Hardly a day goes by when Washington’s pioneering position in the legal marijuana market is not in the national news. For better or for worse, we have set the pace as a leader for both recreational and medical marijuana and the eyes of America remain upon us.
But there is an even greater, darker scourge that is killing residents of Snohomish County. Black tar heroin is increasingly finding its way to our region, said to be smuggled across the border from the opium poppy fields of southern Mexico by money-hungry and violent drug cartel, along with cocaine and meth. Heroin use in the United States has been rising steadily since 2007. A nationwide survey on drug use in 2012 reported that about 669,000 Americans had used heroin in the previous year. Heroin-related deaths are especially prevalent in states that border oceans and Mexico.
Our state health officials are reporting a stark rise in the number of opioid overdose deaths (many from heroin). Heroin seizures by regional and federal law enforcement agencies quadrupled in the five-year period between 2009 and 2013.
More so-called “smash and grab” burglaries from store fronts are being committed by heroin addicts seeking easy money for a fix. State crime lab data suggests an 85 percent increase statewide for opioids in evidence testing between 2002 and 2013. Over the same period publicly funded drug treatment admissions for opioids as the primary drug increased 197 percent statewide, with increases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties, according to figures compiled by the Alcohol Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington.
Snohomish County is among those that have been hit the hardest, posting 14 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 in population between 2011 and 2013, well above the state average of 9, according to death certificate data compiled by the Department of Health. Mason County, where I live, experienced the same death rate as Snohomish County, only to be surpassed by Clallam County with 15 deaths per 100,000 population and Cowlitz with 18. In 2013, heroin and prescription opioid overdoses represented two-thirds of the 130 accidental overdose deaths in Snohomish County, a number considered epidemic by local health officials.
Police officers and sheriff’s deputies in many of the state’s jurisdictions are encountering so many instances of heroin overdoses on their patrols that they now carry kits of naloxone, a medication that blocks the opioid receptors in the brain and can save a life by reversing the effects of a heroin overdose. Washington’s Good Samaritan law also encourages citizens to administer naloxone to overdose victims without risk of criminal charges.
Numerous reports state that many heroin addicts are finding their way to our homeless encampments, which seem to be popping up with more frequency than ever. Publicly managed needle exchange programs in some counties are also at an all-time high.
What is driving the sudden surge in heroin use? Authorities point to heroin as the natural go-to drug for people who first get hooked on opioid-based prescription medications, then seek cheaper ways to achieve an equivalent high. While the price of a gram of heroin is variable, it can be purchased on the street for as little as $20, roughly the same as a gram of recreational marijuana. The availability of heroin has also increased. Mexican drug cartels have now developed sophisticated, multi-billion dollar supply chains into the U.S.
All of this is raising great new concern for heroin/opioid abuse, and we must act.
First, we must continue to educate the public on the harmful impacts of heroin and opioid overdose to prevent these deaths. Heroin abuse is ruining the lives of families and individuals and we must let people know about it. We should also step up our efforts to lock up prescription medication and dispose of it properly to keep people from getting hooked.
Federal and local law enforcement should work together on new, more effective interdiction strategies to keep this stuff off the streets. In addition, more local law enforcement agencies and other first responders should carry and be trained in the use of naloxone to counteract drug overdoses on the streets. This, of course, is a relatively new but important role for officers accustomed to waiting for medics to arrive.
Finally, let’s spread the word that substance use disorder prevention and treatment works, and is available in local communities. By working on the problem of abuse together we can address and stop this terrible resurgence of heroin and opioid addiction. Youth are especially at peril as they are among the most vulnerable to influence by peers and unscrupulous adults.
Please do what you can to stay informed, then join whatever efforts you can to educate and prevent even more instances of death and tragedy in community.
Brad Owen is lietenant governor for Washington state.
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