Heroin use on decline in St. Charles Parish

Other areas of state have seen dramatic increase in heroin-related deaths

While heroin use appears to be on the rise across Louisiana, St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said the drug is declining in the parish.

“While the heroin problem was surging in 2012 and 2013, it has abated quite a bit here in St. Charles Parish in the last several months,” Champagne said. “We have imprisoned many of the key users and dealers here and we are seeing results.”

Champagne’s remarks came a day before the Louisiana State Troopers Association held a heroin summit in cooperation with the DEA to help educate the public and law enforcement about the rise of heroin use, and deaths, in Louisiana.

The State Police organizing Tuesday’s summit pointed to numbers from Baton Rouge as a sign of the drug’s growing presence in the state. In 2013, 34 heroin deaths were recorded in East Baton Rouge in contrast to only five in 2012. The CDC ranks Baton Rouge 19th in the nation for heroin-related deaths.

According to numbers provided by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, there were 24 and 34 heroin-related arrests in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Through August of 2014, only 16 such arrests have been made.

Champagne gives credit to his department for imprisoning many of the key users and dealers in St. Charles Parish.

“Reports from the streets are that we are hurting the dealers financially since we continue to arrest a large majority of their customers,” he said.

He said his department has also combated heroin use by educating the public about the dangers the drug presents.

Senate Bill 87, which took effect in May of this year, may provide an even greater deterrent to heroin dealers. The new law increases the maximum penalty for those convicted of attempting to deal heroin from 50 years to 99 years. The new law also adds a minimum sentence of 10 years with no probation or sentence suspension, up from five years.

Louisiana State Police Troop B spokesperson Melissa Matey said the majority of the heroin busts they are making in the Greater New Orleans area come out of Orleans Parish. She said Troop B had not made any arrest for heroin-related charges in St. Charles Parish.

“Marijuana continues to be the most widely-abused drug in St. Charles Parish, followed by cocaine, then heroin,” Champagne said.

Champagne said that crackdowns on prescription drug use have forced many addicts to turn to the “elicit market” of heroin.

Both Champagne and Matey spoke to the danger of the varying potency of heroin. Since the drug is often diluted, or “cut,” before distribution, users can get used to a certain level of strength. When they come in contact with a higher-purity product, the results can be fatal, Champagne said.

“Anyone who becomes addicted to heroin needs in–house drug rehab, in my opinion,” Champagne added. “There are some programs throughout the metropolitan area, but none other than our public hospital locally.”