Heroin Use in Tennessee Increasing

October 22, 2011

A recent story in the Tennessean noted that law enforcement in Tennessee is getting ready for an increase of heroin use. The increase, it is suggested, is due to prescription drug users needing a less expensive replacement for their increasingly expensive drugs and dealers' aggressive marketing techniques.

The article quotes Dr. Terry Alley, as saying "What's happened is the people who sell this product have made it appear safer, made it less expensive, and they give you the misconception that it's less harmful if you smoke it." He is an addiction specialist at Cumberland Heights, a drug and alcohol recovery center near Nashville.

A U.S. Department of Justice report noted that authorities estimated that Mexican heroin production increased 342 percent from 2004-2008. Heroin is an opiate drug that is synthesized from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian opium poppy plant according to the National Institute On Drug Abuse. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance, known as "black tar heroin."

Generally, it is grown Asia or Mexico, said Mike Stanfill, assistant special agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency in Nashville. "I think what's driving people over to heroine is just the cost of the pills, more than anything else right now," Stanfill said. He compared the price of illegal prescription pain pills at $30 to $80 per pill, but black tar heroin could be found for $10 per dose.

While heroin's image as "hard" drug, injected intravenously, has a reputation that clearly would not sell well in the suburbs and shopping malls, areas not typically associated with hard drug dealing, dealers marketing of pills has been more successful.

Federal Penalties

Of course, the real cost of heroin is what happens if you are found in possession, or worse, trafficking the drug. The federal penalty for 100 grams (approx 3.5 oz.) or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin is prison for at least five years and not more than 40 years.

If a death or bodily injury occurs from use of the heroin, the prison term becomes 20 years to life and potentially a $5 million fine for an individual.

Tennessee Penalties

The state penalties are almost as severe as the federal. Possession or casual exchange of less than 0.5 oz. is charged as a Class A misdemeanor, unless the sale is from an adult to a minor and the adult is two years older than the minor is, then it is charged as a felony.
- Subsequent offense: If you have two or more prior convictions:
- Class E felony; Less than .5 grams is a Class C felony, may be fined up to $100,000;
- Class B:0.5 grams or less if injury or death occurrence or defendant was in possession of deadly weapon.
- Sale: a Class B felony and/or $100,000; Over 15 g.: a Class B felony and/or $200,000; Over 150 g.: a Class A felony and/or $500,000.
- Sale to minor under 18 or in drug-free school zone: one class higher than amount required; Minimum penalty amounts: 1st drug felony: $2000; 2nd: $2500; 3rd: $3000

Like "A Tiger Trap Had Sprung Upon A Sick Kitten"

The seriousness with which the courts view these type of drug crimes cannot be underestimated. While it might seem unlikely, a first time offense involving heroin could bring a sentence of life in prison. One case from the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (the federal court of appeals for Tennessee) is instructive as to how severe sentences for federal drug crimes can be.

A women (Young) was arrested and convicted. She was not a drug kingpin or even a career drug trafficker. The court sympathetically describes her ensnarement, "Nothing in the record indicates that Young was a partner in Gulley's drug business other than on this particular occasion. Nor did anything in her criminal record indicate a propensity for crime, as this was her first offense."

The court continued: "Additionally, she has received drug counseling since her arrival at prison, an indication that Young may have had an underlying drug problem herself. Considering her background, one has to conclude that a life sentence without even the possibility of parole borders on overkill. Thus, under the first factor, we have a very serious crime punished by an extremely harsh penalty."

But the court's sympathy is limited, "Petitioner Young was convicted of possession with intent to deliver 650 grams or more of heroin. We have little doubt that her crime is one of the gravest a person can commit today. Young possessed with intent to distribute approximately 1300 grams of heroin (almost twice the amount upon which the penalty could be predicated), an extremely addictive narcotic. The ripple effect on society of such a large quantity of heroin is staggering to contemplate."

Like The Vampire Of Fable

They then quote from another court of appeal, to paint just how serious they consider the crime, "Indeed, as one court has aptly observed: 'Except in rare cases, the murderer's red hand falls on one victim only, however grim the blow; but the foul hand of the drug dealer blights life after life and, like the vampire of fable, creates others in its owner's evil image-others who create others still, across our land and down our generations, sparing not even the unborn.' We thus consider the crime that Young committed to be very serious."

They court notes that the life sentence without parole (under Michigan law) was as if a "tiger trap had sprung upon a sick kitten," but they upheld the sentence as not being cruel and unusual punishment. Because of the gravity of these charges, an experienced criminal defense attorney is essential to assist with any defense involving heroin.

Article provided by Law Office of Brent Horst
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