The La
Crosse Police continue to battle a heroin. “I see heroin in our community
almost every day that I work,” says La Crosse Drug Unit Supervisor Detective
Sergeant Andrew Dittman.
Heroin
is cheap and accessible, a continued euphoria, but not as expensive as
prescription narcotics. “I believe it is a combination of people desire to
finds a cheaper source of opiates when they engage in prescription drug abuse
as well as the fact that it has become much more readily available,” says Sergeant
Dittman.
Heroin
is not commonly seen on the college campuses in La Crosse. Scott Rohde, Chief
of the UW-L Campus Police says, “We’re an island. Like meth, we typically don’t
have it on campus.” But he adds that the
low cost could change that.
Heroin, scientifically
known as diacetylmorphine, is an extremely addictive opioid that contributed to
3,094 deaths in 2010, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An
average addict spends between $100 -$250 a day to support their drug habit.
The
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Drug recorded that overdose was the
leading cause of injury death in 2010 among people 25 to 64 years old. Drug
overdose caused more deaths than motor vehicle traffic crashes.
“We
have had several overdose related deaths this year,” says Sergeant Dittman.
However, city officials are able to use the drug Naloxone, also known as
Narcan, to aid in preventing death. This drug is used to counter the affects of
opioid overdose by boosting blood pressure and heart rate, often times
immediately awakening people who have overdosed. In 2013 emergency responders
say they've used the antidote at least 200 times. That number is 5 times
higher than just 6 years ago.
Sergeant
Dittman advises students to play their part to keep the community drug free. “Hopefully
we can help people make informed decisions about what they put into their
body. Students should study the causes of addiction to empower
themselves. They should have discussions about the causes and effective
solutions to opiate addiction.”
