Heroin problems grow in the Berkshires

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Heroin has become more of a problem in Pittsfield and all across Berkshire County in the past year, law enforcement authorities say.

“I’m very, very concerned,” Berkshire District Attorney Gerard D. Downing told The Berkshire Eagle. “It’s become a major problem.”

There has been an increase in the number of heroin-related arrests, the number of people ordered by the courts to undergo treatment, and an increase in the number of heroin-related overdoses in the past year.

“We used to hear about it occasionally,” North Adams public safety Chief E. John Morocco said. “Now we hear about it a lot.”

Pittsfield police filed six criminal charges for heroin possession between October 2000 and October 2001, but 30 from October 2001 to last month.

In the same time frame, the number of people charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin increased from one to 10.

There were two indictments for heroin-related crimes in Berkshire County between October 2000 and September 2001, but nine between October 2001 and September of this year.

And although there are no hard data, the number of overdose deaths is also on the rise, Downing said.

“I would be very comfortable saying there’s been an increase of 50 percent over the last three or four years in the deaths we can identify from a direct overdose of either heroin or a heroin substitute,” he said.

The increased use of heroin has brought dealers to the area, he said. And the heroin is more potent, up to 40 percent pure, law enforcement authorities said.

The higher purity means users can start by snorting or smoking the drug. Once they are addicted, they can start injecting it.

That’s what happened to one man who talked to the newspaper on the condition that his real name not be used.

“At first, I just liked the high, chilling out,” he said. “Then I started doing it every day.”

The 19-year-old man snorted heroin at first, but soon began to inject it. “It gets you higher,” he said. “You just feel the rush off of it. I was addicted.”

Cracking the heroin user rings is harder than for other drugs, police say.

“It’s very hard to get into these people,” said state police Lt. Joseph McDyer, coordinator of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force. “It’s a closed pocket of people who go down there and pool their money.”

The task for police is made even more difficult because of budget cuts and a reduction in federal drug enforcement grants.

In Pittsfield, $20,000 in drug enforcement money and six officers were slashed as part of a $300,000 reduction in police funding required to help the city overcome an $8 million budget deficit, Pittsfield Police Chief Anthony Riello said.

“Right now, we’re redirecting the existing resources,” Riello said. “When we do that, other areas will pay. But that’s what it’s all about.”