Heroin on the streets of Estevan.
It's kind of scary to hear.
Estevan Police Service arrested seven people in a trio of drug busts, involving mainly cocaine, in the city at the end of August. It is suspected the majority of the people arrested were connected, however, EPS has acknowledged the fact there are still local traffickers, meaning there are still drugs on Estevan's streets.
During this drug bust, more than $100,000 of narcotics and cash were seized, making a definite dent in Estevan's drug trade. However, the fight is far from over.
The city police service noted the fact crack cocaine was growing in popularity, though the powder form was in high demand as well.
This isn't really news to many people who have been aware of the growing drug problems in Estevan and the surrounding areas over the past years.
But the fact heroin has made its way to the Energy City streets is frightening, to say the least. Heroin wasn't one of the drugs seized in these recent busts, but nonetheless police in Estevan say they understand the drug is available.
Now this is a real serious drug we're talking about here. It's a highly addictive drug and the way it's now being used by many is, in my opinion, removing some of its fear.
Heroin can be ingested in several different ways: shooting the drug into one's veins with a needle (the method the masses most commonly associate with the drug), snorting the powder form of heroin, or smoking the drug, which is often mixed with cocaine.
Given the prevalence of cocaine in both the rock and powder form in the area, it wouldn't be as big of a step for a regular cocaine user to try heroin if he or she could snort or smoke the drug instead of injecting it with a needle.
The only positive point this has is the fact if users are snorting the drug instead of injecting it, the risk of contracting serious diseases like HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis drastically decreases.
These alternative methods of using heroin have increased in recent years. It is estimated up to 35 percent of users either snort or smoke the drug today, as opposed to less than 25 percent only 15 years ago.
But it doesn't make the drug any less addicting. Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs in the world no matter how a person ingests it.
While the belief that a person becomes addicted the first time he or she tries heroin may be a little exaggerated (according to people who work in drug detox and rehab clinics), using the drug has serious consequences on a person's emotional, mental and physical well-being.
People do become addicted over time and people will lose everything that matters to them.
The reason most often cited for becoming addicted to the drug is, since it causes such a euphoric feeling, many who are dealing with tough issues in their lives become addicted to this euphoric feeling, as it provides them with an escape from reality.
Basically the drug has the power to overtake the life of an individual in such a way that he or she forgets about everything else that was once important to the individual. Everything becomes secondary to the singular goal of the heroin addict: obtaining more and more of this powerful drug.
Heroin is a member of the opiate family of drugs. The active opiate-based ingredients in the drug create a pleasurable sensation in the individual that "fool" parts of the brain that naturally create good feelings.
Over time, the body begins to shut down its own natural creation of pleasure, as the heroin has taken over this responsibility. The problem (and the reason why people become physically-dependent on the drug) is, when the individual is not using heroin, he or she will experience significant discomfort, as the body is not creating any pleasure on its own. The only way for the person to feel good (or not feel bad) is to use more and more heroin. When this happens, the individual is technically addicted to heroin.
The fact this drug has made its way to a more rural area of Saskatchewan is a cause for concern. People often move to smaller communities to escape drugs and crime, but unfortunately the two go hand-in-hand.
It's estimated a heroin addiction can cost a user between $150 to $250 a day. This is problematic. This doesn't mean it's a wealthy-person's drug. Everyone is susceptible to using heroin and becoming addicted, regardless of income, race, sex or religion.
The next few months are bound to be challenging for members of Estevan Police Service, as well as RCMP members in surrounding communities, as they try and halt the sale of this illegal drug. So far, they seem to be on the right track with these recent drug busts, and one can only hope they continue to do a stand-up job and send a message that this drug is not wanted in our communities.
