Heroin Invasion

[USP45FAN]

I was just wondering if anyone else's jurisdiction has went from relatively non existent heroin use to skyrocketing use? I work for a small city, but the sheer number of users is staggering. They're getting younger and younger too.

I am deployed overseas right now, so I am missing out on what's going on back at the PD. One of the guys in my unit just came off leave and told me that it has become considerably worse since we left 8 months ago. I asked him who was into it now, but nobody wants to say a word. Surprise, Surprise.

[Lawdogg]

Here i am not sure if it is so noticeable, maybe the narc unit is more aware, but i mostly deal with weed and pills, its the premier choice of wannabe gangsters.....

[Metro174]

I work in Baltimore. I rarely see a drug other than heroin.

[Twelve Volt Man]

Here in my area of NC, we mainly see crack, powder, and weed. Meth is quickly becoming more popular, however. Pills are getting big among certain crowds, too. Heroin, fortunately, has not become fashionable.

[Delta784]

We've seen heroin use skyrocket, mostly because of the prevalence of Oxycontin. People get hooked on the OC's, then can't afford the $1 per MG price on the street to feed their habit. The ones that don't start robbing pharmacies, using fake scripts, or steal from their family/friends, find the $3-5 per bag price of heroin to be much more affordable. They start snorting the heroin, until they have to snort 10 bags a day to get high, then they switch to shooting-up. It's all downhill from there.

I'll never understand why someone would ever start using heroin. Do they really think that they're going to be the ONE person in the history of civilization that doesn't end up as a junkie??

[narc]

what are you seeing in your areas....tar....powdered like brown or china white.

[USP45FAN]

I'm kinda out of the loop right now being overseas as to what is coming into the area. I'm not sure if its black tar, china white, or mexican brown right now. We do have a large number of migrant workers in the city.

There was an Oxycotin problem a few years ago, once that dried up, the heroin use became an issue. I see the connection between the two drugs, but how many junkies can a town have. Quite a few have OD'd and kids especially don't seem to get the message. I understand the Oxy users switching to heroin, but the numbers of kids who never used Oxy and are now on heroin is frightening.

What scares me even more is that I heard a rumor that people were going to turn to meth because it is "easier to quit." Especially being close to so many farms, the anhydrous ammonia is easy to steal. I almost feel like there is no end in sight until most of them OD and are gone. It's pretty sad to have an outlook like that, but it takes care of the problem.

[haus409]

I almost feel like there is no end in sight until most of them OD and are gone.

There is no end in sight. Make no mistake, we are fighting a losing battle. All we can do is what we have been doing and "Save" the few that are save-able.

Just curious, has your area had any change in laws to help combat another drug? Mo has just passed a law to help against meth, which is *supposed* to make it more difficult to obtain large quantities of ephedrine. Right now, about the only drugs we see is mari, pills, and meth. I'm wondering if coke or heroin is gonna become more popular if meth is harder to make.

[RPD13]

Here tpp

It's skyrocketed here too in the past 4 years. 4 years ago when I was graduating High school, it was only a few of the kids in my class using herion. Now it's deep down into the 8th adn 6th graders. Now I'm an officer in my home town and it is just incredible how fast. Heroin along with Meth. To kick the bucket, we're only a small town in the middle of the state.

[Big E]

Here in suburban Pittsburgh and the whole area for that matter, heroin is the king of them all! It crosses all racial and socioeconomic lines. We have our junkies who are into weed and crack too, but nothing compared to heroin. As I sure everyone knows heroin presents a whole lot of other potential risks for us--needle sticks, HIV, Hep C....to name a few. Glove up everyone!

[USAcop]

I wished we had a Heroin problem instead of a methamphetamine problem.

Methamphetamine is by far the most dangerous drug out there.

[Delta784]

I wished we had a Heroin problem instead of a methamphetamine problem.

Methamphetamine is by far the most dangerous drug out there.

We've been very fortunate that meth has never really caught-on around here, but I wonder if our days our numbered.

[Big E]

While heroin is our biggest drug problem, the threat of meth moving in is very very real. It's a growing problem in the rural counties in western PA. I dread the day that we have to call the meth lab teams...

[Ballen0351]

We have had a steady increase in Heroin arrests in the last few years. But just last month the found to Meth Labs in a neighboring county. We have not seen alot of it on the streets every once in a while we get some but I really dont want to see it take hold here we have enough trouble keeping Crack out of the elementary schools and middle schools as it is.

[Metro174]

Ballen, I think MD's days are numbered as far as meth goes. It's coming and it's gonna hit hard. Dreading it myself though I think the Baltimore area will remain heroin central. Has been for nearly 50 years so I don't see it ending easily.

Baltimore has it's share of crack and weed. Never came across ecstacy but I hear in SE Baltimore it's a biggie.