City, County join forces to go after growing heroin epidemic

In a week in which Dane County's death toll from heroin and other opiates climbed to within one of last year's, Madison and county officials on Wednesday announced a joint initiative to address the growing epidemic. Layla K. Heckel's death Sunday — confirmed Wednesday by the Dane County Medical Examiner's office — after a suspected heroin overdose is expected to push the number of opiate-related deaths to 22. This year's 135 reported opiate-related overdoses have already surpassed last year's 97, according to the Dane County Drug and Gang Task Force.

"That's an alarming situation," said Cheryl Wittke, executive director of Safe Communities, a nonprofit coalition of community organizations that is coordinating the new opiates task force. Wittke said the task force will involve law enforcement and public health officials, treatment professionals and others in a coordinated effort to address the heroin and opiate epidemic in Dane County, which mirrors a similar crisis nationwide. Areas of focus include reducing access to drugs and inappropriate use of prescription drugs, improving overdose intervention, preventing substance abuse and integrating mental health care, along with early intervention and drug treatment.

In announcing the initiative, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi noted that along with the impact on addicts and their families, other people also are at risk from heroin users who shoot up, then drive and pass out behind the wheel. Madison police have reported 12 incidents this year in which drivers have either crashed or were found unconscious in traffic following the use or suspected use of heroin or other opiates. One driver passed out on the Beltline, and another crashed into a tree after narrowly missing cyclists on the heavily used bike path along John Nolen Drive.

Parisi and Mayor Paul Soglin have included a total of $78,276 in their proposed budgets to fund coordination along with community education and outreach efforts. "We have to get firm control of this issue as soon as possible," Soglin said. "Families and friends are going to play a very critical role in how we stop this problem." Work groups will come together with their recommendations at a summit in January, and three months later will report three months on next steps. Madison Police Chief Noble Wray for years has been calling for a comprehensive public health response to heroin and opiate use, saying law enforcement alone can't solve the problem.


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and they're immigrants with dark skin and funny sounding names...BOO!

The heroin is coming from Chicago and users are actually shooting up on East Washington/151... somebody high drove right into the front of a city bus last week. People who are addicted can't wait to go home to shoot up so they are doing it in their cars getting back on the road.