Heroin Deaths In Long Island Hit All Time High

NEW YORK (AP) — Nassau County officials say heroin killed more people last year than drunken driving and murder combined in the Long Island county.

Authorities say heroin caused 46 deaths in Nassau County in 2008. That's more than the 30 deaths recorded that year from drunken driving and murder combined.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi (SWAH'-zee) and the county's police commissioner told a Monday news conference that 25 people have died from heroin during the first six months of this year.

Suozzi is holding a forum on Tuesday about the county's growing heroin problem. He calls heroin cheap, addictive and available in every neighborhood.

New York City and Suffolk County officials did not have figures on Monday on how many deaths heroin had caused.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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2c-buoyant said:

I grew up in Suffolk County (eastern long island), and moved to PA 3 years ago.

I lost touch with a few friends, and I finally get in touch and find out everyone I know is on suboxone. It's all coming from Brooklyn, but in my day (16 years old) X, Coke, Pot were really all the rage. Mushrooms were always wanted, somewhat exotic. Acid nonesistant (unlike my current situation), and the only 'exotics' we got our hands on were AMT and 2cI/E.

I can contribute directly to this thread if anyone's curious, I know that scene WELL. (hence why I moved 3 hours away to a bullshit mountain town).

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drunken_etard said:

I find that Acid has just made a comeback or something..Because when I was younger in the late 90s it was all ecstasy and you could never find acid. Now I find its everywhere. Its easy to get acid now..not like scoring weed or crack off the streets..But if you know enough ppl its easy to find. And you can literrally order LSD off the net now.

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Heroin is back on Long Island, and it is killing people at a record pace. There were 46 heroin deaths last year in Nassau County and 50 in Suffolk. The related damage from the epidemic — in overdoses, drug arrests, calls to addiction hotlines — is also up drastically, officials in both counties report.

What has not increased yet, thankfully, is the panic that drove political leaders during the 1970s heroin crisis to employ the self-defeating enforcement remedies that exemplified the failures of the war on drugs. The Rockefeller drug laws sent a generation of nonviolent offenders away for life, creating a lasting injustice while doing little to solve the problem on the ground.

We hope this time will be different. This week, the Nassau County executive, Tom Suozzi, convened a summit on the heroin crisis. The district attorney, representatives of federal and local law enforcement, school and social service officials and medical professionals were on hand to offer expertise and guidance. It’s to Mr. Suozzi’s credit that the focus, was not just on high-profile raids and gang crackdowns, but also on treatment, prevention, education and tough community-based policing. Those offer the best chance of limiting and undoing the epidemic’s damage.

The heroin being sold on Long Island is deadlier and cheaper than ever. A bag on the street costs about $6 or $7, less than a pack of cigarettes. What makes the situation even more dangerous is the misconception among users that snorting or sniffing heroin, rather than injecting it, will not lead to addiction.

The means to easing this crisis are known. What’s needed is the will to carry them out, and the money.

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Hendrix Haze15 said:

I wasn't asking for sources, I was just wondering what drunken etard meant when he said you can order LSD online.

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2c-buoyant said:

I grew up in Suffolk County (eastern long island), and moved to PA 3 years ago.

I lost touch with a few friends, and I finally get in touch and find out everyone I know is on suboxone. It's all coming from Brooklyn, but in my day (16 years old) X, Coke, Pot were really all the rage. Mushrooms were always wanted, somewhat exotic. Acid nonesistant (unlike my current situation), and the only 'exotics' we got our hands on were AMT and 2cI/E.

I can contribute directly to this thread if anyone's curious, I know that scene WELL. (hence why I moved 3 hours away to a bullshit mountain town).

Click to expand...