WHEREAS, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the number of current heroin users age 12 and older increased from 153,000 in 2007 to 213,000 in 2008; and

WHEREAS, in some areas of the United States the increase in heroin use is even more dramatic as evidenced by Nassau County, New York, which experienced a 75% increase in heroin-related deaths in 2008; and

WHEREAS, according to the NSDUH, in 2008 there were 114,000 first-time heroin users as young as 12 years old; and

WHEREAS, drug trafficking organizations are providing free samples or marketing heroin in packaging designed to appeal to those under the age of 21; and

WHEREAS, the National Drug Threat Assessment 2010 reports that prescription opioid abusers, including adolescents, are switching to heroin which is often less costly and more powerful; and

WHEREAS, increased purity levels of heroin have enabled users to smoke and inhale the drug, avoiding the deterrent of injection, intensifying the high and significantly increasing the potential for addiction; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2009 Parents and Teens Attitude Tracking Study Report of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and Metlife Foundation (PATS Report), adolescents report a decrease in learning about the risks of alcohol and drugs from traditional sources(parents, school and media) and an increase in using the Internet as a source of information for alcohol and drugs; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2009 PATS Report, adolescents report less exposure to anti-drug television commercials from 2004 to 2009; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police, duly assembled at its 117th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, strongly supports programs which provide greater awareness and education at the middle and high school level for both parents and students regarding the growing popularity of heroin use among adolescents.

Submitted by: Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs Committee
NDD.018.a10