Heroin - possibly the next Southeast Missouri drug battle

By COREY NOLES

Statesman Staff Writer

The drug problem in southeast Missouri is nothing new.

For decades, law enforcement agencies throughout the region have battled the issue of several different drug invasions ranging from marijuana, to PCP, to methamphetamine, to prescription drugs and next, it appears, may be heroin.

So far, heroin has not made a full-on invasion of the area, but there are strong indicators that it is making its way south from St. Louis.

Is it becoming a problem in our region?

Walking for Wellness: Stop Heroin was created in memory of Nicky Vigna, a victim of heroin, and all those who have lost a child, sibling, or friend to heroin. We walk to raise awareness and to stay healthy.

"Absolutely -- Yes," according to Jane Pfefferkorn, executive director of Mission Missouri -- a recovery support service located in Sikeston, Mo.

While drug awareness is a major outreach, the organization has had heroin awareness efforts in the works for the past year.

Pfefferkorn stated that the number of drug-related deaths in Scott County alone over the last five years has increased approximately 500 percent.

Over the past five years, the St. Louis area has seen 1,800 overdose deaths due to heroin abuse. It has become such an issue in St. Louis that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported city police officers were going to begin carrying a heroin antidote in an effort to better respond to overdoses since they are often the first on the scene.

Southeast Missouri is beginning to see evidence of heroin in the region -- and a number of indicators that serve as warning signs.

"There are indicators here now," Pfefferkorn said.

First and foremost, heroin arrests have begun to appear. While still sporadic, they are moving into the area.

In May 2013, two men were arrested for trafficking heroin between Sikeston and Charleston.

In November, a Puxico woman was arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Stoddard County on four felony charges of possession of heroin.

Another major indicator, according to Pfefferkorn, is an influx of prescription drug abuse. In recent years, Stoddard County has seen prescription drug abuse become its largest drug problem.

"At least 80 percent of heroin users have abused prescription drugs in the past," she said. "Public perception has got to change about this drug. It's no longer just an inner city -- needle in the arm drug."

In many cases, prescription drug abusers get involved with heroin because they are looking for a cheaper drug option.

Pfefferkorn said a user can purchase a "button" of heroin for as little as $10, where prescription drugs can run that high per pill.

Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner said at this point they are only seeing heroin in arrests "occasionally", but he also knows what's around the corner.

"It looks like this is what we'll be seeing in the future," Hefner said. "It's just not real prevalent yet."

A study that took place from 2001-2011 by Roosevelt University and the Missouri Recovery Network, also points to a surge of heroin in rural Missouri areas.

"Because of the link between opiates and heroin use, which has been well established in research studies, heroin use is likely to increase in Missouri as a whole," the study found. "More users will transition from opiates to heroin as pills become too expensive or difficult to obtain. As such, smaller markets may emerge across the state to meet this growing demand for heroin."

Hefner said prescription drugs remain the largest problem in Stoddard County at this time, something Pfefferkorn would see as an indicator of what is to come.

Both Hefner and Pfefferkorn stressed the dangers of withdrawals from heroin, noting that they are extremely strong. In some cases, withdrawals alone can kill the addict.

She stressed that heroin is very different from other drugs for the user.

"Even one try can completely change your life," Pfefferkorn said. "In a matter of weeks it can go from a $10 per day habit to costing hundreds of dollars."

For that reason, an increase in theft and burglaries also plays a noteworthy role in determining heroin use in a given region.

The more heroin addicts, the more crime will be present.

Pfefferkorn said at the Mission Missouri Sikeston facility, they are noticing an increase in users who report heroin as their drug of choice.

For now, she said, the key is to raise awareness. Workers are educating law enforcement on the drug and even organizations and individuals within their own communities.

Mission Missouri has organized their own walk to raise awareness of the problem.

Walking for Wellness: Stop Heroin was created in memory of Nicky Vigna, a 20-year-old from St. Charles, Mo., who died from a heroin overdose. After her death, Vigna's family began reaching out to find a way to battle the drug.

Workers began the walk in October and have held five in the weeks since.

Individuals from the center and the community gather together donning neon colored shirts that read simply "Stop heroin." They stand on street corners and walk through towns wearing their shirts and carrying "Not even once" signs hoping to save others from a drug that cannot only control, but end, one's life.

"We've got to get awareness raised in all of our communities," Pfefferkorn said.

Pfefferkorn stressed that heroin isn't a drug used by the same people it once was. Over the years, it has become a serious problem for all demographics and as a result, it's a drug about which everyone should become educated.

"You never know when it will be your loved one," Pfefferkorn said.

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For more information on Walk for Wellness, visit http://stopheroin.org. For information on Southeast Missouri walks, visit http://www.facebook.com/stopheroinsikeston .