Interstate highways are a major factor

By Tom Anselm

The greater St. Louis region has a heroin problem. It began in earnest in the early 2000s and seems to be getting worse rather than better. Since 2007 to the present date, an estimated 90% of all Missouri heroin overdose deaths have been from the counties in and surrounding St. Louis, with St. Louis County being the worst.

“We started looking at the statistics, really tracking this in 2008 to 2009. It was based on information from hospitals, treatment facilities and police arrests,” said Jared Opsal, Public Awareness specialist for the St. Louis affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, or NCADA. What he was referring to was the use of heroin in the St. Louis region. “It just started gradually going up, and with it, the number of deaths. Ever since, there has been no plateau.”

Heroin.   Smack, H, Boy. Snow, Skag…call it what you will, it has become a veritable scourge among young people in the past several years. It is more powerful than ever, affordable and easy to use since it comes in capsule form and can be broken open and the powder snorted or simply swallowed. Plus, it can kill on the first try.

It is reaching its ugly tentacles into all parts of society, favors no race or gender, no socio-economic level. In fact, it is becoming even more popular, and deadly, among young people in what could be seen as middle class and upper-middle class families. Anyone, regardless of age, race or economic background is vulnerable, according to health officials.And its addiction is showing itself as so very hard to break.

In the St. Louis region, there have been more than 1,900 deaths in the past six years. About 400 of those occurred in 2014. Numbers for 2015 are not in yet. But why is this hitting St. Louis so heavily? Opsal said that a large factor in this has to do with location.  

   Why has Heroin Use Become so Prevalent?

“The drug cartels are flooding the United States with millions of dollars worth of heroin. They are sending so much that it is hard to stop it. It’s hidden under trucks, in gas tanks, inside hollowed out wheels and fake compartments inside motors. If they lose a few shipments to the authorities, no big deal, just the cost of doing business to them. It is coming north out of Mexico into Chicago, and then from that major distribution center down the highway systems to the Midwest. St. Louis, being easily accessible to major highways such as 40/64, 44 and 55 is a natural market, due to its high concentration of population.”

So, it is easy to get and inexpensive. It is a multi-billion dollar industry, with networks across the nation. Not only that, the heroin user is no longer the strung out junkie behind the dumpster with a needle hanging out of his arm. Today’s addict is vibrant, young, male and female, athletic, popular… the stereotypical suburban kid. And more than likely, white.

But why has it become so prevalent? “We have seen that a good 80% of people who use heroin get their start from abusing prescription drugs. They get into their parents prescriptions, or buy from people who steal drugs in home invasions. About 60-70% of the users are in the age range of 18-35. But we have seen both older and younger users… and deaths,” said Opsal. “A lot has been said of so-called ‘gateway’ drugs. All drug use can be categorized as ‘gateway’, from smoking to alcohol to marijuana. The earlier a person starts using, the more chance they have of addiction, due to brain susceptibility. For example, from ages 12-15, a person using drugs has a 6.5 higher chance of addiction than someone starting in the age group of 16-21, which goes down to 4.0. Still, the earlier one starts, the harder it is to stop.”

Opsal cites some of the efforts of his organization to combat this growing problem. NCADA has programs available for all levels of school children, from kindergarten to high school. There are peer leadership programs, public awareness conventions, counseling, tutoring and efforts to change public policy. He noted that the awareness and school outreach programs are the easiest and most visible, but what is really needed is public policy change at all political levels. And the state of Missouri is especially lagging in this area. For example, every state in the U.S. has a policy for prescription drug monitoring, except Missouri. This tracks prescriptions, preventing someone from getting multiple scripts for the same drug, also known as “pill or doctor shopping.” There is also a 911 Good Samaritan law whereby a call can be made to 911 for an overdose and the user will not be charged if only a small amount of drugs are at the scene. This is not the practice in Missouri, however. And a drug called Naloxone is available to first responders, which reverses the deadly effects of a heroin overdose, but it is not yet available to the public in Missouri. It is in Illinois. Opsal notes that our state’s public policy is not keeping pace with what is being done elsewhere to combat this problem. And this problem is not going away, only getting worse.

Jared Opsal stresses that everyone should be concerned. He says he cannot stress strongly enough the need for parents, grandparents, teachers, administrators, coaches… in short, anyone involved with youth, to get involved with their legislators, know the signs of heroin and other drug abuse situations, to catch the user early, and ideally to prevent them from using in the first place. “It is out there. If you suspect a friend, family member, neighbor’s kid, whoever… make a call. Help is available,” he said. “Don’t wait until it is too late.”

NCADA is located on Olive Boulevard, just west of I-170. For more information on the programs and events that this not-for-profit organization has available, or to learn more about substance abuse issues in general, go to www.ncada-stl.org. You can also call 341-962-3456.

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