Sun editorial:

Heroin a growing threat

Increase in seizures of this highly addictive drug should put parents on alert

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.

There are many words most parents do not want to hear in association with their children, including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, methamphetamines and heroin.

Parents should be on guard so they can intervene quickly if their children are being exposed to these and other substances that can cause short- or long-term mental and physical problems.

Especially in the case of drugs such as meth and heroin, parents do not have much time to respond after use begins, as addiction can come rapidly. Many parents and others who interact with young people are likely to be aware of meth and its accessibility.

Heroin, however, is not so apt to be on their radar screens. But it is a substance they should add to their watch list.

Las Vegas Sun reporter Abigail Goldman, in a story that ran Monday, reported that this year Metro Police officers have already seized almost as much heroin as they did in all of 2008.

She wrote that police and drug treatment providers suspect that the increase in heroin seizures means the drug is being sold to a younger clientele — teens and young adults who have discovered that using heroin is cheaper and provides more highs than prescription painkillers.

Heroin begins as morphine that is extracted from seed pods found in opium poppy plants. Mike Flanigan, who runs the local Drug Enforcement Administration offices, told Goldman most of Nevada’s heroin comes from Mexico and is trafficked through California.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal agency, reports that regular users of heroin develop a tolerance to the drug that drives them to use more of it as their addiction accelerates. The user is then subject to often fatal overdoses and severe damage to bodily organs, such as the heart, kidney, liver and brain.

The Clark County Coroner’s office reports that heroin has played a role in the deaths of 173 local residents since 2004, a statistic we hope catches everyone’s attention.

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Discussion: comments so far…

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By SgtRock

Aug. 18, 2009

6:34 a.m.

Flag

The Editorial board is so lame.

Just a few days ago, they were praising Woodstock as a celebration of life.

Now, they are rightfully discussing the carnage of drugs.

Woodstock should not be praised or glorified. It is a symbol of drug use and a period in America where drugs took a death grip on many young Americas and took a tremendous toll on the black community that continues to this day.

Nearly 50% of murder victims are black and a lot of that deals with drugs.

Sun grow a brain. Drugs are bad and stop praising drug feast like Woodstock.
By KillerB

Aug. 18, 2009

6:55 a.m.

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SgtRock -- again, it's called "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Look it up. Then look up "fascism" and "police state" to put your lame post in the proper perspective.

So long as people are not hurting anyone else, it does NOT matter what they do privately. Casual, recreational drug users are not the enemies of the state they are painted to be!
By neiman1

Aug. 18, 2009

9:53 a.m.

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Prohibition always works. Prohibit something and you create an underground economy fueled by inflated prices and run by the criminal element. It worked so well with alcohol in the 20's we have repeated it with everything else.

Let adults use what they want and shoot them if they give it to kids.
By SgtRock

Aug. 18, 2009

2:33 p.m.

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"So long as people are not hurting anyone else, it does NOT matter what they do privately. "

Let's make a deal.

If the drug users damages his/her body or becomes homeless then not one red cent of taxpayer money goes to them to help with those medical bills or housing.

Is that OK with you Mr. Liberty?

You should look up the definition for liberty. You will surprise what it means.
By KillerB

Aug. 18, 2009

5:31 p.m.

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SgtRock/jfnance/whoever -- calling me names you gets you zero respect.

As for defining liberty it's right there in our country's founding documents, starting with the Declaration of Independence. I decline your offer to educate you on what it means to be a citizen -- if you don't already know, or have the desire to educate yourself, you really have no credibility at all here.
By SgtRock

Aug. 18, 2009

6:09 p.m.

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I sure that Washington, Jefferson and Adams would have all for the citizens using their "liberty" and dumping poison into their veins while wrecking their life and degrading the lives of the love ones around them.

You still do not answer my offer.

If the drug users damages his/her body or becomes homeless then not one red cent of taxpayer money goes to them to help with those medical bills or housing.

Will you accept that offer?

I am confident that citizen does not mean one can inflict harm on oneself so that others have to clean up the mess.

If you want to right to destroy yourself then you must not burden the rest of society with the consequences of your actions.