A NEW SCOURGE: Opioids increasingly visible in Jasper County

Not all addicts have the common physical signs of everyday drug use.

Drugs that ruin families, drain bank accounts and end or derail lives sometimes have an obvious face, but a less obvious form of destruction has been creeping into Jasper County more and more over the past few years. While the three law enforcement officials didn’t have any exact statistics for the prevalence of opioid drugs, the opium-based, pill-form narcotics are starting to become a larger issue for police and those who work with drug addicts.

While opium can be grown in a number of different climates, the synthetic version — in illegal prescription-grade pill form — or imported heroin seem to be of grave concern to Iowa authorities.

“We’re going to see it, because it’s cheaper than methamphetamine,” Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said. “And it doesn’t have some of the same side effects. So it’s getting here, no matter what. Our task force is learning more about what to look for.”

Baxter Police Chief Rick Nichols says right now, trafficking of pill-form narcotics is a slightly bigger issue in his part of the county than seeing an increase in addiction symptoms in the tight-knit community. He said two recent traffic stops have led to arrests that showed opioid transportation is starting to become an issue for Jasper County.

Nichols said law enforcement asking the right types of questions of the citizenry is a huge key.

“It’s here,” Nichols said. “If we see one or two, we know there are more on the way. The hard part is that with pills, there are no syringes; it’s easy to hide. Law enforcement has to continually get smarter about this.”

Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess said much like mental health issues, heroin abuse is becoming a national crisis and the adverse effects have been seen in Iowa.

“Depending on the market, heroin can be much cheaper than prescription pills and as it continues to infiltrate Iowa we will begin to see the adverse effects right here in Newton,” Burdess said. “To many, it’s a drug that is new and the effects are unknown, and thus public education will be very important in the months ahead.”

Nichols said while Chicago is an important hub for opioids, Iowa being centrally located between the Twin Cities, Kansas City, St. Louis and Omaha means there could be vehicles moving opioids through the area at any moment.

Opioid drugs are predominantly central nervous system agents, most often used medically as pain relievers, which can be derived from the opium poppy or made synthetically. Heroin is an opiate, derived from opium, though some medicines have become known as “synthetic heroin” for their addictive nature and ability to be produced in a laboratory.

According to a 2014 report from the Treatment Research Institute, of the 22 million estimated to be battling some type of chemical dependency in 2013, about 4 million are dealing with heroin or opioid addictions.

Heroin is not the lion’s share of opiate use that it has been for decades. According to the World Drug Report 2011, the global opiate market was valued at US $68 billion in 2009, with heroin consumers contributing $61 billion.

The report said between 1998 and 2009, global production of opium rose almost 80 percent, while cocaine supply and demand simply experienced geographical shifts. The North American market for cocaine used to be four times larger than that of Europe, but the 2011 estimated value of the European cocaine market ($33 billion) is almost equivalent to that of the North American market ($37 billion).

With only a handful of arrests and other police involvement so far, reliance on state, regional and national reports has become more important in heading off the next wave of drug traffic and abuse. Nichols said dialogue among all law enforcement in the region — including the Quad Cities area, where some noteworthy increases in opioid use are occurring — is critical.

“We also talk to a lot of people in Chicago,” Nichols said.

A January report from the Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, titled “Opioid Abuse in Iowa Rx to Heroin,” contains some powerful numbers. For example, there were 227 overdose deaths in Iowa in 2013; there were only 317 people killed in auto wrecks that year.

There were 77 deaths due to methadone, opioid or other synthetic narcotics in 2013 and 20 from heroin.

Halferty and others have advocated for legislative proposals that would allow first responders to carry Narcan, or Naloxone, which is a potentially lifesaving drug for patients experiencing a opioid overdose. Burdess also advocates for this practice, including the component of replacing expired unused Naloxone first responders would carry.

Burdess said community involvement and education are critical.

“A drug epidemic will not happen if we don’t let it happen and we must collaborate as a community and get ahead of the problem,” Burdess said. “Those who are struggling with addiction can contact Skiff hospital, Capstone, House of Mercy, Integrated Treatment Services, Optimae and other local nonprofits that are available to assist in a time of need.”

The chief said parent involvement with children and having honest, open discussions about drugs is a huge key.

“Have frank discussions about drugs with your kids, be present in their lives and hold them accountable for poor decisions or behaviors, report suspicious activity or activity that you believe is related to narcotics use to the police and finally be an active part of the community and get involved in making a difference,” Burdess said. “Enforcement is an important facet, but law enforcement cannot arrest its way out of a community drug issue.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com