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"We're seeing it as far west as Sedalia, as far north as Moberly, east to St. Louis area and southwest to Springfield," Grellner told The Missourian.
"And they're all saying it's coming into the area through St. Louis. Everybody's seeing a lot of overdoses and deaths," Grellner said.
Investigators believe the overdoses are the result of heroin that is much more potent that people have seen in recent times. In the past, the heroin sold was between 20 and 30 percent pure, compared to 60 to 70 percent in what authorities are seeing now.
Grellner, a past president of the association, said he met with task force commanders from all parts of the state.
Investigators agree that methamphetamine still is the No. 1 drug problem in the state, followed closely by heroin at No. 2 and prescription medications at No. 3.
Overdose Stats
Since January 2008, there have been at least 34 heroin overdoses in Franklin County that resulted in eight deaths, according to statistics compiled by a county task force investigator.
Those statistics, however, are not complete because exact figures were not available from Union or Pacific police, according to Detective Darryl Balleydier. It's known that Union has had at least two overdose cases recently and it's suspected that Pacific has had several cases.
Here is the breakdown based on available figures:
* Unincorporated Franklin County - 11 overdoses, two deaths.
* Washington - 11 overdoses, three deaths.
* St. Clair - 8 overdoses, two deaths, nine possession cases;
* Sullivan - No overdoses, one heroin possession case.
From May 2006 through May 2007, Franklin County reported five overdoses and four deaths. Union had three overdose cases from August 2006 through 2007 and Washington have four reported heroin overdoses in the period from March through August 2006, according to Balleydier. St. Clair reported one overdose in June 2006.
In Franklin County, at least five people died from suspected heroin overdoses since early September. In early October, there were two reported heroin overdoses, but in both cases the victims recovered.
During that time, investigators also made several arrests at homes where suspected heroin was seized.
The Kansas City Star reported last weekend a similar surge in heroin use among young people as well as a similar, sharp rise in overdoses and deaths. The source for heroin in that part of the state is Kansas City, Kan., according to the report.
The newspaper linked heroin use among young people to Oxycontin, a prescription drug that is similar to heroin. As people get addicted to Oxycontin they often switch to heroin which is much cheaper on the streets, the newspaper reported.
