Is heroin usage on the rise in the Oxford area? Is there an ‘epidemic? as some believe?
The answers to these questions depends on who you ask.
‘There’s been increased use that we know of,? said Oakland County Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Perry, commander of the Oxford Township substation. ‘I don’t have any hard statistics other than I know we had four heroin (related) deaths last year in the township. It definitely seems to be on the rise. It seems to be more prevalent. It really does.?
But, according to Lt. Joseph Quisenberry, commander of the sheriff’s Narcotic Enforcement Team (NET), this perception is not the reality.
‘In my opinion, heroin is not being consumed more, but it is more readily available; it is more dangerous because of its intensity and purity levels,? he said. ‘I think it’s safe to say the heroin problem’s on the rise, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the heroin usage is on the rise.?
‘The data and the statistics are not saying that it’s being used more,? Quisenberry explained. ‘It’s saying that what is out there is much more dangerous.?
The purity and intensity of the heroin being sold on the market today is much greater than it has been in the last 20 years, according to Quisenberry, who’s been with the sheriff’s department for 35 years ? 15 of those years with NET.
This is causing more accidental overdoses and deaths, particularly in young people who are just starting to experiment or who have not had an opportunity to build up their tolerance levels for heroin.
‘With a much higher purity level of heroin, accidental overdoses are happening more frequently than (in) the two decades prior,? Quisenberry explained. ‘To put it in perspective, it’s not like there’s a drive or a want by the American public anymore now than there was . . . The market for wanting it is not dramatically more than it’s ever been. It’s just that it’s much more dangerous.?
Quisenberry indicated the public is hearing more about heroin not because of increased use but because the increased purity is causing so many tragic and tangible results.
‘If people weren’t overdosing, and they weren’t ending up in emergency rooms, and they weren’t ending up in the morgue, we wouldn’t be hearing as much about it,? he explained. ‘It comes to our attention and (gains) public awareness when people are overdosing, hurting themselves or getting killed.?
The reality is the perceived heroin problem in the Oxford area is no different than what’s happening or has been happening in the rest of Oakland County or anywhere else.
‘I think it’s virtually the same (as) it is in all of southeast Michigan and really all of the country,? Quisenberry said. ‘There’s always going to be levels of experimentation when it comes to young people. There’s going to be availability in all of southeast Michigan and really all the country. There’s no virgin territory.?
And that’s nothing new.
‘Heroin has always been (among) the top two or three drug threats in southeast Michigan for the last three decades,? Quisenberry said. ‘It’s always been up there as a threat. It has never gone away and then come back.?
While heroin is ‘always going to be in that top group of dangerous drugs,? Quisenberry noted, ‘it has not taken over cocaine or crack in southeast Michigan as our biggest drug threat.?
The only thing that has changed is the supply.
‘Heroin is more readily available now than it is has traditionally been,? Quisenberry said. ‘The supply has changed to the point where it is more available. What we don’t have is an increased amount of users and abusers.?
This increased availability is linked to the increased purity of the drug.
‘The only way they’re going to be able to reach the market is to make (it) better and better, not have more and more,? Quisenberry said. ‘The intensity and purity levels of the heroin now are much more than 10 years ago because you still have the same limited market.?
Availability has increased because heroin sales are used to help fund terrorist efforts around the globe.
‘It’s now being marketed more so than it once was because of how it is able to fund narco-terrorism,? Quisenberry said. ‘Afghanistan is producing probably 90 percent of the opium and poppy in the world. A decade ago, they were way down there, Asia was the bigger one. Now, Afghanistan’s the biggest.?
So, where are heroin users in the Oxford area buying their drug?
‘The suburbanites will go to Pontiac or Detroit or the areas around the Eight Mile corridor,? Quisenberry said. ‘Whenever you have an urban area, a densely populated area, you are going to find availability.?
Perry agreed.
‘A lot of the heroin that’s being bought is not in our area,? he said. ‘It’s being bought out of our area.?
The lieutenant said his substation hasn’t identified any local dealers.
Perhaps another reason some perceive heroin use in Oxford as a rising epidemic is because the community is still largely viewed as a small town and heroin is stereotyped as a big city problem.
‘It’s something that makes you shake your head and think, ‘Wow, I never thought anything like that would happen in a community like this,?? Perry said. ‘But it is and if it’s happening here, just imagine how it’s magnified in larger communities.?
Perry noted the four heroin-related deaths in the township last year involved victims ranging in age from 20-35.
‘I don’t know if it’s lack of employment opportunities, schooling or boredom,? he said. ‘It’s an escape.?
When asked if he knew of any heroin problems at Oxford High School, Perry replied, ‘I don’t know. I don’t have a liaison officer there anymore to have their teeth into anything.?
Quisenberry noted that unlike other illegal drugs, heroin is not used in groups to enhance a party situation or have a good time. Its users prefer to be alone because they’re using the hallucinogenic drug to escape reality.
Heroin is a very versatile drug with regard to its use. It can be snorted through the nose, injected or smoked.
Perry said most young people start off snorting it, then once they’re hooked they realize they can make their stash go farther if they started injecting it.
One thing’s for sure, once a person’s hooked, heroin becomes a problem that’s either going to end their life or follow them around until the day they die.
‘It’s like any other addictive drug. It’s a battle that they’re going to have to fight for the rest of their life,? Perry said. ‘It’s a day-to-day battle. Those same pressures and situations that led them to use the drug in the first place, more than likely they’re going to encounter them again.?