New Jersey Criminal Defense Law Blog : New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : John Marshall Law Firm : Drug Crimes, Domestic Violence : Monmouth, Middlesex & Union Counties

I am certain that most individuals who abuse opiate prescription drugs have little thought of progressing to heroin. Nonetheless, when doctors refuse to refill prescriptions and/or the drugs become prohibitively costly, a readily accessible and cheaper form of opium is frequently enlisted - heroin. This pattern of progression to heroin is illustrated over and over again in our practice every day. Consider the following three (3) stories.

The first client that comes to mind is a gentleman for whom I am now guardian. He was a fireman in a large NJ city and sustained many orthopedic injuries during the course of his job. These injuries gave rise to over 15 surgeries and years of opiate pain medication. Eventually, doctors realized that he was abusing the drugs although all recognized that he endured significant pain on a daily basis. While no one would suspect that he would resort to heroin, he did when the opiate medication was curtailed and he began to get sick. I am sorry to say that he overdosed on heroin shortly into his usage and this resulted in permanent brain damage for which he now resides in a nursing home. He has three small children.

Another story involves an individual who also sustained an orthopedic injury for which he was prescribed opiate pain medication. He also had problems with addiction to the medication and, in fact, entered a drug rehabilitation facility to combat his problem. Unfortunately, he decided to "party" with an aquaintence he met in rehab and the suggestion was made that he try heroin to quench his opiate thurst. I am sad to say that this short deviation into heroin also resulted in an overdose that proved fatal. This banker left a wife and three small children.

The third story, and the one which prompted this blog, involved a 24 year old young man I met today at the Middlesex County Jail. Although I knew that he had been battling heroin addiction for several years, I had no idea how it originated. Then I heard his story and immediately recognized so many attributes, including his obvious intelligence. He had sustained an orthopedic injury as a freshman at Rutgers University that resulted in his starting to consume opiate pain medication. He became addicted and experienced difficulty obtaining the medication, becoming very sick from opiate withdrawal. Someone suggested that he snort some heroin as it might combat his sickness. He took the suggestion and it started him off on a downward spiral whose end is still unclear. His future, which was once so bright, is now highly questionable and the pain caused to his family has been immeasurable.

I have many more stories of individuals resorting to heroin after a prescription drug habit cannot be quenched. My hope is that someone heading down the road of opiate prescription drug addiction recognizes that these stories are not so far fetched given the type of people I have described and does not make this progression. Indeed, every person in these stories came from good stable families and had absolutely no thought that heroin had any chance of crossing their path.

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I think a poll of NJ residents would have little chance of identifying Monmouth County or Ocean County as top counties in terms of heroin possession and usage. The reality is, however, that Monmouth County ranked second behind Essex County in terms of heroin addiction. Ocean County was number five in terms of heroin addicts.

As a criminal defense attorney in New Jersey, I witness the aftermath of heroin possession, distribution and usage every day. Usage includes young and old, rich and poor, and does not delineate between man or women. The prevalence of heroin usage is staggering in my view and manifests just how robust the supply of dope is in NJ. Its cheap, readily accessible, and almost instantly addictive. To make matters worse, the primary means of controlling addiction is methadone - another drug that is highly addictive and ripe with dependency issues. I do not have the answer for the problem but simply know that it is growing every day. We help those that we can and keep our fingers crossed that our efforts provide some longterm benefit to the heroin user and their families.

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I recently published several articles concerning the proliferation of heroin possession and related charges in NJ and note an interesting editorial in the Star Ledger on needle exchange programs. These types of programs arose almost two decades ago to combat the spread of AIDS. Public funding for syringe distribution has been a matter of controversy in the past and the escalation of the drug problem has translated into heightened use of this paraphernalia. New Jersey has been significantly lagging in this initiative and only opened these types of clinics a few years ago. But how does this tie into the New Jersey law prohibiting possession of drug paraphernalia?

The NJ Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act was signed by Governor Corzine in 2006 and decriminalizes certain conduct relative to the exchange of needles. In particular, the law provides that:

[t]he possession of a hypodermic syringe or needle by a consumer who participates in, or an employee or volunteer of, a sterile syringe access program established pursuant to the bill will not constitute an offense pursuant to N.J.S.A.2C:36-1 et seq.  This provision extends to a hypodermic syringe or needle that contains a residual amount of a controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog.

While the statute provides for relative immunity for workers in the syringe supply chain, there is no commensurate prohibition from prosecution for those who might otherwise be charged with possession of a needle for personal use. Notwithstanding, stated law enforcement commentators have indicated that enforcement of N.J.S.A. 2C:36-2 and 2C:36-6, the New Jersey Drug Paraphernalia Laws, is non-existent or extremely low in areas where a clinic has been established. Additionally, resolutions from city authorities that have clinics often indicate a policy to eliminate enforcement and arrest individuals possessing a syringe or needle by virtue of the exchange.

The honest truth is that in those NJ cities that have gone as far as to start a clinic, the incentive to police the related surroundings for paraphernalia is low. These are communities where there is a high incident of heroin use and where it is fundamentally more beneficial to control low end users and the IV transmission of disease rather than to make these types of arrests. My thought is that law enforcement shall have little visibility in these areas. Indeed, why spend community money to provide such a facility if you are only going to arrest people who come thereby eliminating the demand for the syringes.

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With all the recent press regarding the abundance of heroin in New Jersey and the fact that the Airport and Port are the major points of entry, it should come as no surprise that East Orange is a relative hot bed for street sales. In response to this activity, the East Orange Police Department and Essex County Narcotics Task Force has turned up the heat. In the past two weeks alone, our attorneys have been consulted and/or retained in multiple cases involving intent to distribute heroin or simple possession of heroin in East Orange.

Most recently, I was retained earlier today to represent a 22 year old man from a middle class community. He routinely visited East Orange to buy heroin on the street. He was arrested based on apparent surveillance of a high crime area by police. Similar factual scenarios have been related by others charged with heroin possession in East Orange. There is little doubt, given what has been related by our clients, that law enforcement in East Orange has intensified its efforts to make heroin arrests. In point of fact, our client in this case related that there were as many as sixteen (16) young men and women in the holding cell as a result of attempting or conspiring to purchase heroin in East Orange.

The typical charge in these cases is Third Degree Heroin Possession. There are also those matters where distribution or trafficking is alleged but I have found these allegations to be a stretch by the street crimes unit. For the most part, we are talking about run of the mill possession cases involving young people addicted to heroin. Thankfully, we are able to resolve most of these cases with little long-term impact on the suspect's life from the perspective of court supervision and criminal record. Their battle to shake the addiction is a whole other question which can often linger.
 

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Fox News recently released a report that indicated that the largest heroin bust in New Jersey history took place in the last few weeks. The quantity of heroin - 165 pounds. By way of comparison, a total of 300 pounds was seized statewide in NJ during the entire calender year of 2008. The report reinforces the fact that the supply of heroin in New Jersey continues to grow as manifested by this record possession.

Fortunately or unfortunately, our criminal defense firm has occasion to defend more and more individuals on heroin charges. The pain and misfortune that individuals can experience as a result of involvement with this drug is inescapable. It seems that the wreckage of heroin is virtually endless. All that one has to do is walk into any County Drug Court and recognize that individuals often accrue years of criminal arrests for heroin possession after they become hooked on the drug. The sad point is that while we  succeed in keeping most of these individuals out of jail (even in heroin distribution cases), the number of people who find themselves charged with a heroin offense continues to grow.

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I am not surprised to learn that there has been an increased supply of Heroin in New Jersey. We have definitely noticed a spike in the number of individuals charged with Heroin related offenses and the article I just read in the NY Times concerning the clearance of heroin in Asia may explain why the number of arrests is up.

The political turmoil in Southeast Asia and, in particular, Thailand, has apparently prompted growers to wholesale heroin at record low prices. They are unloading supply in hopes of collecting their money now rather than risking losses associated with a change in politics in their counties. The report went as far as to indicate that some heroin suppliers are selling on credit. It hard to believe - distribution of heroin on credit! The increased supply of heroin provides some explanation of why we are seeing a heightened incidence of suspects arrested for heroin possession and so too, possession with intent to distribute heroin, in New Jersey.

What has gone into defending this influx of heroin charges has really depended on the severity of the offense. With three criminal defense attorneys, two former prosecutors, and over sixty (60) years in practice, we have been asked to defend everything from Third Degree possession offenses to First Degree Drug Kingpin arrests. We can only hope that our success in defending these new cases is consistent with that which we have enjoyed in the past.

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The Star Ledger recently reported that NJ bears the accolade of having some of the purest heroin in the nation. The reason for the potency of the heroin relates to the ease to which heroin is smuggled into the state. Our various seaports and Newark International Airport apparently make for an enticing entry point for heroin. Insofar as the drug enters the country here, it is less apt to be cut thereby correlating into heroin that is, on average, 72% pure.

The frequency of Heroin Possession and Intent to Distribute charges seems to rise continuously at our criminal defense firm. This should probably be no surprise given the fact that the DEA reports that use of heroin is double the national average in New Jersey among young adults. We witness all walks of life being arrested for heroin offenses. This is a powerful and high addictive opiate for anyone who makes the decision to ingest it more than once. Thankfully, we can assist many defendants who have been charged with heroin related crimes before they reach the point of no return.

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