Buffalo New York and Heroin

Morphine Ampules

Buffalo New York reports a heroin epidemic with its youth, citing another death from overdose this week.  Though this report could be from any city, with the name simply changed, it would be nice if heroin would leave some of our American cities alone – especially one that used to be so representative of America.   It is one of those places, that if you were a typical America family, at some point you wound up there as a kid standing next to your parents, being totally enthralled with Niagara Falls.   None of us could have imagined that within a few decades, the city would be attracting drug dealers along with the tourist.

Like every city, Buffalo will need to come up with a multi-faceted plan that encompasses drug education and treatment.  The problem doesn’t go away, but gets worse without attention.  Here is an article about the subject.

“BUFFALO, N.Y. – Western New York has a growing heroin problem, and many parents may have no idea how close their kids could be to using the dangerous drug.

That is the message from addiction experts after another local teen died from a heroin overdose this week. The death, and the events of just the last few days, appear to be awakening the region to what experts call a “growing epidemic” here.

It’s an epidemic that begins in the medicine cabinet.

Grand Island is home to the latest life cut short in what may be the area’s fourth fatal heroin overdose in March alone. Authorities suspect the 19-year-old victim was killed by a tainted batch. He died just three days after Buffalo’s Police Commissioner, the U.S. Attorney, and the head of the local D.E.A. Office urgently warned the public about the danger.

“This problem has reached epidemic proportion here in Western New York as well as nationally,” said Buffalo D.E.A. Agent-in-Charge Dale Kasprzyk on Monday.

And the people who are dying are often teens from the city and the suburbs. They tend to start so innocently by popping a pill from the medicine cabinet.

“It’s terrifying,” said Nick Manuszewski, a recovering addict who is now a drug counselor. “It’s even more terrifying to have been them and come back and watch other people do it.”

Narconon drug education materials are available upon request.  For those addicted, Narconon drug rehab is the best solution.