[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
AMERICA'S GROWING HEROIN EPIDEMIC
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, TERRORISM,
HOMELAND SECURITY, AND INVESTIGATIONS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 28, 2015
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Serial No. 114-45
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Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia, Chairman
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Michigan
Wisconsin JERROLD NADLER, New York
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas ZOE LOFGREN, California
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
DARRELL E. ISSA, California STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr.,
STEVE KING, Iowa Georgia
TRENT FRANKS, Arizona PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, Puerto Rico
LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas JUDY CHU, California
JIM JORDAN, Ohio TED DEUTCH, Florida
TED POE, Texas LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois
JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah KAREN BASS, California
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania CEDRIC RICHMOND, Louisiana
TREY GOWDY, South Carolina SUZAN DelBENE, Washington
RAUL LABRADOR, Idaho HAKEEM JEFFRIES, New York
BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia SCOTT PETERS, California
RON DeSANTIS, Florida
MIMI WALTERS, California
KEN BUCK, Colorado
JOHN RATCLIFFE, Texas
DAVE TROTT, Michigan
MIKE BISHOP, Michigan
Shelley Husband, Chief of Staff & General Counsel
Perry Apelbaum, Minority Staff Director & Chief Counsel
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Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., Wisconsin, Chairman
LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas, Vice-Chairman
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, Puerto Rico
TED POE, Texas JUDY CHU, California
JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois
TREY GOWDY, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
RAUL LABRADOR, Idaho CEDRIC RICHMOND, Louisiana
KEN BUCK, Colorado
MIKE BISHOP, Michigan
Caroline Lynch, Chief Counsel
Joe Graupensperger, Minority Counsel
C O N T E N T S
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JULY 28, 2015
Page
OPENING STATEMENTS
The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., a Representative in
Congress from the State of Wisconsin, and Chairman,
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and
Investigations................................................. 1
The Honorable Judy Chu, a Representative in Congress from the
State of California, and Member, Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations............... 2
The Honorable Bob Goodlatte, a Representative in Congress from
the State of Virginia, and Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary 24
WITNESSES
The Honorble Michael P. Botticelli, Director, White House Office
of National Drug Policy Center
Oral Testimony................................................. 26
Prepared Statement............................................. 29
John (Jack) Riley, Acting Deputy Administrator, Drug Enforcement
Association
Oral Testimony................................................. 48
Prepared Statement............................................. 50
Nancy G. Parr, Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Chesapeake, VA
Oral Testimony................................................. 58
Prepared Statement............................................. 60
Angela R. Pacheco, First Judicial District Attorney, Santa Fe, NM
Oral Testimony................................................. 76
Prepared Statement............................................. 78
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
Material submitted by the Honorable Judy Chu, a Representative in
Congress from the State of California, and Member, Subcommittee
on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations..... 4
APPENDIX
Material Submitted for the Hearing Record
Questions for the Record submitted to John (Jack) Riley, Acting
Deputy Administrator, Drug Enforcement Association............. 98
AMERICA'S GROWING HEROIN EPIDEMIC
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TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015
House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism,
Homeland Security, and Investigations
Committee on the Judiciary
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:06 a.m., in
room 2141, Rayburn Office Building, the Honorable F. James
Sensenbrenner, Jr. (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Sensenbrenner, Goodlatte, Gohmert,
Chabot, Forbes, Poe, Gowdy, Labrador, Buck, Bishop, and Chu.
Staff present: (Majority) Allison Halataei, Parliamentarian
& General Counsel; Robert Parmiter, Counsel; Scott Johnson,
Clerk; (Minority) Joe Graupensperger, Counsel; Kurt May,
Counsel; Tiffany Joslyn, Counsel; and Veronica Eligan,
Professional Staff Member.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. The Subcommittee will be in order.
Without objection, the Chair will be authorized to declare
recesses this morning at any time.
We welcome our witnesses today.
Our Nation faces a profound challenge with a growing heroin
epidemic. Last year the number of heroin-related deaths in
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, which includes part of my
district, grew by a shocking 72 percent, while Superior in
Northwestern Wisconsin suffered six overdoses in 6 days this
past February. Clearly, this is a problem that does not
discriminate by race or class and transcends geography.
Earlier this year, the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy released the 2013 Drug Overdose Mortality Data
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data
shows that while drug deaths related to prescription opioids
has remained stable since 2012, the mortality rate associated
with heroin increased by 39 percent, by more than triple the
levels in 2012. That represents the third year in a row that
the number of heroin deaths has increased nationwide.
This past weekend the Washington Post reported the tragic
story of a family in Maine that lost a child in nearly a second
to heroin laced with phenotil, an opioid analgesic 80 to 100
times more powerful than morphine. Heroin cut with phenotil has
been responsible for a rash of overdoses and deaths across the
country. Shockingly, the fact that a particular batch of heroin
has killed someone is often what attracts addicts to it because
they know it will deliver an extremely potent high.
It is obvious, then, that the solution to this problem must
involve appropriate access to treatment, as well as
enforcement. That is why earlier this year I introduced H.R.
953, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015. This
legislation would take a number of important steps to combat
the heroin epidemic.
For example, the bill addresses the link between
prescription opioids and heroin by requiring the Department of
Health and Human Services to convene a task force to develop
best practices for pain management and prescribing prescription
drugs and share those with the appropriate authorities. The
legislation also authorizes grants that provide for
alternatives to incarceration for veterans, as well as those
individuals with a substance use disorder, mental illness, or
both. And finally, it would give priority to awarding grants to
those states that provide civil liability protection for first
responders, health professionals and family members
administrating naloxone to counteract opioid overdoses.
I also have introduced a bipartisan criminal justice reform
act, the Safe Justice Act. This legislation promotes drug and
substance abuse treatment programs over harsher sentences. We
know that approximately 60 percent of prisoners have substance
and addiction disorders, yet only 11 percent receive treatment.
It is no wonder why recidivism rates are as high as they are.
This is not a crisis we can simply incarcerate ourselves out
of.
The bill would authorize the use of medication-assisted
treatment for the treatment of heroin and opioid dependence in
the Bureau of Prisons, residential substance abuse treatment
programs.
Finally, the Safe Justice Act would offer training to
Federal law enforcement officials to help them better identify
and respond to individuals with drug and substance abuse
issues. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today
about additional approaches to curb this epidemic.
At this time, I would like to yield to the gentlewomen from
California, who is the Ranking Member pro tem of this
Subcommittee today, Ms. Chu.
Ms. Chu. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Today's hearing concerns finding the best means to respond
to the increasing use of heroin in this country, which is
tragically proving to be more deadly than in the past. Despite
the heroic efforts of our Federal law enforcement and the DEA,
the volume of heroin coming into this country continues to
rise. Every year brings new records in the amounts of drugs
seized at our border by interdiction programs. From 2008 to
2012, the DEA noticed a 232 percent increase in heroin seizures
along America's Southwest border.
The rate of state and local law enforcement seizures of
heroin continue to rise as well. Still, the current level of
heroin use indicates that the substance is widely available. It
is now cheaper to acquire, and it has no geographical
boundaries.
Over 600,000 Americans use heroin, to compound the health
risk that this poses. The heroin sold today is more potent and
deadlier than ever before. Deaths due to overdose have risen
significantly in the last several years. In the last reported
year of 2013, 8,257 people died from a heroin overdose. An
additional 16,235 died from opioids.
Heroin overdoses in the U.S. have nearly tripled between
the years of 2010 and 2013, according to the CDC. Deaths due to
heroin overdose now exceed traffic accident deaths in the U.S.
It is time that we acknowledge the fact that we are dealing
with a public health care crisis driven by strong demand for
opioid drugs.
Where did this great demand come from? Most experts agree
that prior to increased use of heroin, millions of Americans
became addicted to opioid prescription drugs. The correlation
is so strong that experts believe that 80 percent of current
heroin users began as abusers of prescription pain killers. To
complete this perfect storm, the price of heroin has fallen to
new lows, $5 to $10 per day. In comparison, prescription
opioids cost about $80 per day.
For those already addicted to an opioid prescription drug,
heroin becomes an attractive option. In response, many states
are implementing drug treatment programs for those addicted to
both prescription drugs and heroin. State reactions include
revisiting older forms of treatment such as methadone
maintenance, and new approaches including programs for better
oversight of prescription medications.
Many police departments across the country are employing
the use of the drug naloxone, an antidote to heroin overdose to
reduce deaths. There are now hundreds of police departments in
29 states that stock and administer naloxone. Naloxone
administered by police is now credited with saving the lives of
over 10,000 Americans since 1996. Police departments are also
working with prosecutors' offices across the country to create
programs to divert users to treatment facilities rather than
courts, detention facilities, and prisons. This effort supports
a more permanent solution to the health crisis we face. It
reduces crime rates and the expenses of incarceration, while
allowing courts and police departments to allocate resources in
a manner best suited to protecting our citizens.
As we consider proposals to address the increased use of
heroin, we would do well to consider the lessons of prior
responses to drug abuse. An incarceration-forced approach has
not solved this public health crisis. Our focus should be to
eliminate impediments to delivering substance abuse treatment
to those in need, reduce the harms posed by heroin, and educate
our citizens to prevent substance addictions.
I look forward to the discussion of this problem and the
best ways that government can help address it. I would like to
submit for the record a letter from the Drug Policy Alliance.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Without objection, the record will be so
embellished.
[The information referred to follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
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Mr. Sensenbrenner. I now recognize the Chairman of the full
Committee, the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte, for his
opening statement.
Mr. Goodlatte. Thank you, Chairman Sensenbrenner.
I am pleased to be here today at this important hearing to
examine the growing epidemic of heroin abuse in our Nation.
Over the past several months, we have seen an alarming
increase in both the availability and use of heroin. This has,
not surprisingly, had profound and tragic consequences. Every
day, it seems, brings new stories of overdose deaths occurring
across the country, including in my district. Since January,
there have been 11 heroin-related overdoses in the Roanoke
Valley, resulting in nine deaths.
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that the
legalization and subsequent availability of high-grade
marijuana to American consumers has led Mexican drug cartels to
increase the amounts of heroin and methamphetamine they are
trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border. Since 2009, heroin
seizures along the border have nearly tripled, as law
enforcement seized 2,181 kilograms of Mexican heroin last year
alone.
These are alarming statistics. However, the grim reality is
that they should surprise no one. Drug trafficking is an
extremely profitable business, run by criminals who are
interested in one thing: money. Given the increasing
availability of marijuana in the United States, and the
related, ongoing epidemic of heroin use, drug traffickers have
decided to cash in on the misery of American citizens.
Additionally, the Drug Enforcement Administration estimates
that the United States has 600,000 heroin users, which is three
times the number in 2012. Tragically, that number is expected
to rise. That is because there are an estimated 10 million
Americans who are currently addicted to prescription opioids,
including such drugs as Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet. Once
someone is addicted to a prescription opioid, the need to
satisfy their addiction outweighs the stigma attached to heroin
use. Additionally, it is far easier to pay $10 for a dose of
heroin than $80 for an oxycodone tablet.
It is no exaggeration to say that heroin use has reached
epidemic levels across this Nation, including in my home state
of Virginia. It is not an urban problem or a rural problem, but
an American public health and safety problem.
However, despite the increase in heroin and meth
production, despite the ongoing heroin epidemic, despite the
dramatic surge in deaths, and despite the clear evidence that
illicit controlled substances and their purveyors pose a lethal
threat to the American people, the Obama administration has
continued to shirk its duty to protect this Nation from
dangerous narcotics.
I firmly believe any solution to the heroin epidemic must
have three parts: one, discouraging the use of this dangerous,
highly addictive drug; two, providing appropriate treatment to
addicts; and three, ensuring law enforcement zealously pursues
the criminals who bring this poison into our communities.
I look forward to the witnesses' testimony today.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Without objection, all Members' opening
statements will appear in the record at this point.
We have a very distinguished panel today, and I will begin
by swearing in our witnesses before introducing them. If you
would, please, all rise.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to
give to this Subcommittee is the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Let the record reflect that all of the witnesses responded
in the affirmative.
The gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Forbes, has a
distinguished witness, and I will allow him to introduce
Commonwealth Attorney Parr at this point, and then I will
introduce the next three witnesses.
Mr. Forbes. Thank you, Chairman Sensenbrenner, for holding
this important hearing today and inviting our distinguished
guests to share their experiences.
As you mentioned, one of our witnesses today is Nancy Parr,
who served as the Commonwealth Attorney for the City of
Chesapeake since being first elected in November 2005. During
her 10 years of service, she has implemented new programs and
promoted community outreach, in addition to carrying out the
traditional role of a prosecutor's office in Chesapeake. Her
programs include seven Girls Empowerment conferences, four Boys
Leadership conferences, seven Traveling the Road to Success
multi-week programs, and five Playing on the Right Team
basketball tournaments.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Parr was a prosecutor in
Suffolk for 10 years and before that had worked in Chesapeake
since 1994. For six of those years, she also served as a
Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern
District of Virginia.
In addition to her public service, Ms. Parr is a member of
many boards and organizations and volunteers her time to
charitable organizations, including the Virginia Association of
Commonwealth Attorneys, where she was president from 2014 to
2015; Commonwealth's Attorney Service Council, where she was
chairman from 2014 to 2015; State Crime Commission Governor's
Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse; Secure
Commonwealth Panel Subcommittee, Justice Reinvestment
Initiative Work Group; Board of Correctional Education;
Virginia State Bar Council; Board of Governors for the Criminal
Law Section of Virginia State Bar; Virginia's Adult Fatality
Review Team; State Child Fatality Review Team; Domestic
Violence Advisory Committee; Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast
Virginia Chesapeake Division; and the Women's Club of South
Norfolk.
Ms. Parr is a graduate from the University of Virginia with
high distinction, and from T.C. Williams School of Law at the
University of Richmond.
Ms. Parr, thank you for accepting our invitation today, and
I look forward to hearing your testimony as you share with the
Committee more about the efforts you are championing in our
district and my home town.
And with that, I will yield to Chairman Sensenbrenner to
introduce our other witnesses.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much, Mr. Forbes.
First, Mr. Michael Botticelli is the Director of the
National Drug Control Policy, where he has served since
November of 2012. Previously, Mr. Botticelli served as Director
of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services at the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Siena College and a Master's in Education from St.
Lawrence University.
Mr. Jack Riley is the Acting Deputy Administrator of the
Drug Enforcement Administration. He is the highest ranking
career special agent at the DEA. Prior to his appointment as
the Chief of Operations, Mr. Riley served in many other
leadership positions during his distinguished career at the
DEA. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal
Justice from Bradley University and a Master's degree in Public
Policy Administration from the University of Illinois.
Ms. Angela Pacheco was the first woman elected to the First
Judicial District Attorney's Office. Her legal career has
consisted primarily of criminal prosecution in which she has
tried a number of high-profile cases. Prior to becoming an
attorney, Ms. Pacheco worked as a social worker for 13 years in
Northern New Mexico. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Social
Work from the College of Santa Fe, and her Juris Doctorate from
the Hamline University School of Law.
I would ask each of you to summarize your testimony.
Without objection, the witnesses' written statements will be
entered into the record in their entirety.
You have something with a red, yellow, and green light in
front of each of you. I assume that you know what all of that
means.
So, Mr. Botticelli, you are first.
TESTIMONY OF THE HONORBLE MICHAEL P. BOTTICELLI, DIRECTOR,
WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG POLICY CENTER
Mr. Botticelli. Chairman Sensenbrenner, Chairman Goodlatte,
Representative Chu, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you
for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the
Administration's response to the epidemic of opioid abuse,
particularly the rise in heroin use and overdose deaths.
ONDCP produces the National Drug Control Strategy, which is
the Administration's primary blueprint for drug policy. The
Strategy treats our Nation's substance use problem as public
health challenges, not just criminal justice issues.
The stark increase in the number of people using heroin in
recent years has become a significant public health issue in
our country, and opioid misuse can have devastating
consequences. As we heard, overdose deaths involving heroin
have increased sharply in recent years. Of the 44,000 drug
overdose deaths in 2013, heroin was involved in over 8,200, up
from 5,900 in 2012.
As communities and law enforcement struggle with an
increased number of overdose deaths, heroin use and increasing
heroin trafficking, it is important to note that the vast over-
prescribing of prescription drugs and easy access to diverted
opioids is fueling our opioid drug use problem.
Approximately 18 billion opioid pills were dispensed in
2012. This is enough to give every American 18 years and older
75 pain pills. Even though data indicate that over 95 percent
of prescription opioid users do not initiate heroin use, four
out of five new users of heroin have used prescription drugs
non-medically. Given this relationship, we cannot develop a
public health response to heroin use without making it part of
a response to prescription opioid use.
While heroin is traditionally regarded as an issue facing
large urban areas, we are seeing a shift in the demographic of
heroin use. Increasingly, heroin use overdose deaths and their
consequences are being seen in suburban and small-town America.
A recent CDC study shows that heroin use rates remain highest
among males, but heroin use is doubling among women and has
more than doubled among non-Hispanic Whites.
We also know from this same study that past-year alcohol,
marijuana, cocaine, and opiate pain reliever misuse or
dependence were each significant risk factors for heroin abuse
or dependence.
ONDCP has used its role as coordinator of the Federal drug
control agencies to bolster support for substance use disorder
treatment and overdose prevention efforts and coordinate a
government-wide response. In 2011, the Administration's plan to
address the sharp rise in prescription opioid drug misuse was
released. This plan contains action items categorized in four
categories: education of prescribers and patients; increased
drug monitoring programs; proper medication disposal; and law
enforcement efforts.
Recently, the Administration convened the Congressionally-
mandated Interagency Heroin Task Force, co-chaired by ONDCP and
the Department of Justice, to more closely examine the
Administration's efforts and to devise recommendations in what
more we can do.
We have seen overdose from prescription opioid leveling
off, but unfortunately this is coupled with a dramatic 39
percent increase in heroin-involved overdose deaths from 2012
to 2013. To address the overdose death issue, we have been
working to increase access to naloxone for first responders and
individuals close to those with opioid drug use disorders. Hand
in hand with these efforts are efforts to promote Good
Samaritan laws so witnesses to an overdose will take steps to
help save lives.
Law enforcement nationwide has risen to this challenge of
the increase in opioid use and overdose deaths. They are
working hand in hand with members of the public health
community. But it is critically important for the medical
establishment to work with us to meet the challenges of
increasing access to treatment for individuals with opioid use
disorders. Primary care physicians have an opportunity for
early intervention, as do emergency department physicians, to
treat substance use disorders early and to intervene before
they become chronic. And it is vital that individuals with
opioid use disorders receive evidence-based care and treatment.
Medication-assisted treatment with FDA-approved medications,
when combined with behavioral therapies and recovery, has shown
to be the most effective treatment for opioid use disorders.
Just this weekend, Secretary Burwell announced an additional
$33 million in funding to states to expand the use of
medication-assisted treatment, and an additional $100 million
to fund improved access to care and services at community
health centers nationwide.
HHS is also releasing guidance to states to help implement
innovative approaches to substance use disorder treatments. The
Administration has also proposed $99 million in the Fiscal Year
2016 budget request over Fiscal Year 2015 for treatment and
overdose prevention efforts.
In addition, given the connection between injection opioid
drugs and infectious disease transmission, public health
strategies are necessary to prevent the further spread of
infectious disease. The recent HIV and hepatitis C outbreak in
Indiana is a stark reminder of how opioid abuse can spread
other diseases, how comprehensive public health measures such
as syringe services programs need to be part of the response,
and how rural communities with limited treatment capacity may
experience additional public health crises.
In conclusion, we will continue to work with Congress and
our Federal partners on the public health and public safety
issues resulting from the epidemic of non-medical prescription
opioid use and heroin use. Thank you for your time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Botticelli follows:]
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Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you, Mr. Botticelli.
Mr. Riley?
TESTIMONY OF JOHN (JACK) RILEY, ACTING DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR,
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ASSOCIATION
Mr. Riley. Chairman Sensenbrenner, Chairman Goodlatte,
Congressman Chu, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee,
thanks for the opportunity to discuss heroin, its use and
availability, and DEA's response.
DEA's single mission is enforcing the Controlled Substances
Act, and heroin has always been a major focus of our efforts
over the years. Sadly today, 120 Americans will die as a result
of drug overdose. Heroin and prescription painkillers cause
over half of those fatalities. Accordingly, DEA views the
opioid addiction epidemic as really the number-one problem
facing the country.
I have been with DEA almost 30 years, and I have to tell
you I have never seen it this bad. Heroin destroys individuals,
families, and communities. The vast majority of the heroin
abused in the United States is manufactured outside of our
country and smuggled across our Southwest border. In recent
years, we have seen an increase in poppy cultivation and heroin
production in Mexico. As a result, Mexican heroin is more
prevalent on our streets today, accounting for approximately
half of the domestic supply.
The role of Mexican organized crime is unprecedented, which
is why DEA's relationship with our Mexican counterparts and our
presence along the border is so vital. DEA is addressing this
evolving threat by targeting the highest-level traffickers and
the vicious organizations they run. I have personally spent the
bulk of my career chasing the man I consider to be the most
dangerous heroin dealer in the world, Chapo Guzman. He and his
Sinaloa Cartel dominate the U.S. heroin market.
DEA focuses its resources on disrupting and dismantling
these organizations, both at home and abroad. That means
targeting the intersections between Mexican organized crime and
violent urban gangs distributing the heroin on their behalf.
The relationship between these two criminal entities can only
be described as dangerous and toxic.
Heroin can be found in virtually every corner of our
country, in places I have never seen it before, large and
small, urban and rural. Today, heroin is far different than it
was just 5 years ago. It is cheaper, higher in purity, and can
be smoked and snorted, much like powder cocaine. Unfortunately,
there is no typical heroin addict. The problem transcends all
demographic and social/economic lines.
Knowing this drug is a source of so much violence in our
communities is really what keeps me up at night. I know from
experience the more we do to reduce drug crime, the more we
will do to reduce all violent crime. While Special Agent in
Charge of the Chicago Field Division, we developed a model of
cooperation and collaboration that I believe is making a
difference there and across the country. The Chicago Heroin
Strike Force began with a shared belief among Federal, state,
and local law enforcement, political leaders, community
leaders, and prosecutors that together we could effectively
target violent heroin organizations trafficking in heroin.
As a result of our efforts, seizures dramatically
increased, as did the number of arrests and convictions of drug
traffickers, primarily those connected to violence. We also
dismantled criminal organizations responsible for the
distribution of hundreds, even thousands of kilos of heroin and
other drugs. Consequently, we made our communities safer.
This new and innovative strategy also allows us to work to
the street level to prevent violent crime, while at the same
time to pursue the investigation into the highest level of
cartel leadership, wherever that takes us. We are actively
looking to make this a DEA model across the country.
Just as we cannot separate violence from drugs, we cannot
separate controlled prescription drug abuse from heroin. As a
result, DEA has established highly effective tactical diversion
squads across the country, 66 in total, as part of the
commitment to target the critical nexus between the diversion
of prescription drugs and heroin. Indeed, we are taking steps
to remove unwanted, unneeded and expired prescription drugs
from medicine cabinets. In fact, on September 26, 2015, DEA
will host its 10th national take-back initiative.
I know firsthand these threats are an urgent challenge and
a danger to the communities and the lives of our citizens, but
law enforcement is not the sole answer. Prevention, treatment,
education and awareness are critical to our success. Everybody
plays a role in this problem, from parents, community leaders,
educators, faith-based organizations, coaches and athletics,
and the medical community. This is a marathon, not a sprint,
but together we will produce the results you seek and the
American people demand. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Riley follows:]
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Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you, Mr. Riley.
Ms. Parr?
TESTIMONY OF NANCY G. PARR, COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY, CITY OF
CHESAPEAKE, VA
Ms. Parr. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I
appreciate the opportunity to be here today and to speak to
you.
For the past 12 to 18 months, I have learned a great deal
about drug overdose deaths, prescription and illegal drugs, and
part of that is because I serve on the State Child Fatality
Review Team and we are reviewing poisonings of our youth, and
that includes narcotics, and also with a number of adult
overdose deaths in my city.
For the past 30 years as a prosecutor, I have learned a lot
about distributing drugs, and I have learned about simply
possessing drugs. There is a difference. There is a big
difference.
For the past 30 years as a prosecutor, I have learned a lot
about property crimes, public safety, and what victims of
crimes and law-abiding citizens expect and deserve from their
local law enforcement and from their state law enforcement.
I appreciate the hold that drugs have on some people. We
may all have family or friends, or friends who have children
who are addicted to either prescription drugs or heroin or
cocaine. I appreciate the pain that they experience for what
they go through. And I appreciate that very few people who are
addicted to drugs or to anything can break the cycle of
addiction by themselves and alone. But I also know that many of
them die alone.
And I also know that we all want to save lives.
Users, whether they are incarcerated or not, should have
access to good, affordable treatment. Dealers should be
incarcerated. Store owners should not have their merchandise
stolen by addicts who are in there stealing to support their
habit. Law-abiding citizens should be able to live peacefully
in their homes and in their neighborhoods without dealers
servicing their clients on the street corners, in the parking
lots, or in the house next door. And they should also not be
subject to being in the middle of the crossfire when the wars
break out amongst the gangs and the drug dealers over who is
going to run what street corner or what street. We have
innocent people being shot and killed throughout this country
because of drug dealers engaging in gunfire.
The generations before us did not find a way to stop drug
use or abuse, and I don't think anybody realistically thinks
that this generation is going to do so either. But we can all
work together to diminish the devastation of the impact of the
drugs.
Now, all of the disciplines involved in this have to be at
the table because I am a prosecutor, I am not a therapist. I
don't know what therapies work. I can listen and I can learn.
So we all have to be at the table.
The comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act I support very
strongly, and I have permission from the National District
Attorneys Association to state that the Association supports it
also because of the three important things: the connection
between prescription drugs and heroin use; alternative
evidence-based programs for incarcerated veterans; substance
abuse and mental health. They often go hand in hand together.
And grants for money for naloxone for local law enforcement.
There are five components that I see, and each one serves a
very valid purpose: prevention, intervention, treatment,
diversion, and incarceration.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Parr follows:]
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Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much.
Ms. Pacheco?
TESTIMONY OF ANGELA R. PACHECO, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT
ATTORNEY, SANTA FE, NM
Ms. Pacheco. Good morning, Chairman Sensenbrenner and
Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to
appear today. My name is Angela Pacheco, and I am the elected
DA for the First Judicial District in New Mexico. I am here to
talk to you about hope.
As a prosecutor, every day I make dozens of decisions that
impact someone's life. I could sit here and tell you all the
horrors associated with drug use, but as an elected official
who is constantly being bombarded with the ills of society on a
daily basis, wouldn't you rather hear about giving someone
hope?
Our community, like so many, has experienced the ravages of
heroin addiction for years. As a prosecutor, I have personally
prosecuted three generations of families addicted to heroin and
associated crimes. Every day in the courtroom, we see the same
individuals addicted to opiates, day in and day out, who are
released from custody and told to obey all laws and stay clean,
with little to no treatment. And, of course, in 2 weeks, when
they report to their probation officer, they will be given a
urine specimen cup, told to provide a urine sample, the sample
will test positive for opiates, then the person will be
arrested, placed in custody, go back to the court, then is
released from custody, told to obey all laws, stay clean, and
the cycle continues.
We all know that the person is addicted to heroin. Of
course, they will test positive. Just because someone tells
them or orders them to stop using, do you really think that is
going to last very long? Anyone that has ever raised children
knows firsthand that you can't make someone do something unless
they want to. The definition of insanity is we keep repeating
the same mistakes over and over and expect a different result.
That is madness.
So in 2014, Santa Fe became the second city in the Nation
after the City of Seattle to implement a Law Enforcement
Assisted Diversion program, referred to as LEAD, for low-level
drug offenders. Our LEAD program is community policing at its
best. A police officer on the streets knows his or her
community. Who better than a police officer to divert someone
into a program?
Let me tell you how LEAD works. A police officer is called
to a local grocery store on a shoplifting call where he
encounters Mary, a known heroin addict that he has arrested
several times before. Instead of booking and arresting her, he
offers her the LEAD program. The agreement he makes with Mary
is that she must complete the LEAD application process within
72 hours. If she does, the officer will not file criminal
charges on the shoplifting at the grocery store. If she agrees,
the officer then contacts a LEAD case manager and arranges for
the two to meet. The case manager asks Mary, ``What can I do to
help you? What do you need?'' Then the two of them develop an
action plan. They start with what are her basic needs. For
example, she may need housing, child care, assistance in
filling out a job application or a GED registration, whatever
it takes to get her life back.
Remember, Mary has been through the system and has lost
everything due to her addiction to heroin--friends, family, and
children.
LEAD has a case management committee that meets every 2
weeks to discuss Mary's progress. The committee consists of
police officers, prosecutors, public defenders, case managers,
and therapists. Everyone is given an opportunity to provide
input on Mary's progress. Everyone is in agreement that Mary
will slip and there will be missteps, but Mary will have a
safety net of individuals ready to support her.
Our LEAD program isn't for everyone, but it is a start for
a number of reasons. It is about understanding that an opiate
addiction is truly a public health issue and not a criminal
matter. It is about recognizing that a person with an opiate
addiction is a person, not just another statistic, not another
criminal defendant for me to prosecute, but someone whose life
does matter.
The twin purposes of LEAD are to save money and time. Also
but more importantly, LEAD is about saving lives. LEAD is about
empowering the person and giving them hope.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Pacheco follows:]
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__________
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much.
We will begin questions under the 5-minute rule, and I will
yield myself 5 minutes to ask the first series of questions.
Ms. Pacheco, I agree with you that merely throwing somebody
in jail and then having them come out and probably go back to
the bad ways that got them to jail in the first place is
something that ought to be addressed. Can you give me an
estimate of the recidivism rate of those who have gone through
the LEAD program and graduated and ended up finding out--
everybody finds out that it didn't work?
Ms. Pacheco. Certainly. Mr. Chairman, Santa Fe's program
has been in existence for 1 year and, as such, we don't have
the kind of statistical data that, let's say, Seattle does.
Seattle has shown that in their program--and Santa Fe is
modeled after it--the recidivism is--I want to make sure I have
the correct number for you. I had it marked here for you. I am
sorry, sir. It would be 80 percent less, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. It is 80 percent less than the
recidivism rate before the program started in Seattle?
Ms. Pacheco. Correct.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Well, let me say that I think this is
probably the most important thing that we ought to look at,
because as demand goes down, the profits that are made by the
dealers go down as well, and we can talk about saving lives and
giving people hope. In my home community in Southeastern
Wisconsin, we have had a rash of deaths as a result of heroin
overdose. Attorney General Brad Schimel of Wisconsin last week
convened a task force to try to deal with this both from a law
enforcement as well as a treatment and rehabilitation
standpoint, and the bill that I introduced with other Members
of the Committee was made at the suggestion of Governor Walker.
What advice would any of you give to the Attorney General
of Wisconsin on how to deal with the task force that he has
convened so that it can be effective, and why don't you start,
Mr. Botticelli?
Mr. Botticelli. One of the areas that I think you have
heard today--and we have been working with many, many states
and Attorneys General in terms of helping with state responses
to that. I think the overall goal is that this has to be a
comprehensive response, that people know, quite honestly, that
it is a multi-dimensional problem that needs a multi-pronged
approach. So prevention, treatment, recovery support services,
as well as a role for our local law enforcement too in terms of
not about incarcerating people with addiction but going after
the supply of drugs that are on our streets that are fueling
this epidemic. So it really needs to be a multi-pronged
approach.
As you mentioned, as I think many local law enforcement
people are understanding the fact that they can't arrest their
way out of this problem, and that they also have a role in
terms of reducing overdoses. So we have really been, I think,
amazed in terms of local law enforcement's rise to the call in
terms of preventing overdoses.
But this is really a multi-dimensional issue here that
requires a comprehensive response. Everybody, as Mr. Riley
talked about, has a role here. So whether that is law
enforcement, the public health community, faith leaders, it is
about bringing people together, looking at the evidence about
what is effective, and implementing those responses.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Ms. Parr, do you have anything to add to
what Mr. Botticelli has said?
Ms. Parr. Well, Mr. Chairman, I am serving on the
Governor's Task Force on Prescription Drug Overdose, and I can
say that one of the good things and the reason I think this
task force is working and the implementation plan has been
published is that there are so many different aspects. We have
pharmacists, we have medical doctors, we have mental health
treatment providers, we have law enforcement, we have state
police, local police, sheriffs. The Federal Government has a
representative there. We are all represented there, and it has
been broken down into a treatment workgroup, a law enforcement
workgroup, education, and also more specific on disposal, safe
disposal of the prescription drugs. So the broad spectrum, and
then breaking down into specific workgroups I think has
produced a very good plan.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much. My time is up.
The gentlewoman from California, Ms. Chu.
Ms. Chu. Yes. Ms. Pacheco, I am so impressed by the LEAD
program. Could you describe how the LEAD program has affected
police and community relations in Santa Fe and what role the
community involvement plays in LEAD, as well as what cost
savings have been realized by implementing this program?
Ms. Pacheco. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ms. Chu. Initially,
Santa Fe had a series of meetings by all community members for
about 9 months. We did a needs assessment. Everybody was
involved--private business, law enforcement, mental health
workers--and we were able to put together the LEAD program.
The LEAD program consists of a consortium of individuals,
Santa Fe County, the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Police
Department and the District Attorney's Office, the Public
Defender's Office. All of us get together and we have combined
resources, manpower. We have public funding, we have private
funding, and we get together, and I guess what I would really
like to say is it is really wonderful to see how the police
officers have responded to this.
The police officers on the streets are the ones who
originally came to us and said we need to do something, we are
sick and tired of arresting the same people, we have nothing we
can give them, and for us it has been very gratifying to see
the response by the police department.
Then the other thing that has been very gratifying to us in
reference to the program has been that we have seen many young
women with children, and we had not anticipated that. So we are
also able to provide services to the children, and we really at
first had not taken that into consideration. So what we are
able to do now is provide services to an entire family, and we
have found that to be very gratifying.
Ms. Chu. Thank you.
Mr. Riley, there have been numerous cases across the
country where individuals who suffer chronic pain have faced
challenges getting their properly prescribed pain medication. I
understand that drug stores have been tightening the rules
after the DEA has imposed record fines on pharmacies based on
allegations that they weren't scrutinizing questionable
prescriptions.
I believe a careful balance has to be struck between
attacking prescription drug abuse while not preventing
legitimate patients from accessing pain medications. That is
why I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 471, which is the Ensuring
Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, which passed
the House in April.
So, Mr. Riley, what steps is the DEA taking to ensure that
patients are getting legitimate prescriptions for drug abuse,
and how do you respond to comments that the DEA's actions to
stop prescription drug abuse are causing an increase in the
heroin abuse problem?
Mr. Riley. Thank you, ma'am. I too share the concern on
this. We are so concerned about patient access at every step,
and we want to ensure that a legitimate health care provider
has access to adequate medication for their patients.
One of the biggest ways that we are doing that now is our
relationship with the industry. There are approximately 1.5
million registrants. Of those, about 900,000 are physicians. By
obviously communicating back and forth with them and making
sure that they understand what we are seeing across the country
and trends of addiction and abuse has really brought them in
and what we strive to do to make them our allies.
So our education of how they view the problem is really
important, and clearly we want to listen from the registrants
so it is a two-way street. If you look at, for instance, what
occurred in Florida with the pill mill situation of several
years ago where literally you had a storefront, a small strip
mall with several hundred people lined up around the block at 6
a.m. waiting for it to open to obtain obviously illegal
prescriptions, in those situations, ma'am, we move very quickly
to cut that off.
Of the 1.5 million registrants, obviously the vast majority
are law abiding, but the ones that choose to break the law we
take very seriously. But what we really strive for is patient
access, safe and accessible medication.
Ms. Chu. Thank you.
I yield back.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
The gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte.
Mr. Goodlatte. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Riley, the map you brought paints a distressing
picture. It suggests that drug trafficking organizations,
especially the Sinaloa Cartel, have infiltrated our Nation to a
pretty frightening degree and have partnered with street gangs
in this country to pedal their drugs. In many ways, it is a
national security issue. What is the DEA doing to address that
particular problem?
Mr. Riley. Thank you, sir. That is my primary, biggest
concern, having seen this change. This map that you are looking
at would have been vastly different just 5 years ago. The role
of heroin, the toxic business relationship that has evolved in
virtually every corner of this country between urban street
gangs and Mexican cartels is frightening to me. It is what
keeps me up at night.
What we are doing better than we have ever done, sir, is
connecting the dots. I can tell you that Chapo Guzman, for one,
counts and plans on the fact that cops don't talk to cops, that
the good guys aren't sharing information, and I can assure you
we are doing that better now.
So our ability to attack organizations and their tentacles
as they begin to spread across the country has never been
better.
Mr. Goodlatte. Are these drug trafficking organizations by
their nature violent?
Mr. Riley. There is no doubt in my mind, having done this
job in cities across the country for 30 years, I have never
seen violence connected to trafficking----
Mr. Goodlatte. Are these the people you are targeting?
Mr. Riley. Many of them are parts of organizations that are
extremely violent.
Mr. Goodlatte. How many drug possession offenders, meaning
those who possess only enough for personal use, does the DEA
refer for Federal prosecution?
Mr. Riley. In my experience, virtually none. Our goal is to
attack the highest levels possible so that we can really hurt
the organization from start to finish. With our limited
resources, sir, that is the most effective way for us to make a
difference across the country.
Mr. Goodlatte. Let me turn to Ms. Parr and Ms. Pacheco and
ask a similar question.
Ms. Parr, is violence regularly associated with drug
trafficking and distribution?
Ms. Parr. Mr. Chair, yes, I would definitely agree with
that statement. We have seen in Chesapeake, which is a very
safe community, our shootings are mainly between gangs who are
fighting over turf, where they are going to sell their drugs.
Mr. Goodlatte. What kind of violence do you see associated
with heroin use and distribution?
Ms. Parr. With heroin use?
Mr. Goodlatte. And distribution.
Ms. Parr. With the heroin use, the violence is not so much.
It is more the property crimes for heroin users because they
are stealing to support their habits. We have seen an increase
in prostitution in Chesapeake because that is the way some
women are making the money to support their habits.
As far as distributing the heroin, again that would be the
gun battles that are on our city streets and in our
neighborhoods that expose innocent people to the gunfire.
Mr. Goodlatte. Does it extend into gang violence over turf?
Ms. Parr. Yes.
Mr. Goodlatte. Sales territory, if you will?
Ms. Parr. Yes. We have gangs in Chesapeake, in all areas of
Chesapeake. We have over 300 square miles, and there is a lot
of turf to fight over, and when they see an opening, they are
going to go there.
Mr. Goodlatte. And is there a nexus between heroin
trafficking and other criminal acts by these drug organizations
or gangs?
Ms. Parr. Yes, sir. Whenever you have the trafficking, the
drug trafficking, then you are also going to see an increase in
the prostitution that is coming into the area, and also
robberies. I mean, we have gang members robbing other gang
members, drug dealers robbing and shooting other gang members.
Mr. Goodlatte. Thank you.
Ms. Pacheco, do you want to respond to the same? Is
violence regularly associated with drug trafficking and
distribution?
Ms. Pacheco. Yes, sir, it is, and it has become worse.
Mr. Goodlatte. And what kind of violence do you see in New
Mexico?
Ms. Pacheco. There have been many shootings.
We have had a few executions as a result over trafficking.
Mr. Goodlatte. Do you have the same problem with the nexus
between gangs and the drug organizations? The gangs are their
local sales organizations, if you will, for the Sinaloa Cartel
and other drug distribution organizations?
Ms. Pacheco. We definitely are aware of the fact, because
we are a border state. We definitely see heroin coming in from
Mexico fairly frequently, especially in Northern New Mexico. I
couldn't say specifically which cartel it is associated with,
but we definitely see a lot of drugs coming in from the border,
sir.
Mr. Goodlatte. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much.
The other gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Forbes.
Mr. Forbes. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
Ms. Pacheco, we are looking at these programs to stop
recidivism. Did your organization or have you done any studies
to look across the country at the faith-based programs that
have worked incredibly successfully in trying to stop
recidivism? Have you all done an analysis of that? And
specifically, have we looked at their success rates and also
impediments that we are now putting in front of them to stop
them from doing some of the work that they are doing? Did you
all make any kind of investigation of that?
Ms. Pacheco. Not really, sir. This is--LEAD is a fairly new
concept and there really isn't another model to compare it to.
Mr. Forbes. The only thing I would say is this. Oftentimes,
we love to create new wheels and reinvent the wheel, but we
have had some incredibly successful programs around the country
that we have put one impediment after the other to them doing a
complimentary role with what you are doing. At some point in
time, we need to take a look at that and analyze that.
Mr. Riley, let me ask you this question, following up on
the Chairman's statement. You know, we have had testimony in
here that today if we look across the country, the gang
membership in this country would equal the fourth largest army
in the world. And we have also had testimony--and this is both
Administrations, not a push on just one--that in some of the
most violent gangs that are serving as these networks, that at
least 85 percent of them are coming in here illegally. So they
are bypassing any prevention programs or anything that we are
doing, getting into these gangs. It shocked us the other day to
find out the Secretary of Homeland Security didn't even know if
we were asking people if they were members of violent gangs
before we released them.
Do you have any connectivity as to just how important those
gangs are in this distribution process?
Mr. Riley. Sir, I think they have become almost crucial to
the Mexican cartels. Speaking just for Chicago and the Midwest,
there are over 150,000 documented street gang members. Largely
they make their living from putting drugs on the street,
supplied by the cartels. Heroin is now their drug of choice,
and the way that they regulate themselves, sir, is by the
barrel of a gun.
So this is an enormity in terms of what we are seeing
across the country, and it is extremely toxic. And that is why
it is really important for law enforcement to be involved, to
attack the organizations, not just what is occurring on the
street. Obviously, we will work with our state and local
counterparts to intervene in violent acts, but to make sure
that the integrity of those cases are worked to the highest
level so that we can have an impact on the organization itself
and the community.
Mr. Forbes. And this Committee has worked to do that.
Chairman Sensenbrenner actually got some pretty sophisticated
gang legislation out of here. Unfortunately, it got bogged down
in the Senate and we couldn't see it come out.
Ms. Parr, let me ask you and Mr. Riley this question. On
July 14th, five individuals from Portsmouth and Chesapeake were
arrested on Federal conspiracy charges of manufacturing,
distributing and possession with intent to distribute heroin as
part of an investigation led by the FBI's Norfolk Field Office
and Chesapeake Police Department. According to court documents
obtained by a local news channel, the investigation involved 75
kilograms of heroin sold between 2013 and 2015.
To put that in perspective, that is equivalent to over 2
million doses, which is enough to give everyone in Hampton
Roads a high off of heroin.
With that said, can you give us any details about those
arrests, or more particularly the level of coordination between
local, state, and Federal Governments? And were there any
barriers that you would suggest were problematic that we could
work on eliminating for you?
Ms. Parr. Mr. Chair, that recent arrest I think is a prime
and great example of the cooperation that we have in South
Hampton Roads, particularly between Chesapeake, Portsmouth,
Suffolk, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, the DEA, and FBI. We
have worked together quite well on many cases.
In this case, I did not see any obstacles as everybody was
fully aware of what was going on as far as the investigation
was going, and it was very well organized as to the execution
of the search warrants.
You did state the amount of heroin and the money that they
were making off of this. One thing I would like to point out,
though, is that in one of those homes where there was a search
warrant executed in Suffolk, there were many children in that
home, and the information is that $50,000 was counted every
other day in that house with those children there because of
the heroin sales, and that heroin was cut and prepared on the
dinner table. I think that when we look at that and we look at
the children who were exposed to this, we have got to do
something.
Mr. Forbes. Thank you. My time has expired, but I can talk
to you another time about that.
I yield back.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. Thank you.
The gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Gowdy.
Mr. Gowdy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Special Agent Riley, I want to thank you for your service
and bring to your attention the excellent work of the DEA
agents in the upstate of South Carolina who are a credit to
your agency.
I am not very good with math, which means I am in the right
line of work, so I need you to help me a little bit. I think
that it takes 28 grams of cocaine base to trigger the mandatory
minimum, the 5-year mandatory minimum?
Mr. Riley. I believe that is true.
Mr. Gowdy. And 28 grams of base would be roughly equivalent
to 112 dosage units, I believe, assuming .25 grams for a dosage
unit. So to get 5 years mandatory minimum in prison, you need
112 dosage units of cocaine base or crack cocaine.
Mr. Riley. Yes, sir.
Mr. Gowdy. All right. And it takes 500 grams of powder to
reach that same 5-year mandatory minimum, which would be about
500 dosage units, because it is about a gram a dosage unit when
you are dealing with powder.
Mr. Riley. Yes, sir.
Mr. Gowdy. Now, heroin, it takes 100 grams, I believe, of
heroin to reach that same threshold, but that is 3,000 dosage
units. So why could you go to prison for 5 years for 112 dosage
units of crack cocaine, but 3,000 dosage units of heroin is
what it takes to trigger that 5-year mandatory minimum? That
just seems absurd to me.
Mr. Riley. Well, clearly, on the law enforcement side, we
are cops.
Mr. Gowdy. Right.
Mr. Riley. We are doing the best we can with the laws that
are currently out there.
Mr. Gowdy. You are, which is why, when there is a
discussion about reforming mandatory minimums, it is important
to hear from law enforcement officers.
One thing we could do is just equalize what it takes to
trigger a mandatory minimum. I mean, if you are having a
problem with heroin and it requires 3,000 dosage units to reach
that 5-year threshold, but it only takes 100 dosage units of
crack cocaine, it is pretty easy even for me to see that one
thing that could be done with respect to heroin.
I know folks, everybody in Congress doesn't like mandatory
minimums. Most folks in law enforcement like them, but
everybody in Congress doesn't like them. But I want to ask you
this: How many folks are serving Federal prison sentences for
simple possession of a drug?
Mr. Riley. I have been doing this for 30 years, and I can
tell you, nobody as a result of my investigations.
Mr. Gowdy. Yes, I couldn't find any either. I haven't done
it as long as you. I couldn't find anybody sitting in a Federal
prison for simple possession of a controlled substance.
How about--here is another phrase I hear from time to
time--low-level, non-violent drug offenders? How many of those
did you target for investigation when you were a DEA agent?
Mr. Riley. None, sir.
Mr. Gowdy. Right. DEA wouldn't target low-level, non-
violent drug offenders. They would go to the state prosecutor,
right?
Mr. Riley. No, sir. We would go after the largest
traffickers we could identify and the largest organizations.
Mr. Gowdy. Right. So this mythology that our Federal
prisons are full of low-level, non-violent offenders, the
statistics and your 30 years in law enforcement simply just
doesn't bear that out, do they?
Mr. Riley. Not based off the investigations that I was
involved in.
Mr. Gowdy. I have a colleague who was a prosecutor in a
former life, Joe E. Kennedy from Massachusetts, a very
conscientious colleague from the very first day he set foot in
Congress, who shared with us his concern about the heroin
epidemic, and he wanted and has asked in the past about the
interconnectivity, the relationship between prescription drugs
and heroin. Who can speak to that on behalf of my colleague,
Mr. Kennedy, who raises a pretty good question?
Mr. Botticelli. And I think it is a real concern here that,
as we talked about before, four-fifths of the new users to
heroin started using prescription pain medication, and because
of some of the economics of what it costs to buy a prescription
pain medication on the street versus how cheap pure heroin is,
we see that transition. I think this is where intervention and
treatment and diminishing the vast over-prescribing of
prescription pain medication that is happening right now is
particularly important in terms of our efforts.
Mr. Gowdy. Quickly; I have 25 seconds. Drug court,
tremendous believer in drug court, saw lives changed. But
heroin is hard to get off. In fact, it was the hardest drug for
folks to quit back in my previous job. So what do we need to do
with heroin to make it where more folks are getting off of it
through drug courts?
Mr. Botticelli. Coincidentally, I just spoke this morning
at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, 5,000
people from across the country who are literally saving lives
by giving people a second chance, by giving them good care and
treatment with accountability.
Part of what we know to be effective, particularly for
people with heroin use, is that medications, when combined with
other therapies, become critically important, and the evidence
that people with opiate addiction or prescription drug
addiction without medications fail a significant portion of the
time.
So we have actually been working with our treatment
programs, with our drug courts, and using our Federal resources
to support increased access to these medications as part of a
comprehensive strategy in terms of what we know to be the most
effective treatment for people with opioid use disorders.
Mr. Gowdy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. The gentleman's time has expired.
The gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Bishop.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the
panel. I appreciate your testimony today on this very important
issue.
As a former local prosecutor myself, I had an opportunity
to prosecute many drug-related offenses. But I can tell you, in
my experience, I never saw this level of heroin in the
marketplace. It is troubling, especially as I have school-age
children and I hear too many stories. It is very disconcerting
for a parent and someone like me who is in elected government
looking for solutions, and I appreciate your willingness to be
a part of the solution-making process.
I recently met with a group of local law enforcement
officers, my local county sheriffs and several others, to talk
about the issue. Sheriff Bouchard, and also our sheriff in
Livingston County, and the statistics that they shared are
alarming, and they have piqued my interest, and I want to do
whatever I can to be a part of the solution.
In Livingston County, they had 34 heroin overdoses that
resulted in deaths last year alone. In Oakland County, they
used to have between 40 and 45 heroin-related overdoses per
year. But last year, over the past 2 years I should say, that
number has increased to an average of 200. In Ingham County,
the other county that I represent, which includes the capital
of our state, Lansing, they had 28 heroin-related deaths last
year. That is a number that has increased every year
exponentially.
So I would agree that this issue is one that deserves our
immediate attention, and I want to thank the Chairman of this
Committee, the main Committee, Chairman Goodlatte, and the
Chairman of the Subcommittee for raising these issues and
making sure that we identify these as primary concerns and that
we do whatever we can to address them.
But, Director, I would like to start with you, if I could.
It is clear from what I am hearing in my district that this
issue cuts across all kinds of demographic lines. What are we
doing to ensure that the response to this epidemic is
comprehensive and holistic? Are we engaging with these local
leaders, local law enforcement? When I was a local prosecutor,
we had all kinds of collaborative efforts between local law
enforcement and DEA, and I appreciate your comments about drug
courts and alternative sentencing that is available. Can you
share with us a little bit more about what you are doing?
Mr. Botticelli. Sure. I think we obviously acknowledge the
fact of why we can have a Federal response. Really, it is state
and local responses where the rubber meets the road. It is an
obligation of our office to make sure that states and locals
have the resources that they need to be able to do the work and
to identify the issues and to work collaboratively at the state
and local level.
So we have a number of initiatives. In addition to Federal
treatment funding, we also support through our high-intensity
drug trafficking areas, which our counties designated as drug
trafficking areas to work with state and local law enforcement
to share intelligence, to go after cases. Many of them are
focused on heroin issues. And I will say that many of our
programs are also continuing to support prevention and
education programs as well. So they try to work across the
spectrum.
Our office also supports what is called drug-free community
programs, and these are programs and grants to support
community-based, locally-driven prevention programs at the
local level, because every community looks different, but every
community needs to have all of the key players on board as part
of the solution.
So we really acknowledge and try to continue to support
state and local efforts because we know that we can do as much
as we can at the Federal level, but it also requires state and
local partnership to make it really real.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Riley, in your testimony, you didn't make reference to
this but I am wondering if you can share with me legalization
of marijuana at the local and state level. Can you tell us how
that is influencing these markets and whether or not that has
led to the increase in heroin in our country, and if it has
shifted the focus away from marijuana and we are focused now on
methamphetamine, heroin, and other types of drugs?
Mr. Riley. Well, I think it goes to really the market
genius of the cartels in particular. They have seen, and I do
believe they have seen the spread of prescription drug abuse,
and they know that at some point that availability does cease.
Thus begins that long road to heroin, and we have seen that
across the country. So I believe it is much as it was 10 years
ago when we were battling methamphetamine. With the help of
Congress, we were able to legislate primary precursors out,
pseudo-ephedrine and ephedrine, and we saw a drastic reduction
in the amount of domestic laboratories.
However, the cartels recognized that there still was a
tremendous addiction issue. So, what did they do? They were
able to produce methamphetamine in 50- and 100-pound cooks and
provide that to the areas in which previously had been
supported domestically. So as I look at this problem, sir, I
think it truly is battling the new face of organized crime, and
I am so glad the Committee recognized what has been troubling
me for a while, the connection between domestic street gangs
and the cartels. It truly is the new face of organized crime as
I see it in this country, and law enforcement needs to be fluid
enough to adapt to attack that relationship, because by doing
that we can solve violence on the street but at the same time
attack the organizations that are responsible for all the
drugs.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. The gentleman's time has expired.
The gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Labrador.
Mr. Labrador. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to thank all the witnesses for being here
today and for your important testimony on the rise of heroin
use across the United States.
One area of particular concern that I have that I would
like to address is the expanded population of heroin users. Mr.
Riley, in your written testimony you mention that in 2013
169,000 people over the age of 12 used heroin for the first
time within the past year, with the average age of first-time
users at around 25 years old. You also cited data that
indicated that of those heroin initiates, as they are called,
86 percent of them were prior prescription drug users.
I understand that your agency is developing a task force to
confront the use, abuse, and trafficking of heroin in America,
but what specifically is being done to address the rise in
addiction from prescription drugs?
Mr. Riley. Well, sir, I think what we are doing today is
important. Awareness is really important. Prior to leaving
Chicago, I attended a meeting about 2 years before I departed
and there were about 100 concerned people in the room. I
attended that same meeting 3 years later and there were over
2,000 people concerned with the whole heroin issue, and
unfortunately many of them were parents. What strikes me most
is many of these parents had no idea their kids--and I am
talking high school-age kids--were involved with prescription
drug abuse which led to heroin, and many of them didn't find
out until they were on their way to the emergency room.
So law enforcement attacking the organizations, sir, is
crucial, and that is what we do around the clock. And I have to
tell you, we are doing great work. But the awareness of
everybody in the community to this issue is really going to
strengthen us as we go after these organizations.
So when we look across the board to parents, educators,
community leaders, faith-based practitioners, everybody plays a
role. While we will do our job going after the bad guys, we
can't do it alone. We need the help of everybody, especially
parents.
Mr. Labrador. Excellent. I understand many of these users
are initially receiving prescription drugs through legitimate
means, leading to an increase in usage among traditionally
untouched populations. What does the agency propose for
addressing the fundamental problem of addiction?
Mr. Riley. Well, clearly we are working with a variety of
different agencies to try to get the word out. Also, one of the
problems we faced--and again, it is an awareness issue--is
today's heroin on the street is being smoked and snorted
initially. So initially, gone is the fear of AIDS or hepatitis
because of a needle. So we are seeing a lot younger people try
heroin almost as a recreational drug. The statistics show that
they eventually will go to needle use, but I think it does have
a lot to do with why we are seeing younger and younger addicts.
Mr. Labrador. Mr. Botticelli?
Mr. Botticelli. Congressman, if I could add to those
comments. To your point, focusing on the prescription drug
problem is a top priority. First and foremost, we really need
to reign in over-prescribing of prescription pain medication.
Our office has proposed mandatory continuing medical education
for every prescriber. Again, we want a balanced approach. We
want to make sure people are getting appropriate pain
medication. We don't want the pendulum to swing to the other
way, and that is why we want to make sure that every prescriber
has at least some minimum education about safe prescribing
practices.
We know that about 70 percent of people who start misusing
them are getting them free from friends and family, and that is
why Federal and local take-back programs to get the drugs out
of people's homes becomes equally important.
We have also been promoting prescription drug monitoring
programs that allow physicians to check databases to see if
someone might be going from doctor to doctor to be able to
intervene at that point, as well as law enforcement responses.
We just got briefed by the DEA in terms of a huge takedown in
terms of bad doctors and bad practices in the south. So we know
that this needs a holistic response.
Mr. Labrador. Thank you very much.
Ms. Pacheco, you also mentioned the need for sentencing
reform to address low-level, non-violent offenders who end up
in jail with mandatory minimum sentences with no alternative
for addressing their problems. I agree that mandatory minimums
have proven destructive in addressing drug crimes and have
resulted in wasting valuable resources. In your view, what is
the best alternative for addressing addiction and the causes of
drug abuse, given your experiences where drug addiction abuse
is pervasive within the culture?
Ms. Pacheco. I have been doing this for many, many years,
sir, and it always comes down to resources and money for drug
treatment. But we see over and over the same people in and out,
in and out, without appropriate resources. New Mexico, as you
know, is one of the poorer states. We don't have the type of
tax base to provide services. But a program like LEAD, for
example, it is pre-arrest, pre-booking that shows it can save
us money, and that money then can go into treatment and the
wrap-around services that many of these individuals need,
because that is kind of where it is at.
Someone who is in the cycle of addiction, they need as much
support as possible, and that is kind of what we are doing. We
are transferring resources from the back end to the front end
to help them and to keep them out of the system, sir.
Mr. Labrador. Thank you.
Mr. Sensenbrenner. The time of the gentleman has expired.
This concludes today's hearing, and thanks to our witnesses
for attending.
Without objection, all Members will have 5 legislative days
to submit additional written questions for the witnesses and
additional materials for the record.
And without objection, the hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:21 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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Material Submitted for the Hearing Record
Questions for the Record submitted to John (Jack) Riley,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Drug Enforcement Association*
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*The Committee had not received a response to these questions at
the time this hearing record was finalized and submitted for printing
on November 17, 2015.
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