Local officials dealing with increased use of heroin in the valley

“As a resort destination, Crested Butte attracts a wide variety of people and, with them, a wide variety of addiction problems,” explained Mike Reily, Crested Butte assistant chief marshal. “The main problem we have had with heroin is the typical addiction issues such as thefts and overdoses.” Crested Butte fire protection district EMS coordinator Mike Scott said that while it is not the top issue his people are dealing with, heroin is out there and it is a concern. “In the two years I have been here, we have seen four or five cases of people dealing with an overdose,” he explained. “So it is not too much of a constant problem but there is concern for young adults.” “In June our officers dealt with a heroin overdose in Mt. Crested Butte,” said Marge Trautman of the Mt. Crested Butte police department. “This individual is a 24-year-old male who, after being cleared from the hospital, was charged and arrested. The charge is Unlawful Possession of a Schedule I or II Controlled Substance. That is a Class-3 felony. What may be interesting to note is that the individual was apparently revived by a friend who reportedly administered a drug to counter the effects of an overdose prior to police and EMTs being called to the scene.” That is not atypical in such a situation, said Reily. “In January 2014 our officers responded to a heroin overdose where the nearly dead victim was partially revived by a fellow user who had the narcotic antagonist, Narcan, or a related drug,” Reily said. “Crested Butte EMS arrived as well and ensured the victim was taken care of properly. In that case, drug paraphernalia charges were brought but we were just happy the user lived. In May 2014 we had another heroin user crash a car into a fence, and continue driving some distance before losing consciousness. Our officer arrived and found the victim was turning blue. He established an airway and brought the user around until EMS arrived to care for him. Once the narcotic effects of heroin were reversed he was charged with several driving and drug charges. “In June 2014 Mt. Crested Butte had a heroin overdose where the friends tried to revive the nearly dead user for two hours before calling 911,” Reily continued. “In that case the victim suffered severe deficits but lived. These cases are mostly near-death cases where law enforcement and EMS were involved. These is undoubtedly a small percentage of the potential calls we could have received but friends or fellow users were able to bring the victim back from what could be a very fatal overdose event.” According to Reily and Scott, heroin users, especially chronic users, tend to show signs of being “on the nod” or sleepy when under the influence. This is one effect of heroin, the respiratory depression that leads to people dying. “We have performed CPR on several people over the years until EMS arrives and administers Narcan,” Reily explained. “The other problem is poly-drug use, which we see a great deal of in Crested Butte. When users start mixing alcohol, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and prescription medication, all of which are here, the results can be very unpredictable. If people’s drug use doesn’t come with a negative side we rarely get called. When that use goes poorly, and we get called because they are dying or out-of-control, those results can be just as unpredictable.” Those dealing on the front lines tend to blame heroin use on prescription drugs. “The prescription drug oxycontin is becoming hard to get,” said Scott. “So it is becoming more common for young adult users to turn to heroin.” Reily agrees. “Our understanding is the recreational users of prescription narcotics are finding it much harder to get prescription opiates and narcotics such as oxycodone and hydrocodone that they had been using before doctors and pharmacies started to crack down. As a result, users have moved to heroin,” he said. “What has gotten our attention lately are the 20-somethings. Traditionally we have been called to deal with much older overdose victims and arrested much older suspects for distribution and possession. Perhaps the long-term health effects have claimed the older users and we are just seeing the next generation having their plight come to our attention. More likely is the group of young prescription drug abusers have moved on to heroin, as is the trend around the country.” Law enforcement said that like most drugs, there are periods in the area when there is a lot of heroin available and there are times of drought. “Most heroin originates from Afghanistan or Mexico so clearly Crested Butte is literally at the end of whatever road drugs take to get here,” speculated Reily. “In February 2013 we arrested a heroin dealer who fought with two of our officers before being taken into custody. He also had several other illegal drugs on him at the time and that is something we often tend to see here—users and dealers who are into multiple types of drugs. That arrest did not seem to slow the use of heroin in our area. Users are very driven and will find another dealer, or someone will fill the void once another dealer disappears.” Initially, people who try heroin appear to start by snorting it or smoking it. But long-term chronic users have gone on to using needles to inject themselves with the drug and that results in even more danger. “That comes with a host of related diseases such as hepatitis and HIV,” said Reily. ”We know we have local users who have these related health problems. Heroin use is not benign but if they don’t die from their short-term use, they tend to live a while until a related health issue claims their life. Heroin is one of the few drugs that can be taken in a large number of ways—injection, suppository, snorting, ingestion and smoking. Death can come in multiple ways, from an overdose, when it is unexpectedly pure or someone takes too much as well as from poisoning from contaminants. There is also the danger of aspiration of vomit or depressed respiratory drive. There’s not much good about it.” Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Program executive director Matthew Kuehlhorn said he has not seen a lot of heroin in the valley. “It is an ‘epidemic’ of sorts across the nation,” he said. “And I have heard of it rising and being around locally. I don’t know where it comes from nor do I know who uses it. “I don’t think high school kids are getting into it though we are listening as best we can,” Kuehlhorn concluded. “Some parents have voiced concerns and we will keep an eye on it. That is certainly something we want to keep out of the hands of the local kids and out of the valley if we could for everyone.”