Heroin Still Around

It was just over a year ago that Michael Goodwin was sentenced to 14 years in prison on heroin distribution charges. He was convicted of delivering heroin to Wilmington. That case was part of a sweep against organized crime called Operation Don Quixote -- a nod to the Mexican source for the drug.

Now, a recent arrest for heroin possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver comes against two men, one from Wilmington and the other from Castle Hayne. The two men arrested, Taurean Farrior and Willis Grady, were caught with 50 bags (each one or two doses) of heroin.

Last year’s operation was said to put a huge dent in a major drug distribution network, operating out of Charlotte. At the time, the emphasis was on using Charlotte for distribution and North Carolina’s own heroin addict population wasn’t mentioned much. But we do have heroin here, and we do have addicts.

Drug news follows drug enforcement efforts. Of late, the focus has been on methamphetamine and prescription drugs. But the old evils haven’t gone away. Crack is especially heinous and prevalent in our cities. So is heroin. The trend is to hit whatever is on the rise and most popular, even though the background of other drugs remains the same.

There’s a link between prescription drug abuse and heroin. Addicts who prefer narcotics (“downers” as opposed to “uppers” like meth or cocaine) will switch to what’s available and what they can afford. If prescription narcotics are the only choice, they’ll take that over suffering withdrawal. Unfortunately, there is still heroin out there. And it may be harder to stamp out because addicts form a relationship with their dealer – at least “stable” addicts do.

A stable addict is someone who holds a job and maintains their heroin habit. These folks keep a solid supply line and aren’t out buying the product off the street. They know their dealer and their dealer knows them. This makes it harder to penetrate the set-up and make arrests. It also makes our heroin problem less visible because these folks usually aren’t out robbing to get their fix. They may be your neighbor or your kid’s teacher. There’s really no way to know.