A Poulsbo couple endured this year a Valentine’s Day gone bad.
The pair made a decidedly bad decision: shooting heroin. But they told a Poulsbo Police officer that their preferred opiate — OxyContin — was just too expensive, according to Kitsap County court documents.
So they turned to the notorious street drug. And such a roll of the dice led to near-death consequences.
Anyone who has been under the influence of an opiate — whether you’ve had your wisdom teeth pulled or turned to the streets for smack — knows it is a dreamy, pain-free, sedated high. But make no mistake: whether it’s OxyContin, Vicadin, Percocet or heroin, they are cut from the same cloth.
Recently, prescription opiates like OxyContin have shot up in price due to supply shortfalls, according to a recent story in the Bellingham Herald. That may lead to an increase in addicts turning to the streets for the sometimes-deadly heroin.
When we covered the rise of prescription opiate abuse in a special report last April, the street price was about a $1 a milligram. (Some of the hardened addicts were using 10 80mg pills a day, and it isn’t hard to see how expensive such a habit could be.)
Think I’m exhaggerating? Then you haven’t met someone addicted to an opiate. Such a habit is one of the most difficult to break.
Anyway, back to the Poulsbo couple. The Poulsbo cop got the call, but the 911 caller had abandoned the couple’s home. He was able to see inside, and found the two unconscious. He saw a “black tar substance” with a “distinctive odor,” nearby. Apparently, the couple had been smoking the black tar variety, and not “shooting” it, as seems to be the technique most documented in our culture.
Medics used Narcan to reverse the effects of the respitory depression that could’ve killed the couple, court documents said. They both recovered, and will face criminal charges.
I have had to take narcotic pain killers at different times in my life. I can’t imagine becoming addicted to them, as I did not like the fuzzy, mushy brain thing that happens. Even the pain relief was not total – just took enough of the edge off so that I could sleep without screaming.