New Hampshire: Police: Black tar heroin in region

Crime knows no borders.

A new drug has made its way from Mexico to Haverhill, Mass., and New Hampshire police said black tar heroin has found its way over the state border.

Haverhill police arrested two men Tuesday on 5th Avenue with 22 grams of black tar heroin, a dark and sticky substance that is usually not as pure as the powdered form of the drug that comes from South America. Sgt. John Arahovites said heroin sold in the Merrimack Valley is generally powdery and he does not recall black tar heroin being trafficked in Haverhill.

Black tar heroin and regular heroin cost about the same, Arahovites said, and both are addictive.

"It's not the heroin we're generally used to," he said. "We're always worried about heroin and other drugs coming into the city."

Lawrence, Mass., police Chief John Romero said "huge amounts of drugs" run through the city, yet his top drug officers have never seen black tar heroin in the city.

While there probably aren't huge amounts of the drug in New Hampshire, police here agree that it's around.

Plaistow police Deputy Chief Kathleen Jones said they haven't arrested anyone for possession of the drug, but its possible resurgence has been discussed at regional detective meetings. She's also heard, sporadically, of it being available in Plaistow, usually from Lawrence and Lowell, Mass.

"It's not probably that we don't have any in Plaistow, just that we haven't come across it from an enforcement standpoint yet," she said. "It's so scary."

Deputy Chief William Ganley of Salem said he hasn't heard of black tar heroin since the early 1990s — and even then it was fairly infrequent. But, since heroin itself is prevalent and black tar heroin is in Haverhill, it's probably in Salem, too, Ganley said.

"The border doesn't matter," he said. "If it's coming in, our addicts are probably using it."

The border effect also has Atkinson police on the lookout.

"If they've got it in Haverhill, it's on it's way here," Lt. William Baldwin said. "There's no doubt in my mind."

Heroin's prevalence has been most visible in Newton, where five people have overdosed on the drug in the past year.

Chief Larry Streeter said yesterday that he wasn't entirely familiar with black tar heroin, but continues to do things to try to cope with the drug.

"That doesn't mean that some of the prior cases weren't black heroin," he said. "We haven't made that distinction."

Heroin continues to be a statewide concern, but black tar heroin is yet to create a specific problem in New Hampshire, according to the state Office of Alcohol and Drug Policy.

Hampstead Lt. John Frazier said he can't predict if the drug is on its way to Hampstead, but he knows it hasn't been there yet. But as far as he's concerned, heroin is heroin.

"Do you want a knife in the side of the head or to the back?" he said. "It's all bad."



Black tar heroin

Origin: Mexico

Sold: Typically on the West Coast of the United States

Description: Black and sticky, or hard like coal

Purity: Generally less pure and more crudely processed than powdered heroin from South America

Dangers: Chronic users can develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis and liver disease.

History: Heroin in general was created in 1874 and was used by doctors as pain medicine until at least 1914.

Use: Can be injected, smoked or snorted.

Special Thanks to Eagle Tribune