J.B. VAN HOLLEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Heroin in Wisconsin

As the State’s top cop, I am committed to tackling emerging criminal trends.  That is why since I’ve been Attorney General, the Department of Justice has increased its capacity to combat internet sex predators and stepped up its investigations of those committing elder financial fraud and physical abuse.  We’ve also embarked on a new partnership with Milwaukee County to crack down on witness intimidation and I am working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and deport criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety in Wisconsin. 

Sometimes emerging threats are old threats renewed in a different form.  This is the case with one of the most addictive and dangerous drugs: Heroin.

Heroin has been available for many years.  And for many years—the first federal law comprehensively controlling the drug was passed in 1914—we have been aware of its many dangers.  Heroin, an opiate refined from opium, is highly destructive.  Addiction occurs soon after trying the drug, and there is great potential for overdose.  When taken in excess, it slows the heart rate and respiration and can kill.  These facts remain constant. 

Other facts have changed over time.  The image of a heroin addict as a hardened drug user, shooting up in dark urban alleys is outdated.  Today’s user is usually in their late teens or twenties and less experienced with drugs.  What used to take a number of years for someone to progress to becoming a heroin user—trying different types and stronger types of illicit drugs in an ever increasing pattern, finally leading to heroin use—now occurs quickly.  Also, those addicted to painkillers such as OxyContin® (oxycodone) and Vicodin®  (hydrocodone)—two other opioids—sometimes switch to heroin because it can be less expensive and equally available. 

Heroin is no longer confined to the urban core.  Runners are retrieving the drug from urban areas and bringing it to the suburbs.  We’ve seen the drug in rural Wisconsin, too.  With a ten-fold increase in purity since the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, today’s user can snort or smoke the drug.  Those who previously would not inject the drug for fear of needles, stigma, HIV, or under a mistaken belief that only intravenous delivery is dangerous, now use heroin.  The increased 21st century purity of street heroin also increases the already significant possibility of overdose. 

On July 14, federal charges were filed against twenty-seven defendants alleged to be involved a heroin drug trafficking conspiracy.  My office’s Division of Criminal Investigation, which supervises a federally funded task force dedicated to investigating heroin trafficking organizations, partnered with federal and local authorities for over a year investigating this drug ring.  The record underscores the new face of heroin.  21 of the 27 defendants were between 18 and 28 years of age.  Only two were over 33 years old.  Though a few of the 25 Wisconsin defendants are from Milwaukee, most are from the suburbs or smaller cities: Waukesha, Pewaukee, Muskego, Delafield, Wauwatosa, Menomonee Falls, and Appleton. 

According to the affidavit accompanying the complaint, the Waukesha conspirators would buy the drug from Milwaukee dealers and distribute the drug in Waukesha County.  Allegations in the complaint trace five overdose deaths in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties to the conspiracy, and six additional overdoses—at least four requiring extreme measures to keep the user alive.   

I am alarmed to see how many of our young adults are playing Russian Roulette with this dangerous drug.  With heroin, there is a bullet in every other chamber.  Thankfully, a number of people have overdosed on heroin and had their life saved by an Emergency Medical Technician or paramedic.  If it wasn’t for the outstanding effectiveness of our emergency responders, I fear that the number of heroin and other opiate-related overdose deaths would be scientifically higher. Sadly, however, many return to using the drug. 

I am committed to curtailing the spread of heroin by partnering with other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute drug traffickers.  Through our participation in the federally funded Milwaukee area task force, our participation in other multijurisdictional action teams combating illegal drugs, and by having a dedicated agent specializing in heroin investigations in each Division of Criminal Investigation field office, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is proactively addressing this problem.  This multijurisdictional approach has been extremely effective in controlling and rolling back the growth of methamphetamines in Wisconsin, and our efforts are paying dividends with respect to attacking heroin trafficking. 

By successfully attacking the heroin trade, we will see a reduction in not only some of the ancillary crimes related to heroin use, but also a reduction in the number of family members who become victims as a result of the spread of this dangerous and deadly drug. Working together with law enforcement, addiction specialists, prosecutors and the community we can make Wisconsin a safer place for our children and all of the citizens.

J.B. Van Hollen is Wisconsin’s Attorney General.  The federal defendants mentioned in this article have been charged but not convicted.  An individual is presumed innocent until such time, if ever, that the government establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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