Heroin use on the rise in the Keys. Arrests, deaths and treatment numbers up
Two men found dead on their boats on opposite sides of the Keys in early June had one thing in common: Syringes were found near their bodies.
Monroe County 's medical examiner hasn't determined the cause of death of Jo'van Hanna, 24, or Jason Atkins, 39, but the needles discovered at the scene of each man's death could be telltale signs that the heroin resurgence plaguing the rest of the country may have arrived in the Keys.
"Yes, we have seen an increase of heroin issues in the county," Sheriff Rick Ramsay said. "It is not out of control but it has become cost-effective, cleaner and safer."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report this week concluding that heroin use has more than doubled among adults between the ages of 18 and 25 from 2002 to 2013.
In the same time frame, the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled. More than 8,200 people fatally overdosed on heroin in 2013.
The increase is due largely to prescription opioid abuse and the government's crackdown on prescribing opioids like Vicodin and OxyContin.
All the while, the nation's heroin supply has been increasing.
"Heroin use is increasing at an alarming rate in many parts of society, driven by both the prescription opioid epidemic and cheaper, more available heroin," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said this week.
Heroin has become a popular alternative to prescription painkillers. Chemically, the drugs are almost the same. But heroin costs users roughly five times less than pain meds, Frieden said.
"An increasing number of people are primed for heroin use because they were addicted to an opioid painkiller," Frieden said.
Substance abuse treatment professionals in the Keys say they are seeing an increasing number of their patients seeking help for heroin addiction.
Maureen Kempa, regional director of clinical operations for the Guidance /Care-Center Inc., a nonprofit mental health and substance abuse treatment clinic, said 33 percent of the center's inpatient detoxification unit's clients use heroin.
"Our detox unit has definitely seen an increase," Kempa said.
The numbers have risen fast. From August to December 2014, 14 percent of the Guidance/Care-Center detox clients screened positive for heroin use. By this past March, the number was up to 23 percent, Kempa said.
While heroin has not become epidemic in the Keys, recent arrests show dealers are selling it more frequently here.
Key West resident Stevan Joshua Rodriguez faces 20 years in federal prison after a grand jury indicted him this week on a count of possession with intent to sell heroin. He's also charged with two weapons offenses that could add another combined 15 years to his time.
Key West Police Department officers made the initial arrest on May 8 during a reported drug deal in the parking lot of Fausto's Food Palace on Fleming Street, according to court documents.
"We are certainly seeing it more since the pill trade has become tighter," said Alyson Crean, spokeswoman for the department.
According to Rodriguez's arrest report, he had 8 grams of heroin, .6 grams of cocaine and a loaded Beretta 9mm pistol in his car.
The syringes found beside the two dead liveaboards last month may or may not indicate they were using heroin. They could have also been shooting up prescription drugs. Deaths from opioids still outnumber heroin deaths, according to the CDC.
Also, today's heroin user isn't necessarily shooting the drug into his or her veins.
"It is now in multiple forms, i.e., liquid, powder and pill," Ramsay said. "Heroin is now taken by other methods versus syringe for the most part, which scared people in the past."
If you have a heroin or any other drug or alcohol problem, go to the Guidance/Care-Center’s website at www.gcmk.org.
This report was supplemented with information from the Associated Press.
This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Heroin use on the rise in the Keys. Arrests, deaths and treatment numbers up."