Feb. 29, 2012 - Town Hall forum exposes dangers of heroin
By COREY SAATHOFF, Editor
For the Republic-Times
The numbers are staggering across the region, and Monroe County is not immune.
"This isn't just in the big cities," Waterloo Police Officer Dave Midkiff said.
Waterloo High School hosted an "Addiction Town Hall" forum Monday night on the dangers of heroin and other drugs in this area.
The event drew an attendance of more than 100 to the WHS auditorium, including high school students, parents and grandparents.
St. Louis County reported 90 deaths attributable to heroin in 2011 -- nearly double the amount seen in 2010.
In the metro-east, the rising popularity of heroin and prescription drug abuse led to around 90 overdose deaths last year combined in nearby Madison and St. Clair counties.
Midkiff told the audience there were 19 nonfatal drug overdoses reported in Monroe County last year, and three overdose deaths.
"We've seen 14- and 15-year-olds with heroin in Waterloo," he said.
Waterloo Police Sergeant Jay Sawyer advised the audience that many heroin users will resort to stealing to support the highly addictive habit.
"Lock your cars and lock your doors," Sawyer said. "All they care about is getting that fix for that moment."
Midkiff agreed, adding his department has recently increased traffic stops for equipment violations and expired registration.
"That's how we find the drug users," he said. "We're trying to protect and keep our community safe."
Earlier this month, Jacob Nelson, 31, of Dupo, was arrested on federal charges of heroin distribution resulting in death and maintaining a drug-involved premises in connection with the July death of Jeremy Moskodauz, 36, who died inside his Columbia home.
Heroin is derived from morphine, which is obtained from the opium poppy. It affects the brain's pleasure systems and interferes with its ability to perceive pain. And once a person begins using it, they develop a quick tolerance to the drug and need more to achieve the same effect.
C.J. Strohm, a substance abuse counselor from Bridgeway Behavioral Health, told the audience that heroin was actually marketed by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in 1895 as a cough suppressant. While Afghanistan remains a top world supplier of opium and heroin, production in Mexico has risen drastically over the years.
The most common way to take heroin in the past was through needle injection, Strohm said. But increased purity over recent years has resulted in more users snorting and smoking the drug -- one reason for its increased popularity.
Strohm said the average street dose of heroin today can range anywhere from 40 to 80 percent pure.
"So, four pills purchased one time could have the strength as eight pills the next," he said.
And it's cheaper, he said. One capsule can sell for around $10.
Heroin causes a person to breathe less frequently, Strohm explained, which can sometimes lead to respiratory failure.
"Essentially, that person suffocates," he said.
But with such withdrawal symptoms as cold sweats, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and muscle and bone aches, Strohm said it is very tempting for users to make all of that go away with just one more "hit."
"They will feel like they are going to die (in withdrawal)," he said.
Perhaps the most chilling message of the night came from Tom Heard of Fenton, Mo., who lost his 25-year-old son Michael to a heroin overdose on Oct. 1, 2010.
Heard called heroin the "granddaddy of street drugs," and said his son sought treatment multiple times before paying the ultimate price.
His son's use of marijuana and alcohol in junior high and high school gave way to more marijuana and then Xanax and Oxycontin in college, eventually leading to the cheaper drug of heroin.
"You need to know that heroin is deadly," Heard said. "It will rob you of everything and everybody you hold dear. No heroin user escapes its grip."
Also speaking on Monday night was Stephanie, a New Jersey native who entered rehab at age 15 after suffering from alcohol poisoning seven times within a one year period during her youth.
"I knew there had to be something more than what I was doing," she said.
After successfully completing a rehab stint in Florida, Stephanie earned her GED at 16, graduated college at 18, taught and earned a master's degree.
She is now a proud wife, mother and social worker.
"Being clean and sober is the best thing that happened to me," she said.
WHS social worker Brianne Renz, who helped coordinate Monday's event, said the forum was a first step for the school district in tackling this issue. Surveys were made available for attendees to fill out, from which information will be gathered to determine a next step.
"We plan to do something," Renz said. "That conversation is happening and will continue to happen."
For more information on heroin addiction, visit www.not-even-once.com or call 314-962-3456.
By COREY SAATHOFF, Editor
For the Republic-Times
The numbers are staggering across the region, and Monroe County is not immune.
"This isn't just in the big cities," Waterloo Police Officer Dave Midkiff said.
Waterloo High School hosted an "Addiction Town Hall" forum Monday night on the dangers of heroin and other drugs in this area.
The event drew an attendance of more than 100 to the WHS auditorium, including high school students, parents and grandparents.
St. Louis County reported 90 deaths attributable to heroin in 2011 -- nearly double the amount seen in 2010.
In the metro-east, the rising popularity of heroin and prescription drug abuse led to around 90 overdose deaths last year combined in nearby Madison and St. Clair counties.
Midkiff told the audience there were 19 nonfatal drug overdoses reported in Monroe County last year, and three overdose deaths.
"We've seen 14- and 15-year-olds with heroin in Waterloo," he said.
Waterloo Police Sergeant Jay Sawyer advised the audience that many heroin users will resort to stealing to support the highly addictive habit.
"Lock your cars and lock your doors," Sawyer said. "All they care about is getting that fix for that moment."
Midkiff agreed, adding his department has recently increased traffic stops for equipment violations and expired registration.
"That's how we find the drug users," he said. "We're trying to protect and keep our community safe."
Earlier this month, Jacob Nelson, 31, of Dupo, was arrested on federal charges of heroin distribution resulting in death and maintaining a drug-involved premises in connection with the July death of Jeremy Moskodauz, 36, who died inside his Columbia home.
Heroin is derived from morphine, which is obtained from the opium poppy. It affects the brain's pleasure systems and interferes with its ability to perceive pain. And once a person begins using it, they develop a quick tolerance to the drug and need more to achieve the same effect.
C.J. Strohm, a substance abuse counselor from Bridgeway Behavioral Health, told the audience that heroin was actually marketed by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in 1895 as a cough suppressant. While Afghanistan remains a top world supplier of opium and heroin, production in Mexico has risen drastically over the years.
The most common way to take heroin in the past was through needle injection, Strohm said. But increased purity over recent years has resulted in more users snorting and smoking the drug -- one reason for its increased popularity.
Strohm said the average street dose of heroin today can range anywhere from 40 to 80 percent pure.
"So, four pills purchased one time could have the strength as eight pills the next," he said.
And it's cheaper, he said. One capsule can sell for around $10.
Heroin causes a person to breathe less frequently, Strohm explained, which can sometimes lead to respiratory failure.
"Essentially, that person suffocates," he said.
But with such withdrawal symptoms as cold sweats, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and muscle and bone aches, Strohm said it is very tempting for users to make all of that go away with just one more "hit."
"They will feel like they are going to die (in withdrawal)," he said.
Perhaps the most chilling message of the night came from Tom Heard of Fenton, Mo., who lost his 25-year-old son Michael to a heroin overdose on Oct. 1, 2010.
Heard called heroin the "granddaddy of street drugs," and said his son sought treatment multiple times before paying the ultimate price.
His son's use of marijuana and alcohol in junior high and high school gave way to more marijuana and then Xanax and Oxycontin in college, eventually leading to the cheaper drug of heroin.
"You need to know that heroin is deadly," Heard said. "It will rob you of everything and everybody you hold dear. No heroin user escapes its grip."
Also speaking on Monday night was Stephanie, a New Jersey native who entered rehab at age 15 after suffering from alcohol poisoning seven times within a one year period during her youth.
"I knew there had to be something more than what I was doing," she said.
After successfully completing a rehab stint in Florida, Stephanie earned her GED at 16, graduated college at 18, taught and earned a master's degree.
She is now a proud wife, mother and social worker.
"Being clean and sober is the best thing that happened to me," she said.
WHS social worker Brianne Renz, who helped coordinate Monday's event, said the forum was a first step for the school district in tackling this issue. Surveys were made available for attendees to fill out, from which information will be gathered to determine a next step.
"We plan to do something," Renz said. "That conversation is happening and will continue to happen."
For more information on heroin addiction, visit www.not-even-once.com or call 314-962-3456.
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