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High Alert: War On Drugs
By STEVEN F HUSZAI; STEVEN F. HUSZAI--February 27, 2015
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WOOSTER -- As local officials say repeatedly, "drugs know no boundaries."



Indeed, they do not know geographical boundaries, as Wayne and Holmes counties continue to see individuals from as far as Mexico and Detroit flood communities with illegal substances.

Meth activity and labs were prevalent across both counties, and law enforcement, nonprofits and the justice systems saw a resurgence in opiates, a complicated issue with multiple fronts.

Opiates -- between prescription drugs and heroin -- reached all- time highs across the state, and epidemic proportions locally.

The issue resonated nationally following the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman from a heroin overdose.

A fact sheet from the Ohio Attorney General's Office notes the issue has reached epidemic proportions as unintended drug overdoses have overtaken car crashes as the No. 1 killer of Ohioans.

The death rate in Ohio from accidental overdose has increased 440 percent from 1999-2011 (327 deaths to 1,765 in 2011), an increase largely ascribed to the rise of prescription drug abuse and the mixing of drugs.

While Wayne and Holmes have not seen the volume of overdose deaths or users -- Cuyahoga County led Ohio's 88 counties with 194 heroin overdose deaths and 330 opioid-related deaths -- neither have been immune.

Wayne County

"We saw a slight decline in prescription-type pills last year," said Don Hall, director of the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency, which arrested a man with ties to Detroit selling large quantities of oxycodone. "But we have seen an increase on the heroin and fentanyl ... that's what's really scary is fentanyl."

The break Hall referred to came in October 2013 when Medway found a large number of 80 mg oxycodone pills, valued at $30,000, at a Secrest Road duplex.

Calvin Cunningham, 37, Detroit, was arrested and information gained from the bust snowballed into a much larger investigation, culminating in 59 secret indictments delivered in Operation Southern Migration; 31 were arrested.


Hall said the indictments were mostly for trafficking in heroin and opiate-based prescription drugs, as confidential informants had been buying large amounts of heroin and oxycontin from mid-level people who dealt with Cunningham before he was sent to prison.

The prescription drug issue is complicated, as oftentimes people start using pills for legitimate medical issues before becoming addicted. In many cases, insurance plans could cover the costs of medications and individuals struggling to make ends meet could be tempted to sell prescriptions.

But as Hall noted, once prescriptions no longer get filled or pills are not as easy to come by, the switch to heroin is an addict's fix.

"Once the oxycontin (which Cunningham brought into the area) was harder to come by, we started seeing lots of heroin," he said in 2013.

In 2014, Hall said heroin and prescription drug charges from Medway cases were 44 percent of the agency's work (of 286 charges brought from Medway cases) compared to 40 percent in 2013 (of 373 cases).

Because of the increased flow of opiates, in the summer Medway became certified to administer nasal Naloxone, or Narcan, a nasally- administered medication that reverses the effects of opiates.

"It just gives us as law enforcement the ability to potentially save someone's life," Hall said, especially as he noted oftentimes officers are at drug scenes before other emergency responders.

Many EMS squads have had Narcan for years, including the Wooster Fire Department, which administered Narcan 16 times to people ranging in age from 14 to 55 in 2013. Last year, Narcan was administered 36 times, ranging in age from 20-66, a 125 percent increase from the previous year.

Medway also has spread the word on its Operation Safe Return program, which places mailbox-type drop-off containers around the county where people may place unused prescription drugs.

In the first year (2009) the drop boxes were placed, Medway collected 300 pounds of prescription pills; last year that number increased to 3,485.5 pounds.

Numbers provided by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office illustrate the huge spike in heroin activity.

In 2013, cocaine dominated the indicted charges the Prosecutor's Office pursued, with 74 trafficking counts and 46 possession charges. Heroin was an issue, but down the list with 45 trafficking in heroin charges and 44 possession counts.

In 2014, the office saw 103 heroin trafficking and 54 possession of heroin charges, a 129 and 23 percent increase, respectively. Cocaine stayed strong with 71 trafficking counts and 29 possession charges.


By September, the community developed a group to coordinate a response to the issue locally.

An Opiate Task Force was started in Wooster to address the growing scourge of opiates. The group, of which Bobbi Douglas, executive director of Liberty Center Connections, oversees, gathered representatives from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to work toward reversing the hold opiates have over the community.

Douglas said STEPS treats about 1,000 people a year. While alcohol abuse is still the top issue, she said heroin and prescription drug users make up roughly 40 percent of cases.

"It has slammed us," Douglas said at the group's second meeting.

Hall said in 2014, Medway responded to 32 meth lab calls in Wayne County, up from 28 labs seen in 2013.

Holmes County

Illegal use and sale of prescription drugs spent another year at the top of the list for Holmes County's drug interdiction unit in 2014.

In total, the drug team from the Holmes County Sheriff's Office was responsible for the filing of criminal charges, possession and trafficking, against 27 defendants during the year.

Among the criminal charges were those involving marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing meth, cultivation of marijuana and several gun specifications, according to Sgt. Joe Mullet.

The most prevalent drug of abuse continues to be pharmaceuticals, he said, however, heroin is "coming in strong."

Making its way to Holmes County largely from Detroit, heroin's real presence was solidified in the fall, when the Sheriff's Office started using confidential informants to buy the opiate.

"We knew it was around before then, but that's really when we were able to start buying it," said Mullet, noting heroin use is a growing trend nationwide, as law enforcement agencies and medical providers are cracking down on prescription medications, making heroin, in a lot of cases, cheaper and easier to get on the street.

Incredibly lethal, heroin has been the cause of many overdoses, but Mullet said medical personnel armed with Narcan, which is used to counteract the effects of heroin, were able to save several lives, and Holmes County has yet to see a death from heroin overdose.

The county's meth response team continued to have an active year, during which time its four members responded to 49 call-outs to dismantle 371 labs in Holmes, Tuscarawas, Harrison and Carroll counties.


Of those, six labs and parts of labs were in Holmes County. They resulted in criminal cases against three people, including one who also was charged with arson after an explosion during the manufacturing process caused a fire at his home.

While most of the meth work took place outside Holmes County, Sheriff Timothy W. Zimmerly said the relationship his office has with those in other counties continues to benefit the local community.

"Drugs know no boundaries," he said, adding officers from Tuscarawas County are preparing for meth lab deconstruction, which will help to take some of the burden off the Holmes County responders.

In addition to tackling the illegal drug trade, Mullet uses his knowledge to educate and help deter abuse. In the last year, he said, he has participated in 30 speaking engagements at schools, businesses and organizational meetings.

Moving into the future, Zimmerly said, he hopes to continue on the same path as far as drugs are concerned. He's confident the tough stand his office, other law enforcement agencies and the courts have taken on drugs will continue to help deter illegal drug activity.

"We're going to keep doing what we're doing. We're going to be active and proactive. We're not letting up. The commissioners have funded us at the same level, and we thank them for that. If not for that, it would be a lot harder," he said.







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