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Alcohol and marijuana use among teens is on the rise, ending a decade-long decline, a study released March 2 found.
“I’m a little worried that we may be seeing the leading edge of a trend here,” said Sean Clarkin, director of strategy at The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which was releasing the study. “Historically, you do see the increase in recreational drugs before you see increases in some of the harder drugs.”
The annual survey found the number of teens in grades 9 through 12 who reported drinking alcohol in the last month rose 11 percent last year, with 39 percent — about 6.5 million teens — reporting alcohol use. That’s up from 35 percent, or about 5.8 million teens, in 2008.
For pot, 25 percent of teens reported smoking marijuana in the last month, up from 19 percent.
Until last year, those measures for pot and alcohol use had been on a steady decline since 1998, when use hovered around 50 percent of teens for alcohol and 27 percent for pot.
The study also found use of the party drug Ecstasy on the rise. Six percent of teens surveyed said they used Ecstasy in the past month, compared with 4 percent in 2008.
If parents suspect their teen is using, they need to act quickly, Clarkin said. Monitor them more closely, talk with them about drugs, set rules and consult outside help, like a counselor, doctor, clergy or other resource, he said.
The researchers asked teens how they felt about doing drugs or friends who did them. The study found a higher percentage of teens than in the previous year agreed that being high feels good; more teens reported having friends who usually get high at parties; and fewer teens said they wouldn’t want to hang around kids who smoked pot.
Stacy Laskin, now 21 and a senior in college, said marijuana was everywhere during her high school years. Laskin said she tried pot and drank alcohol in high school, but didn’t make it a habit like other kids she knew.
“The behavior I saw people go through — and to see how far people can fall — really turned me away more than anything else,” Laskin said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Her close friend from high school died in 2008 from a heroin overdose. Laskin, a psychology major at Salisbury University in Maryland, was so torn by her friend Jeremy’s death that she decided to help others and is working on her second internship at a drug treatment center.
“Just seeing the negative impact made me want to get involved,” she said.
Other findings:
- Teen abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter cough medicine remained stable from 2008 to 2009. About 1 in 7 teens reported abusing a prescription pain reliever in the past year; and about 8 percent of the teens questioned reported over-the-counter cough medicine abuse in the past year.
- Teen steroid and heroin use remained low at 5 percent for lifetime use.
The Partnership’s “attitude tracking” study was sponsored by MetLife Foundation. Researchers surveyed 3,287 teens in grades 9 through 12. Data were collected from questionnaires that teens filled out anonymously from March to June 2009. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
The New York-based Partnership is a nonprofit group working to reduce the use of illicit drugs.
To see full results of the study, please visit http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Research/Teen_Study_2009/National_Study
Resource:
Associated Press. “Teen Pot, Alcohol Use Rising.” MSNBC. 2 March 2010. Web 3 March 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
Almost all people who illegally use or abuse opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin or Vicodin get the drugs from a friend or relative who had a prescription, a new report shows.
In the study, which involved a 2008 survey of more than 5,300 Utah adults, almost 2 percent of respondents said they had taken an opioid pain medicine not prescribed to them over the past year.
Ninety-seven percent of the time, the drug came from a friend or relative, and in most cases the drug was handed over willingly.
The study is published in the Feb. 19 issue of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Many Utah residents do have at least one prescription for opioid painkillers, according to the Utah Department of Health researchers.
“We found that one in five patients are prescribed opioids and the majority of those have leftover medication,” said report co-author Erin Johnson, project coodinator for the department’s Pain Medication Management & Education Program.
The majority of patients (71 percent) keep their leftover medication, she added.
Johnson and her team warned that holding on to unused prescription opioid painkillers can result in fatal overdoses, especially among people who were not prescribed the drugs.
According to the report, 85.2 percent of people who used an opioid without a prescription said the drug was given to them by someone who did have a prescription, and 9.8 percent said they took the medication without the knowledge or permission of the owner. Only 4.1 percent said they had bought the drug.
“With all these excess pills, there is a great likelihood of misuse and abuse that could result from that,” Johnson said. “So dispose of your leftover pain medication immediately,” she added.
From 1999 to 2007, deaths in Utah from poisoning by prescription pain drugs increased almost 600 percent, from 39 in 1999 to 261 in 2007, according to the report.
Johnson pointed out that any misuse of a prescription in Utah is a felony. That even includes taking your prescribed medication for an illness or pain episode other than what it was prescribed for.
The best thing to do with leftover opioids: throw them out, Johnson said. “The recommended way is to mix the pills with something undesirable in a separate bag and take the bottle and cross out any identifying information and throw that away separately,” she said.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends flushing unused prescription drugs, in Utah experts would prefer that people do not dispose of medicines this way, to avoid contaminating the environment, Johnson said.
In Utah, police stations also have drop boxes to collect unused medications, she added.
Johnson noted that most people are reluctant to get rid of their unused drugs. The main reason: They paid for these drugs and may need them again, she said.
Although enforcing drug disposal is hard, Johnson hopes that public awareness of the dangers of keeping unused opioids around will encourage people to dispose of these drugs.
In addition, Utah is trying to get doctors to prescribe only the number of pills they think a patient will need to deal with their pain, Johnson said.
“It not a big deal for someone to call in and say they are running low,” she said. “The doctors are understanding and they will write more.”
Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that, “increased use and misuse of opioid medication is a significant health problem.”
Overdose deaths from opioids have risen significantly over the past 10 years, and “this a particular problem in young people who are not aware of the risks of these medications,” he noted.
“The net effect is that more opioid medications are available, and perhaps one consequence of this is that more individuals are getting into trouble with opioid medications,” he said.
The Utah report encourages physicians to only use opioids when clearly indicated, not to prescribe excessive quantities, to avoid long-acting opioids such as Oxycontin unless needed, and to encourage patients to discard leftover medication, Garbutt said.
“The report is more evidence of the increasing problem of opioid misuse in the United States. This problem is costing lives, including the lives of young healthy people,” he said. “Education of both physicians and the public is needed.”
Almost all people who illegally use or abuse opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin or Vicodin get the drugs from a friend or relative who had a prescription, a new report shows.
In the study, which involved a 2008 survey of more than 5,300 Utah adults, almost 2 percent of respondents said they had taken an opioid pain medicine not prescribed to them over the past year.
Ninety-seven percent of the time, the drug came from a friend or relative, and in most cases the drug was handed over willingly.
The study is published in the Feb. 19 issue of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Many Utah residents do have at least one prescription for opioid painkillers, according to the Utah Department of Health researchers.
“We found that one in five patients are prescribed opioids and the majority of those have leftover medication,” said report co-author Erin Johnson, project coodinator for the department’s Pain Medication Management & Education Program.
The majority of patients (71 percent) keep their leftover medication, she added.
Johnson and her team warned that holding on to unused prescription opioid painkillers can result in fatal overdoses, especially among people who were not prescribed the drugs.
According to the report, 85.2 percent of people who used an opioid without a prescription said the drug was given to them by someone who did have a prescription, and 9.8 percent said they took the medication without the knowledge or permission of the owner. Only 4.1 percent said they had bought the drug.
“With all these excess pills, there is a great likelihood of misuse and abuse that could result from that,” Johnson said. “So dispose of your leftover pain medication immediately,” she added.
From 1999 to 2007, deaths in Utah from poisoning by prescription pain drugs increased almost 600 percent, from 39 in 1999 to 261 in 2007, according to the report.
Johnson pointed out that any misuse of a prescription in Utah is a felony. That even includes taking your prescribed medication for an illness or pain episode other than what it was prescribed for.
The best thing to do with leftover opioids: throw them out, Johnson said. “The recommended way is to mix the pills with something undesirable in a separate bag and take the bottle and cross out any identifying information and throw that away separately,” she said.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends flushing unused prescription drugs, in Utah experts would prefer that people do not dispose of medicines this way, to avoid contaminating the environment, Johnson said.
In Utah, police stations also have drop boxes to collect unused medications, she added.
Johnson noted that most people are reluctant to get rid of their unused drugs. The main reason: They paid for these drugs and may need them again, she said.
Although enforcing drug disposal is hard, Johnson hopes that public awareness of the dangers of keeping unused opioids around will encourage people to dispose of these drugs.
In addition, Utah is trying to get doctors to prescribe only the number of pills they think a patient will need to deal with their pain, Johnson said.
“It not a big deal for someone to call in and say they are running low,” she said. “The doctors are understanding and they will write more.”
Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that, “increased use and misuse of opioid medication is a significant health problem.”
Overdose deaths from opioids have risen significantly over the past 10 years, and “this a particular problem in young people who are not aware of the risks of these medications,” he noted.
“The net effect is that more opioid medications are available, and perhaps one consequence of this is that more individuals are getting into trouble with opioid medications,” he said.
The Utah report encourages physicians to only use opioids when clearly indicated, not to prescribe excessive quantities, to avoid long-acting opioids such as Oxycontin unless needed, and to encourage patients to discard leftover medication, Garbutt said.
“The report is more evidence of the increasing problem of opioid misuse in the United States. This problem is costing lives, including the lives of young healthy people,” he said. “Education of both physicians and the public is needed.”
Resources:
Reinberg, Steven. “Oxycontin Abusers Often Rely on ‘Leftover’ Meds from Friends.” HealthDay. 18 Feb. 2010. Web 1 March 2010. http://www.healthday.com
Article Sources: Erin Johnson, M.P.H., Pain Medication Management & Education Program Project Coordinator, Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City; James Garbutt, M.D., professor, psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Feb. 19, 2010, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Admissions to Twin Cities area treatment programs for addiction to methamphetamine (meth) continued to decline in 2008, according to a report on drug abuse trends released today by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The report is produced twice annually to monitor emerging patterns and trends in drug abuse and treatment.
Meth-related treatment admissions accounted for 5.5 percent of total metro area treatment admissions in the first half of 2008 compared with 12 percent for the same period in 2005, the year admissions were the highest. Patients under the age of 18 accounted for 1.3 percent of meth-related treatment admissions in the first half of 2008, compared with 4 percent in the first half of 2007 and a high of 17.8 percent in 2003.
“This is a continuation of a trend that began in 2006 that reflects fewer meth addicts in treatment,” said Carol Falkowski, director of the DHS Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division and the report’s author. “Minnesota Student Survey data also reflected downward trends in student use of meth in 2007. With continued community awareness, law enforcement pressure, prevention efforts and treatment, let’s hope we can sustain this downward movement.”
The results of drug testing among arrestees in Hennepin County were available for the first time in years, due to the renewed funding of the national Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring System.
Of the 881 male arrestees tested in Hennepin County in 2007, 43.4 percent tested positive for marijuana, 28.5 percent tested positive for cocaine, 5.3 percent tested positive for opiates, and 5.1 percent tested positive for meth.
Addiction treatment programs continued to treat more patients for alcoholism than any other drug disorder. In the first half of 2008, 52.1 percent of admissions reported alcohol as the primary substance problem. More metro area hospital emergency room reported incidents involving underage alcohol consumption than those involving any single illicit drug in the first half of 2008.
A copy of the report is available on the DHS Web Site.
Resource:
Brown, David. “Drug trends report: Meth treatment admissions declined in 2008.” Minnesota Department of Human Services. 5 Feb. 2010. Web 23 Feb. 2010. http://www.dhs.state.mn.us
Resources:
DAANES, PMQI 2010.
Moldenhauer, Rick. MS, LADC, ICADC, LPCC. Treatment Services Consultant, MN State Opiod Treatment Authority.
Note: The following Graphs, Background, Area Description and Data Sources are an excerpt from the “Drug Abuse Trends Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN for January 2010, by Carol Falkowski, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services. To download the entire PDF, please go to: http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/disabilities/documents/pub/dhs16_147922.pdf
Source: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Normative Evaluation System (DAANES), Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2009. Total number of admissions = 10,315. Primary substance unknown = 60.
Source: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Normative Evaluation System (DAANES), Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2009.
Source: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Normative Evaluation System (DAANES), Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2009.
Background
This report is produced twic annually for participation in the Community Epidemiology Work Group of the National Institue on Drug Abuse, an epidemiological surveillance network of research from 21 U.S. metropolitan areas, and is also available at: www.dhs.state.mn/adad
Area Description
The Minneapolis/St. Paul (”Twin Cities”) metropolitan area includes Minnesota’s largest city, Minneapolis (Hennepin County,) the capital city of St. Paul (Ramsey County,) and the surrounding counties of Anoka, Dakota, and Washington. Recent estimates of the population of each county are as follows: Anoka, 313,197; Dakotak, 375,462; Hennepin, 1,239,836; Ramsey 515,274; and Washington, 213,395, for a total of 2,557,165, or roughly one-half of the Minnesota State population. In the five-county metropolitan area, 84 percent of the population is white. African-Americans constitute the largest minority group in Hennepin County, while Asians are the largest minority group in Ramsey, Anoka, Dakota, and Washington Counties.
Data Sources
Treatment data are from addiction treatment programs (residential, outpatient) in the five-county Twin Cities metropolitan area as reported on the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Normative Evaluation System (DAANES) of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (through June 2009).
Crime laba data are from the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS), sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
College student alcohol use data are from the 2009 College Student Health Survey, conducted by Boynton Health Service, University of Minnesota. N = 5,692 students randomly selected from nine Minnesota colleges and universities.
Being drunk and asleep at the wheel of his car while it was parked in his apartment lot with the keys on the console was sufficient evidence to convict a Crookston man of drunken driving, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday [January 21].
In a seven-page decision, Justice Alan Page said the jury could reasonably conclude that Daryl Fleck was in “physical control” of his vehicle when arrested.
Fleck’s appellate lawyer, G. Tony Atwal, an assistant state public defender, disagreed with the ruling. “Presumably, if you’re in or about your car, the county attorney could now charge you with a physical control DWI,” Atwal said.
In 2007, Fleck was drunk and asleep in his car with the driver’s door open in the assigned parking spot at his apartment building when someone called police. He got his fourth drunken-driving conviction and was sentenced to four years in prison. The state Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction, setting up the appeal to the Supreme Court.
Atwal said he pushed the appeals because there was no indication Fleck had driven; the engine was cold, and the car wouldn’t even start when an officer tried it. If the car had been by the side of the road, it would have been very different, Atwal said.
The Supreme Court resoundingly disagreed.
Page emphasized that the law says “physical control of a motor vehicle” in an attempt to deter intoxicated people from getting into cars except as passengers and to help nab drunken drivers.
“Mere presence in or about a vehicle is insufficient to show physical control; it is the overall situation that is determinative,” he wrote.
He acknowledged that Fleck’s circumstances were not typical for a “physical control” drunken-driving offense because the jury couldn’t infer Fleck drove to the spot where he was found.
But a jury could reasonably determine that “Fleck, having been found intoxicated, alone, and sleeping behind the wheel of his own vehicle with the keys in the vehicle’s console, was in a position to exercise dominion or control over the vehicle and that he could, without too much difficulty, make the vehicle a source of danger,” the justice wrote.
Page said that in evaluating whether someone has control, the courts and juries consider a number of factors: proximity to the car, the location of the keys, whether the person was a passenger, the ownership of the car and whether it was operable.
He cited a case in which the state Supreme Court reinstated the drunken-driving charge of a person found behind the wheel of a car that was stuck and couldn’t be moved without a tow truck. Page said the court determined that “intent to operate” isn’t a requirement for finding that someone was in “physical control” of the vehicle.
Fleck remains in treatment and under court supervision, Atwal said.
Steve Simon, a University of Minnesota law professor and head of the DWI Task Force, said arrests such as Fleck’s are so common the suspects have a name: “slumpers.” He said that more often police find drivers passed out at a stoplight or parked by a roadside.
He said state law broadly defines “physical control” because “you don’t want people to get into a car if they’ve been drinking.” In one case, a person got a drunken-driving charge because he was steering an inoperable car that was being towed, Simon said.
In another Minnesota case, a man was drinking at home, then went to listen to the high-end stereo in his new SUV parked outside. Simon said neighbors called police about the noise, and the man ended up with a drunken-driving charge and an impounded vehicle.
Resource:
Olson, Rochelle. “High Court: Asleep at wheel, not driving, enough to get a DWI.” Star Tribune. 22 Jan. 2010. Web 29 Jan. 2010. http://www.startribune.com
Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is the most widely used opioid agonist treatment for opioid dependence in the world. To determine the effectiveness of MMT compared with no treatment or treatment not including agonist therapy in patients with opioid dependence, Cochrane Collaboration researchers conducted a systematic review of clinical controlled trials done between 1969 and 2008. Eleven randomized controlled trials including, coincidentally, a quantity of 1969 patients and conducted in 5 different countries were identified.
Outcome measures included treatment retention, mortality, opiate-positive drug test results, self-reported heroin use, and criminal activity. Study control groups included patients who received a double-blind placebo, those who received methadone for detoxification only, those who received counseling only, those wait-listed for treatment, and those receiving no treatment. The mean dose of methadone among patients in the MMT group was 60 mg or higher in most studies.
- MMT significantly increased retention in treatment, decreased morphine-positive drug tests, and decreased self-reported heroin use.
- MMT reduced mortality risk and criminal activity, but theses changes were not statistically significant.
Comments by Michael Levy, PhD
This meta-analysis demonstrates that, compared with no treatment or drug-free alternatives, MMT increases treatment retention and reduces heroin use in patients with opioid dependence. Although some treatment providers continue to discourage MMT, it is an effective treatment for heroin dependence, particularly for those patients who have not been able to achieve benefit through drug-free alternatives.
Reference:
Mattick RP, Breen C, Kimber J, et al. Methadone maintenance therapy versus no opioid replacement therapy for opioid dependence. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009(3):CD002209.
The first time Cesar Baltierrez was caught driving drunk, he lost his license for 30 days. The second time, it was six months. When caught a third time in March 2009, he knew he could lose his license for a year, and authorities could seize and auction his car.
Baltierrez was frantic. He needed to drive to work to support his two children. Then he discovered he qualified under a special program to volunteer to have a device installed in his car that would let him drive it only when sober.
Baltierrez must breathe into an ignition interlock switch that won’t let him start the car if his blood-alcohol concentration is above 0.02 — one fourth the normal legal limit to drive. He is one of about 500 Minnesotans currently using the devices under a pilot program that went statewide in July, following the example of many states that use the technology routinely.
“I haven’t drank for 10 months now,” Baltierrez said. “I know there are consequences if I do drink.”
Minnesota lawmakers will review the pilot program in 2011 and decide whether to make the devices mandatory for offenders. Mothers Against Drunk Driving renewed its call for the devices after Paul Garay, of St. Paul Park, was infamously charged with his 20th drunken driving offense in December.
Authorities who work with drunken drivers also advocate for the widespread use of the devices, noting that although they don’t change long-term behavior, they have been shown to be an effective component in a comprehensive approach to chemical dependency treatment.
“It’s the technology of the future,” said Jean Ryan, alcohol programs coordinator at the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. “We were the last [state] to pass 0.08. We don’t want to be the last [state] to use technology that prevents drunk driving.”
There were 35,736 DWI arrests in Minnesota in 2008, and 163 alcohol-related traffic deaths. About 40 percent of the state’s DWI arrests involve repeat offenders, and a third of traffic deaths are alcohol-related.
Check and recheck
Ignition interlock devices are installed in a vehicle’s console. The device requires drivers to blow and then inhale for a certain amount of time. It requires a second breath test five minutes into the drive and randomly times tests after that.
If the driver fails, the device disables the car.
For the pilot program, vendors download information from the device once a month, and the data are monitored by the state Department of Public Safety. Failures are reported to probation officers. Just a few days ago, Baltierrez’s device malfunctioned. He immediately made his way to downtown Minneapolis and provided a urine sample to prove his sobriety.
“Sometimes, it gets annoying, but I guess that’s the price we pay,” he said.
The pilot program was started in 2006, with Hennepin and Beltrami counties. It worked well in Hennepin County, but Beltrami County participants found their rural location made it difficult and costly to obtain and service their devices through the one vendor, in the Twin Cities area.
No repeat offenses
About 100 people in Hennepin County had the devices, and none re-offended while using it, said Emil Carlson-Clark, a county probation officer. Since the pilot program’s statewide expansion last summer, the number of participants has increased by about 100 each month, and now the cost is lower because the number of vendors has grown to four, Ryan said.
“It’s gotten better,” said Sheila Fontaine, a probation officer who works with Beltrami’s DWI offenders. “On a regular basis, we have people opting for this program.”
Offenders pay about $50 for a private vendor to install the device in their car, $75 to $100 each month to have the device monitored and about $50 to have it removed. Someone with three DWI convictions in 10 years can expect to have the device for two years.
There is a potential cost-savings to counties, given that it costs about $90 a day to detain someone in the Hennepin County Jail, said Fourth District Judge John Holohan, who oversees the county’s DWI court.
The devices have grown in popularity nationwide since the early 2000s, but some states have been using them intermittently since the 1990s, including Wisconsin and Illinois. In 2008, Illinois made the devices available for first-time offenders on a voluntary basis and made them mandatory for repeat offenders.
Mostly voluntary
Minnesota’s pilot program generally offers them to repeat offenders who volunteer, although some judges can impose them as a condition of release.
Starting in July, Wisconsin will require first-time offenders with a blood-alcohol level higher than .15 and all second-time offenders to have a device. Wisconsin logged 1,748 orders for the devices in 2001. That grew to 4,177 in 2007.
About 22 states use interlock devices for first-time offenders, Ryan said.
For now, Ryan said, Minnesota is moving at a slower pace, banking on the success of such people as Baltierrez to demonstrate why use of the devices should become routine. Driving with one has been life-changing, said Baltierrez.
“I can see that my life is better than from when I was drinking,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’m not going to go back.”
Resource:
Xiong, Chao. “Drink and drive? These Minnesota cars just say no.” StarTribune. 18 Jan. 2010. Web 19 Jan. 2010. http://www.startribune.com
Edward Yaekle was addicted to heroin for more than 16 years. At one point, the Anoka resident spent $50 a day for a bag and eventually became a dealer.
Four years ago, he woke up in the Anoka County Jail for conspiracy to distribute heroin. Realizing the drug could kill him, Yaekle, now 44, sought treatment. And he stopped for good.
Yaekle’s story could have ended tragically, as it has for other addicts.
Law enforcement officials said Tuesday that heroin use and overdose deaths have increased in the Twin Cities area at an unprecedented rate. Recent studies also have found heroin brought to Minnesota has the highest purity in the country, not to mention the lowest cost.
At a news conference, the Anoka County and Hennepin County sheriff’s offices spoke of the “alarming” rate of heroin-related deaths in the past two years.
Between 2008 and November 2009, there were 36 fatalities in Anoka, Ramsey, Dakota and Hennepin counties.
Anoka County Sheriff Bruce Andersohn said five people died from heroin use in the county in the past two years, whereas there were no deaths the previous three years, possibly even longer. “The resurgence of heroin cases is alarming,” he said.
According to a Minnesota Department of Human Services report released last summer, heroin found in Minneapolis had the highest purity level — almost 60 percent — than any other city in the United States. In addition, law enforcement officials said Tuesday that one-tenth of a gram of heroin, or about two uses, costs $50 in the metro area. They say the cost is much lower than for addictive painkillers such as oxycodone. As a result, addicts sometimes turn to opiates such as heroin.
As that happens, counties are seeing more heroin abuse and overdose cases.
Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek noted 16 heroin-related deaths during the past two years and an increasing number of heroin-related arrests and seizures. “We’re seeing Hennepin County as a growing concern,” he said.
Officials say much of the heroin in Minnesota likely comes from Mexico and southern border states. The higher potency rate could be accidental or intentional to bring on addiction.
According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, heroin cases — including emergency-room visits, those seeking treatment and overdose deaths — have increased, while methamphetamine and cocaine cases have decreased or held steady since 2006. The number of admissions for heroin treatment and other opiates has more than doubled to almost 2,500 cases since 2002.
“Heroin in particular is a threat because of its highly addictive and high overdose potential. … I don’t think we’ve seen this degree of heroin use and addiction in the Twin Cities before,” said Carol Falkowski, director of the department’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. “Even experienced heroin users cannot tell the purity of heroin by its appearance, so they always run the risk of accidentally overdosing.”
Yaekle doesn’t want heroin to take over the lives of others as it did his, so he has set up a Web site sharing his story and responds to every e-mail from concerned family members and drug users seeking advice on how to quit.
He tells families a sign someone is addicted is catching him or her in lies in order to hide using, obtain money or gain a place to stay.
For users, he recommends a long-term detox program. “Long-term is important,” he said. “Once you get rid of the initial withdrawals, the cravings don’t dissipate for a couple of months.”
Yaekle regrets deceiving friends and family and that he wasn’t there for his kids. To this day, one of his daughters won’t speak to him.
“You’ll steal, you’ll cheat, you’ll rob. There are things I’ve done, relationships that I’ve ruined that I can never repair,” he said. “I want to take all of those negative experiences and do something positive with it. I want people who are addicted to get better.”
Resource:
Ngo, Nancy. “Heroin use, overdose deaths on the rise in metro area, law enforcement officials report.” Pioneer Press. 13 Jan. 2010. Web 15 Jan. 2010. http://www.twincities.com
Authorities are planning extra patrols in 13 counties that had more than half of Minnesota’s alcohol-related deaths and serious injuries over the past three years.
The Department of Public Safety said extra DWI patrols will be conducted next year in:
- Anoka County
- Dakota County
- Hennepin County
- Olmsted County
- Otter Tail County
- Ramsey County
- Rice County
- St. Louis County
- Scott County
- Sherburne County
- Stearns County
- Washington County
- Wright County
Those 13 counties had 267 deaths and 605 serious injuries from alcohol-related crashes from 2006-2008.
Olmsted, Otter Tail and Scott counties are new to the list, replacing Blue Earth, Crow Wing and Itasca.
The department said enhanced patrols in the deadliest counties have resulted in more than 13,000 DWI arrests in the last five years. That works out to about one arrest per 16 traffic stops.
Resource:
“Minnesota’s 13 deadliest counties for DWI named.” LaCrosse Tribune. 11 Dec. 2009. Web 11 Jan. 2010. http://www.lacrossetribune.com
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