybe because of the trend to snort it," he said. "It may be more socially acceptable when people aren't invading their bodies with a needle." Suburban police cite Fall River, New Bedford and Providence as the source of drugs flowing into their towns. "I don't want to stigmatize those cities, but obviously this is coming in," said Freetown's Chief Abbott. Similarly, Lakeville's acting Police Chief Mark Sorel said most of his department's drug arrests involve people passing through the town, which lies close to the SouthCoast cities, as well as Taunton and Brockton. While he has seen no evidence of an increase in drug use or a switch to heroin, the department "still has a steady flow" of drug arrests, most of which come during motor vehicle stops. "Of the 399 arrests we made last year, probably 50 or so were for drugs -- usually marijuana or cocaine," Chief Sorel said. "Alcohol is a bigger problem for us; we had 134 OUI arrests last year. That's what we see." In Dartmouth, police said they are surprised they're not seeing more heroin. Instead, marijuana accounts for the lion's share of drug charges filed in the town. In 1996, out of 61 drug cases resulting in arrests, four involved heroin. The numbers last year were similar, with just four heroin-related arrests. Fairhaven police last year handled a dozen narcotics investigations, a couple more than in 1997, but already this year they have been involved in six cases. Most involve heroin. Heroin seems to be "springing back up, said Sgt. Arthur J. Shepard, of the town's detective squad, "probably because there is so much of it around and its is cheap." In Marion, police made three arrests for narcotics-related violations in 1998, and six in 1997. Police Chief Brian Scott attributed the small, affluent seaside town's low number of arrests for drug and alcohol-related offenses to its small size, in both population and square mileage. "I'm not about to suggest we don't have a drug problem. But I can't say I've seen an alarming increase during the past four or five years," he said. Drug trafficking tends to be obvious in a small town with fewer areas for people to congregate. Still, the community's exclusivity might contribute to limits on police information about drug use, he said, noting much of the drug problem remains hidden from view. "We see the worst cases. To say we are even touching the tip of the iceberg would be incorrect." If a person were to overdose on drugs or alcohol, police might not know about it if the victim was taken out of town, he said. In Rochester, police made 20 arrests for drug violations in 1998, up from 10 the previous year. Police Sgt. James Wassmouth attributed the rise to increased enforcement. But if all offenses that police suspected were related to drug and alcohol abuse were documented, he said, the numbers might be even higher. Most of the 16 arrests for drug violations in Mattapoiset last year were for marijuana use, Lt. Edwin Pina said. "But we are seeing more cocaine today," said the lieutenant, who served on the Bristol County Drug Task Force during the 1980s. "You find when you stop a car they sometimes carry vials of crack. People are graduating." Staff writers Rachel Thomas, Mary-Jo Curtis, John Doherty, Manuela DeCosta-Fernandez and Ann Saita contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck