Heroin concerns spill over into Roanoke Valley

By: Scott Leamon | WSLS 10
Published: August 18, 2009

Six months after 10 On Your Side told you about concerns over an increase in heroin use in Roanoke city, statistical evidence supports it is now increasing in other areas of the Roanoke Valley.

Just last Friday, a Roanoke County grand jury direct indicted seven people on heroin charges, including at least three for distribution.

Salem police say they've seen 18 cases of heroin in the city since the first of the year.

The director of adult clinical services at Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, Gail Burruss, said the number of referrals from Roanoke Valley courts for heroin addict is up 33 percent compared to last year.

Burruss also said, of the average three dozen jail inmates Blue Ridge typically treats, 60 percent claim they are addicted to heroin.

Burruss said she was surprised by the increase.

"In fact, the largest demographic increase we're seeing is in white men in their 20s," Burruss said.

In a statement to 10 On Your Side, Salem police Lt. Mike Greene said the following (courtesy Salem public information officer, Mike Stevens):

“Heroin seems to have gained quite a bit of popularity as a “drug of choice” in the Roanoke Valley over the past year. The Salem Police Department, as with other area law enforcement agencies, is concerned about this issue. We are actively investigating these cases to stem the flow of heroin into our jurisdiction and in the Roanoke Valley as whole.”