Virden Police Department

Other Illicit Drugs

Heroin abuse is prevalent in this area, with users being attracted to its easy availability and low cost. White powder heroin is the most commonly encountered and is sourced from Mexico and South America. Less frequently seen are black tar heroin and brown heroin. Highly addictive and dangerous, opiate overdose is a leading cause of death in the local drug-using community. In 2017 there were 23 opiate related deaths in Macoupin County, with 104 reported in Sangamon County, reaching crisis levels in the State of Illinois. Heroin overdose results in the area of the brain which regulates breathing to shut down. The user dies from respiratory depression. Fentanyl, a synthetic form of heroin, is seen more and more in the news. Far more deadly than heroin it is also resistant to life saving measures used in the field. So the Naloxone kits increasingly being carried by friends and family members of heroine users are rendered ineffective.

A synthetic, or designer drug, flakka is chemically related to bath salts. Originally recognized a a problem in South Florida, flakka is making its way north. Agitation, paranoia and delirium are signs of flakka use.