NEWS
Student survives drug overdose
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by Darryl Schnell
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
A University of Wisconsin student suffered from heroin overdose early Sunday morning on North Frances Street, the Madison Police Department released Tuesday.
Madison police responded to a call shortly before 2 a.m. on the 600 block of North Frances Street, according to a police release. There, officers encountered a man lying on the ground.
MPD officers and fire department officials resuscitated the 20-year-old student who had overdosed on heroin, the release stated.
The student is currently recovering and being treated in a local hospital.
His name has not been released.
According to the police report, the student is expected to recover.
Lt. Carl Strasburg, MPD, said the city has not been a stranger to heroin incidents in recent years.
"We have seen the frequency of heroin deaths increase over the last three years," Strasburg said.
This is the second heroin overdose in recent months near the UW campus. Seven months ago, downtown residents were hit by the reality accompanying the use of this narcotic.
In April, 20 year-old Sarah Stellner, not a student at UW, died of a heroin overdose in her apartment on Langdon Street.
According to Milwaukee County Examiner's Office records, heroin abuse has been on the rise in Wisconsin in the last few years. Records cite rising levels of heroin purity as a reason for increased abuse because users would not be limited to injecting, but could also snort the heroin. The ability to snort the drug also increased its popularity among young people.
Professor Matthew Andrzejewski of the UW Psychiatric Institute of the College of Letters and Science confirmed purer heroin could increase potential clientele for dealers.
"Typically, the market is notorious for low-quality heroin because at each juncture, dealers cut the heroin to increase the amount they can sell," Andrzejewski said, referencing the process of "cutting" heroin, which means to add other white powder to the drug. "When the Colombian drug cartel began producing and distributing a high-quality product in the states, they created a market for consumers who were afraid of needles."
Andrzejewski added OxyContin, a prescription drug and a precursor to heroin, has now become more popular nationwide as well.
"The prescription drug OxyContin is typically slow-working," Andrzejewski said. "However, people can crush it so it can be snorted or injected."
