[photo] Bruce Brandler is chief federal law enforcement officer for a sprawling judicial district that covers half of Pennsylvania. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press) The phone at Bruce Brandler's home rang at 3:37 a.m. It was the local hospital. His 16-year-old son was there, and he was in really bad shape. A suspected heroin overdose, the nurse said. Brandler didn't believe it. Erik had his problems, but heroin? It seemed impossible. Nearly 10 years later, the nation is gripped by a spiraling crisis of opioid and heroin abuse -- and Brandler, a veteran federal prosecutor recently promoted to interim U.S. attorney, suddenly finds himself in a position to do something about the scourge that claimed his youngest son's life. [continues 778 words]
Walker rightly noted that addressing the issue will stem a public health problem and help the state's economy. Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday called for a special legislative session to fight heroin addiction and ordered state agencies to ramp up their response to a drug that kills hundreds in Wisconsin each year.(Photo: Associated Press) Gov. Scott Walker has it right: Heroin addiction is a public health crisis in Wisconsin, and state officials must ramp up efforts to respond more urgently and effectively to a killer that takes hundreds of lives each year. His leadership will be key in making that happen. [continues 422 words]
As of the end of November, 755 people had died of drug overdoses in B.C. Prescription heroin could greatly reduce this toll. One of the principal reasons for the large number of overdose deaths has been the increasing presence of fentanyl, an opioid 100 times more powerful than heroin. Fentanyl is often substituted for, or added to, other illegal drugs. A single envelope of pure fentanyl is enough to produce thousands of pills and tens of thousands of dollars in profit. One kilogram of fentanyl, which can be purchased online for less than $100,000, is enough to produce one million pills that can be sold for $20 each. [continues 599 words]
Charito Morales, a registered nurse and advocate, leads a group through "El Campamento," a camp of homeless drug users under a railroad bridge in Fairhill. (TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer) Mike Newall has been writing for the Inquirer since 2010. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., he has been writing about Philadelphia crime, courts, politics, and neighborhoods since 2003. Before joining the Inquirer, he was a staff writer and columnist for Philadelphia Weekly and Philadelphia City Paper. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and dog. [continues 700 words]
Growing up, Evan Blessett was as an avid soccer player and honor roll student. He loved skateboarding and played the drums later in his teen years. But one role that his dad, Doug, never thought his son would play was one of a recovering drug addict. "The thing that gets me is he got past us," Doug Blessett said about his 29-year-old son, who is a counselor at The Healing Place, an addiction recovery center in Louisville. "When my son went through this, I took it personally. You think you would see it, and I didn't." [continues 1428 words]
It's an uphill battle [photo] (John Dole / Scripps Research Institute) Kim Janda of the Scripps Research Institute is shown in front of a board that depicts molecule drawings of heroin and cocaine, with the structures of vaccines that potentially could target those two drugs shown beneath. In one picture, H. Joseph "Joey" Ressler is smiling at his mother and lifting her off the ground. In another, a selfie, he's grinning like a little kid as two motorcyclists roar up from behind. He was just 24, and the future seemed limitless for the happy, talented young man. [continues 1151 words]
Madison - Gov. Scott Walker signed seven bills Monday aimed at fighting the state's growing heroin problem during stops around the state. The new laws include ones that will allow drug users to call 911 about overdoses without fear of prosecution, expand treatment alternatives and create quicker punishments for offenders who violate the terms of their probation. Walker signed the bills at events in Marinette, Stevens Point, Eau Claire and Milwaukee. The Marinette County Courthouse was chosen as one venue because it is in the district ofstate Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), who has taken a lead in drafting the measures. Nygren's daughter Cassie has struggled with heroin addiction. [continues 318 words]
Madison - The state would expand the fight against heroin abuse and approve labor contracts with the few remaining state employee unions, under legislation unanimously passed by lawmakers Tuesday. Without dissent, the Assembly approved the measures on drug abuse and sent them to the Senate, which is expected to take them up in the coming weeks. Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen support the measures. If the heroin bills become law, users of the deadly drug would be immune from liability if they called 911 to report overdoses, and more first responders could carry drugs to counteract overdoses. People also would have to show identification when they pick up many prescriptions, and communities would be able to set up drug-disposal programs more easily. [continues 810 words]
A Richland woman died Wednesday in her apartment from a suspected heroin overdose, leaving her 3-year-old son alone in the residence until police found him. The woman was identified as Lauren Wilson, 34, of Thomas Village in the 5600 block of Community Center Drive. Police were called Wednesday afternoon by Ms. Wilson's mother because she was unable to contact her daughter by phone, Northern Regional Police Department Chief T. Robert Amann said today. Police found Ms. Wilson's body and a syringe. [continues 322 words]
Madison- Doctors will have to check a statewide database before prescribing narcotics and other addictive drugs, under a broad series of bills that Gov. Scott Walker signed Thursday to curb the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers. "Wisconsin, like many other states across the country, is noticing a dangerous trend - an escalating number of cases involving heroin and opioid use, addiction, and overdose. The legislation we're signing into law today as a part of our HOPE tour works to combat this trend," Walker said in a statement. [continues 569 words]
[photo] Gov. Scott Walker announced the creation of a state task force to address the Wisconsin's troubling increase in opioid abuse at a Walgreens pharmacy at 3522 W. Wisconsin Ave.(Photo: Maggie Angst / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday called for a special legislative session to fight heroin addiction and ordered state agencies to ramp up their response to a drug that kills hundreds in Wisconsin each year. The Republican governor held series of events Thursday in Weston, Green Bay and Chippewa Falls to announce the special session and the executive orders, which seek to implement recommendations from a report issued by Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette). [continues 714 words]
A Brooklyn Republican who has his sights set on a City Council seat slammed the lawmaking body Sunday for bankrolling a feasibility study on whether to open injection facilities for heroin addicts. "It's basically a taxpayer-funded shooting gallery for heroin junkies to allow them to legally shoot up," Bob Capano told John Catsimatidis on his 970 AM talk show Sunday. "Any funds spent on this issue should be focused on breaking the addicts' dependency on drugs, not taking a step that basically decriminalizes the use of heroin." [continues 140 words]
COLUMBUS - Gov. John Kasich today signed another bill targeting Ohio's opiate and heroin epidemic. In 2015, Ohio led the nation in opioid overdose deaths. Senate Bill 319, sponsored by Sen. John Eklund (R., Chardon), expands access to the anti-overdose drug naloxone to entities such as homeless shelters, halfway houses, schools, and treatment centers that deal with populations at high risk of heroin overdose. It also offers civil immunity to law enforcement officers who carry and use naloxone. "We have spent a billion dollars on this issue. A billion dollars...," Mr. Kasich said. "Thank God we expanded Medicaid, because that Medicaid money is helping to rehab people...There are going to be more tools to come, but we're not going to defeat this just from the top down." [continues 228 words]
[photo] Police in Harford County seized two kilos of heroin during a traffic stop in Havre de Grace on Thursday, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. A Virginia man faces multiple drug possession and distribution charges. (Harford County Sheriff's Office / Baltimore Sun) Police in Harford County seized two kilograms of heroin and arrested a Portsmouth, Va., man on drug charges, during a traffic stop in Havre de Grace, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said. The investigation by the Harford County Task force that led to the arrest of Servonte Rhamone Smith, 26, is continuing in an attempt to locate other suspects in what detectives believe is a heroin trafficking organization that has been operating in Harford County, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. [continues 516 words]
A New London man guilty of selling heroin that was believed to have caused a fatal overdose was sentenced Monday to 34 months in prison, federal officials said. Rudy Hernandez, 43, pleaded guilty in July to distribution of heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He also faces three years of supervised release. Authorities learned that a 25-year-old man in Groton, who had fatally overdosed, had arranged to buy heroin from someone who purchased the drug from Hernandez, the U.S. Attorney's office said. In April, law enforcement searched his home and found heroin and cocaine, according to officials. Hernandez has been in federal custody since April. [end]
Re: "Teen in suspected drug death 'honour student led astray,' " Dec. 27. As a retired psychologist, I'm trying to understand why so far this year about 755 human beings have died of overdoses in B.C. I've observed that Grade "A" addicts live only to consume drugs such as fentanyl-laced heroin regardless of whether it might kill them. Many pay drug dealers with the proceeds of crime and leave a swath of victims, including those who love them, in their wake. Eventually, their self-destructive antics wear out those charged to help them, such as police, firefighters, paramedics, hospital staff, social workers and counsellors who eventually succumb to compassion fatigue. Though a courageous step, safe-injection sites appear to simply maintain this grisly status quo. [continues 103 words]
A new year brings new laws in New York, including stronger treatment options for opioid addiction and increasing the state's minimum wage. New York's minimum wage increases Dec. 31, 2016. ALBANY -- A new year brings new laws in New York, including stronger treatment options for opioid addiction and increasing the state's minimum wage. Many of the state's new laws each year are pegged to the start of the calendar year, and in the case of the higher minimum wage, it starts Saturday, Dec. 31. [continues 286 words]
Tara Moseley was in her early 20s, homeless and addicted to opioids for nearly a year when she walked into The Healing Place in Louisville. Her drinking had escalated after high school and she had stopped going to class two weeks into college. A broken leg led to a five-month opioid prescription and that led to a physical dependence on pain pills. When pills became scarce on the street, she switched to heroin. She needed a bed the day she showed up at The Healing Place and agreed to go through detox. After that, when the staff suggested she try their residential recovery program, she said yes. [continues 962 words]
Twenty people have died of probable heroin overdoses in Milwaukee County since July 27. The Milwaukee County medical examiner's office says this is a photo of a typical drug-overdose death scene.(Photo: Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner 's Office) Twenty people have died of probable heroin overdoses in Milwaukee County during the past two weeks, a toll the county medical examiner's office on Thursday called "unprecedented." The county typically averages one heroin death every three days, the office said. The medical examiner is investigating the possibility that other drugs, such as fentanyl, played a role in the deaths. [continues 390 words]
NEW YORK - Health officials say the synthetic opioid fentanyl has surpassed heroin as the leading cause of overdose deaths on Long Island. The New York Times reports that fentanyl killed at least 220 people on Long Island in 2016. Fentanyl can be 100 times as potent as heroin and is much cheaper because it can be made in a lab. The numbers from Long Island are part of a national pattern. Fentanyl fatalities have surpassed those from heroin in other parts of the country including New England. The medical examiners of Long Island's two counties, Nassau and Suffolk, compiled the overdose statistics there. Suffolk County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Caplan said the influx of illegally manufactured fentanyl from overseas requires "a multidisciplinary intervention from all levels of government." [end]
