Heroin Use On The Rise
Suffolk DA announces over 100 arrests after a four month, multi-agency crackdown on street sales of heroin in Suffolk County
On July 27th at a Hauppauge press conference District Attorney Thomas Spota, joined by Suffolk County executive Steve Levy and an array of law enforcement officials announced the execution of eleven search warrants. Police seized four thousand bags of heroin with a street value of over $400,000, along with felony amounts of oxycodene, vicodin, xanax and methadone.
With astonishing speed, heroin has gained a foothold on Long Island. Long associated with the inner city, the highly addictive drug began showing up a few years ago with increasing frequency in Nassau County and the trend has continued east, swallowing Suffolk County and all of Long Island. “It’s not just an urban problem, it’s everywhere,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy at the Hauppauge news conference.
In November, Smithtown earned itself a place on the heroin map when $250,000 in drugs was seized from a house on Brooksite Drive in Smithtown. According to a department spokesman, 4th Precinct narcotics officers seized approximately 10,000 packets of heroin, over one kilogram of cocaine, more than 100 oxycodone pills and nearly a pound of marijuana. $125,000 in cash was also found in the home. In March, Suffolk DA Tom Spota announced the largest heroin seizure in county history; three kilos. Major Walter Heesch, commander of state police on Long Island said that one kilogram of heroin is worth about $350,000 on the street, giving 3 kilos a street value of over a million dollars. Heroin arrests and overdoses have gone up steadily in both Nassau and Suffolk counties in recent years. According to police records heroin overdoses have so far claimed more Long Island lives this year than drunk driving. In Suffolk County in 2004, there were 4,406 packets of heroin seized - about a third of the 13,141 seized so far this year. This is a significant increase especially considering the year is only half over.
Besides its move into suburbia another changing dynamic is the age of the typical user. National anti-drug advocates report the mean age for first-time heroin use has fallen from 26 to 21 years old, and it continues to drop. Part of what makes the emerging trends so shocking is not just that heroin is invading Long Island, but that it’s targeting the high schools. "Unfortunately heroin has moved into our schools and has become the drug of choice for our youth," Spota said. “The abundance and price are what is driving kids to get involved at such a level” according to Suffolk County Legislative John Kennedy. Kennedy’s district covers part of Smithtown and he has been a vocal voice spearheading that community’s fight against heroin. The Legislator explained that teens that start experimenting with prescription drugs such as oxycodenes and vicadines often move onto heroin because it is cheaper and easier to acquire. While the street value of a single pill of oxycodene is about $60, a bag of heroin may cost as little as $10. Users that begin by taking prescription opiates often move onto snorting or smoking heroin because of the price. The next and final step for many is injecting the drug with a syringe directly into the blood stream, which can give a quicker and stronger high. Once a user becomes addicted, which may happen quickly, he or she will need ever larger amounts to satisfy their cravings. While these numbers are harder to track, it is believed many smaller crimes are caused by heroin addiction. Pressed for cash, users may break into homes to steal things that they can convert into quick cash and then into their next high. Recently a Long Island pair who met in a detox center and then relapsed made headlines when they were arrested on July 14th after robbing at least two area banks to fuel their addiction.
The low cost, high potency, easy accessibility, and extreme addiction has made heroin a major problem on Long Island. Speaking at his Smithtown office recently John Kennedy said, “This issue is probably the most important that I have been confronted and involved with.”