MONROE - Law officials say a case of double heroin overdoses Thursday night at a local dance club did not result in deaths this time, but they are preparing to see the worst coming to Green County.
A 911 call at about 10:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 reported two women in their early 20s were unresponsive in the bathroom at the Sir Buk's on County KK, west of Monroe, said Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud. The women were transported to Monroe Clinic Hospital emergency room, where one was treated and released fairly quickly. The second woman was released the following day.
Skatrud said heroin is believed to have been involved, and detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the case.
"I'm surprised we have not had a case before in public," he added. "It's caught our attention."
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said he is not aware of any deaths in the county from heroin use, but he is seeing overdoses and evidence that the drug's presence in the city is on the rise.
"Since last year, we have had a huge spike in use and sale - more use than sales," he said.
Heroin use has become an epidemic nationwide, Kelley said. Of controlled substances, heroin now ranks second to marijuana for abuse.
"(It's) not just here, and it's very available now," he added.
Local police believe they have been able to stop the sales of heroin by finding individuals who have large amounts of the drug in their possession. These people are being charged with possession with intent to sell, based on the amount of the drug found, its packaging and the circumstances of the arrest, Kelley noted.
Heroin is being introduced to drug users in semi-urban and rural areas, and those users are of a young age, said Kelley.
"They are not injecting it as much as they are smoking or snorting," he said, but that begins the cycle of "chasing the dragon," a spiral of behaviors seeking to obtain more of the drug to produce the same feeling it gives.
Skatrud said investigations have found heroin use is "connected to most of our burglaries."
"They pawn or sell the (stolen) items for money or trade them directly for heroin," he said.
"Auxiliary crimes," connected to drug use, like thefts and domestic abuse, "are a great concern" to police, Kelley said.
"We are watching for this and try to interdict," he said.
Besides auxiliary crimes, there are other problems with heroin use. Skatrud and Kelley said users usually have no way of knowing the quality or purity of the heroin they are buying. Cleanliness of needles is also a concern with injecting the drug, Skatrud added.
According to Green County EMS Chief Dan Nufer, opiates, which are derived from the opium poppy (e.g. morphine, codeine and heroin), act on the nervous system, and overdoses can cause a user to stop breathing.
"If you stop breathing too long, of course, your heart stops beating," he said.
Nufer said GCEMS has not seen a "whole lot" of heroin overdoses nor an increase in the past year.
"Usually what we see is a patient overdoses and someone makes a (911) call and then disappears," he said.
At the scene of a heroin overdose, EMS personnel have used naloxone, an opioid antagonist that blocks the opiate interactions with cell receptors. The drug is marketed under various brand names, such as Narcan.
Depending on the size of the patient and the amount of heroin taken, the effects of naloxone last about 20 to 30 minutes, but it gives EMS time to get the patient to the hospital.
"The thing to remember is, just because someone gives you Narcan, it doesn't fix your problem," Nufer said.
A 911 call at about 10:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 reported two women in their early 20s were unresponsive in the bathroom at the Sir Buk's on County KK, west of Monroe, said Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud. The women were transported to Monroe Clinic Hospital emergency room, where one was treated and released fairly quickly. The second woman was released the following day.
Skatrud said heroin is believed to have been involved, and detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the case.
"I'm surprised we have not had a case before in public," he added. "It's caught our attention."
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said he is not aware of any deaths in the county from heroin use, but he is seeing overdoses and evidence that the drug's presence in the city is on the rise.
"Since last year, we have had a huge spike in use and sale - more use than sales," he said.
Heroin use has become an epidemic nationwide, Kelley said. Of controlled substances, heroin now ranks second to marijuana for abuse.
"(It's) not just here, and it's very available now," he added.
Local police believe they have been able to stop the sales of heroin by finding individuals who have large amounts of the drug in their possession. These people are being charged with possession with intent to sell, based on the amount of the drug found, its packaging and the circumstances of the arrest, Kelley noted.
Heroin is being introduced to drug users in semi-urban and rural areas, and those users are of a young age, said Kelley.
"They are not injecting it as much as they are smoking or snorting," he said, but that begins the cycle of "chasing the dragon," a spiral of behaviors seeking to obtain more of the drug to produce the same feeling it gives.
Skatrud said investigations have found heroin use is "connected to most of our burglaries."
"They pawn or sell the (stolen) items for money or trade them directly for heroin," he said.
"Auxiliary crimes," connected to drug use, like thefts and domestic abuse, "are a great concern" to police, Kelley said.
"We are watching for this and try to interdict," he said.
Besides auxiliary crimes, there are other problems with heroin use. Skatrud and Kelley said users usually have no way of knowing the quality or purity of the heroin they are buying. Cleanliness of needles is also a concern with injecting the drug, Skatrud added.
According to Green County EMS Chief Dan Nufer, opiates, which are derived from the opium poppy (e.g. morphine, codeine and heroin), act on the nervous system, and overdoses can cause a user to stop breathing.
"If you stop breathing too long, of course, your heart stops beating," he said.
Nufer said GCEMS has not seen a "whole lot" of heroin overdoses nor an increase in the past year.
"Usually what we see is a patient overdoses and someone makes a (911) call and then disappears," he said.
At the scene of a heroin overdose, EMS personnel have used naloxone, an opioid antagonist that blocks the opiate interactions with cell receptors. The drug is marketed under various brand names, such as Narcan.
Depending on the size of the patient and the amount of heroin taken, the effects of naloxone last about 20 to 30 minutes, but it gives EMS time to get the patient to the hospital.
"The thing to remember is, just because someone gives you Narcan, it doesn't fix your problem," Nufer said.