Posted on 12/28/2002 9:30:27 PM PST by chance33_98
Police fight spread of hard drugs
Officials say increased narcotics traffic fueled by huge profit margins
By ALAN CROWELL, Staff Writer
Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SKOWHEGAN — As state officials released a report detailing an almost six-fold increase in state drug deaths over the past five years, local police say the influx of crack cocaine and heroin is not slowing.
In addition to the increase in drug related deaths, the report found most of the deaths were caused by accidental overdoses, the vast majority of deaths were attributed to prescription drugs and that drug deaths were distributed evenly across the state.
Local police say economics is driving the deadly growth in crack cocaine, heroin and prescription drugs. And as the abuse of those substances grows, so do property crimes, prostitution and deaths.
Following the release of the report Friday, Waterville Police Chief John E. Morris said the amount of crack cocaine and heroin in his city has increased exponentially in the past two years.
Pointing to recent drug busts, including one that led to the seizure of 9 1/2 ounces of crack cocaine late Monday and early Tuesday, Morris noted that bust — the largest single seizure of crack cocaine in central Maine history — comes just a few weeks after the largest seizure of heroin in the city's history.
But while interdiction efforts are important, Morris said they are not the solution.
"I am not naive enough to think there are not three guys on the bus on their way up from New York with more crack as we speak," Morris said.
Solving the problem will take the entire community, he said.
As an example of the need for more involvement, Morris recounted the comments of a man who lived near one of the houses used by alleged crack cocaine dealers.
As police were searching the house Monday night, Morris said the man told police that for two weeks, he had watched as two men would arrive at the house by taxi, stay for a few minutes and then leave.
"With that information we could have gotten the crack off the street that much sooner," Morris said.
Lt. Carl E. Gottardi II of the Somerset County Sheriff's Department said he can remember only one or two unintentional drug overdoses before this year.
Over the past 12 months, however, Gottardi said he believes there have been as many as five unintentional drug overdose deaths, although he said some of those have not yet been confirmed by toxicology tests.
Despite the rural atmosphere of Somerset County, he said the problem is probably as bad as in some cities. Driving the epidemic, he said, is the opportunity for large profits.
Gottardi said a dealer can buy heroin for $3 to $5 a bag in New York and sell it for $30 or $40 in Maine. Crack cocaine may cost $5 to $10 a gram elsewhere but can be sold for $100 in Maine.
The drugs are so widely available, they are easier to find than marijuana in some areas, Gottardi said. Dealers sometime offer free samples, knowing new users will be lifelong customers.
Synthetic opiates available by prescription may sell for $1 a milligram, Gottardi said. One Somerset County man had a legitimate prescription for 90 OxyContin pills in 80-milligram doses month. Rather than using the pills himself, however, the man sold them, making a profit of around $7,000 a month.
"...economics is driving the deadly growth in....prescription drugs."
State and federal medical welfare programs, and "pusher" doctors are the largest problems. Duh!
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