Overdose

Blue Nitro, the new "club drug" of the suburban set, is sometimes billed as a safe, natural high.It's about as safe and natural as floor varnish and lye -- two of the ingredients kitchen chemists commonly use to make it, according to Maryland anti-drug officials who have counted 10 overdose cases in emergency rooms around the state since January. That's an increase over last year, when two overdoses were reported to the Maryland Poison Center.An overdose of the drug GHB, sometimes called Blue Nitro, starts off like a bad drunk and can end in seizures, comas, and pneumonia, according to a report to Maryland's newly formed Drug Early Warning System from the poison control center.

A 16-year-old Westminster boy suspected of supplying the heroin that killed a schoolmate in January has been ordered to stand trial as an adult on drug distribution charges.Kristopher Olenginski, an 11th-grade student at Westminster High School, was released into his parents' custody Friday after being charged as an adult on charges stemming from the overdose death of 15-year-old Liam A. O'Hara.In rejecting a defense lawyer's plea that Olenginski should be tried in the juvenile justice system, Carroll County Circuit Judge Francis M. Arnold said: "This is a very serious case.

The apparent heroin overdose in an elementary school bathroom of a respected teacher stunned a community unaccustomed to drug problems associated with cities.But experts and officials aren't surprised by a recent incident involving Laurel Woods elementary teacher Garrett M. Bradley, 28. They say a new surge in heroin abuse is sweeping from inner cities to suburban areas such as Howard County, crossing social, economic, racial and gender lines."A year ago, we sent out officers to try to buy heroin, but they couldn't find any," said Lt. Tim Branning, who heads Howard County police's narcotics and vice division.

The apparent heroin overdose in an elementary school bathroom of a respected teacher stunned a community unaccustomed to drug problems associated with cities.But experts and officials aren't surprised by a recent incident involving Laurel Woods elementary teacher Garrett M. Bradley, 28. They say a new surge in heroin abuse is sweeping from inner cities to suburban areas such as Howard County, crossing social, economic, racial and gender lines."A year ago, we sent out officers to try to buy heroin, but they couldn't find any," said Lt. Tim Branning, who heads Howard County police's narcotics and vice division.

A Hampstead mother who believes that her son died of a heroin overdose lamented yesterday that a high-profile crusade against the drug in Carroll County wasn't enough to save her son."I don't want any other parent to have to go through this," said Debi Curran, 44, alternately clenching a fist for emphasis or wiping away a tear.Her son, Justin Lee Dalcin, 20, was found dead in Wyman Park in Baltimore on Sept. 9. Baltimore police believe he died of a heroin overdose, but the autopsy report has not been completed.

The television set flickers, slowly coming to life. Filling the screen is the image of teen-agers laughing and dancing. The camera pans the room, stopping at the lifeless body of a teen-age girl lying on a bed with a glassy look on her face. Suddenly, the picture changes to a cartoon, a smiley face and the words "Happy Heroin Hints."An authoritative male voice warns of the dangers of heroin use: "Violent fits of vomiting are commonplace. Keep a bucket handy. Heroin -- Dying's the easy part."

State police have arrested a 39-year-old Prince George's County man on charges of threatening a teen-age girl who provided information to authorities in the drug-overdose death of a fellow Westminster High School student.James Franklin Boone Jr. of the 3300 block of Chillum Road in Mount Rainier was arrested Friday and held in the Carroll County Detention Center on $15,000 bond.He was charged with intimidating a witness, obstruction of justice and telephone misuse, police said.Two death threats were made by telephone to the home of 16-year-old Jennifer Sarsfield, who is expected to testify May 29 in a case related to the overdose death of Liam O'Hara, 15.Kristopher Olenginski, 16, has been charged as an adult with heroin distribution and reckless endangerment in connection with the death, and a girl and a boy, both 17, have been charged as juveniles in the case.

The apparent heroin overdose in an elementary school bathroom of a respected teacher stunned a community unaccustomed to drug problems associated with cities.But experts and officials aren't surprised by a recent incident involving Laurel Woods elementary teacher Garrett M. Bradley, 28. They say a new surge in heroin abuse is sweeping from inner cities to suburban areas such as Howard County, crossing social, economic, racial and gender lines."A year ago, we sent out officers to try to buy heroin, but they couldn't find any," said Lt. Tim Branning, who heads Howard County police's narcotics and vice division.

A 17-year-old boy who graduated from Glenelg High School last month was found dead early yesterday leaning against a tree near Triadelphia Reservoir -- the victim of an suspected heroin overdose, police said.Friends and neighbors of Damien Massella of the 3200 block of Roscommon Drive in Glenelg said they were shocked by his death.Several remembered a "guy who always liked having fun.""He was just a great friend," said Jason Krepner, 17, also a Glenelg graduate. "He was like a jokester. He was really excited about graduating."

The television set flickers, slowly coming to life. Filling the screen is the image of teen-agers laughing and dancing. The camera pans the room, stopping at the lifeless body of a teen-age girl lying on a bed with a glassy look on her face. Suddenly, the picture changes to a cartoon, a smiley face and the words "Happy Heroin Hints."An authoritative male voice warns of the dangers of heroin use: "Violent fits of vomiting are commonplace. Keep a bucket handy. Heroin -- Dying's the easy part."

In two Baltimore courtrooms adjacent to the one occupied by Mayor Sheila Dixon - known here as defendant Sheila Ann Dixon - here's what happened on Thursday: In one courtroom, Gregory Carmichael pleaded with a judge to get into a program to treat his addiction to alcohol, just one in a parade of substance abusers that morning seeking help instead of jail. In the other courtroom, a judge started picking a jury to try Charles Owens on charges that he shot a man four times in drug-infested Park Heights.

Deaths from alcohol and drug overdoses declined for the second straight year in Baltimore and are at their lowest level since 1995, when the city began recording the data, according to a Health Department report released today. In 2008, 176 people died of a drug overdose in Baltimore, compared with 281 in 2007, a decrease of about one-third. Baltimore health officials called the figures significant and noted that they come at a time when overdose rates in other cities are climbing. They said increased treatment slots, better outreach to addicts and a five-year-old program that teaches drug abusers how to avoid overdosing themselves have contributed to the decline.

Robert Carroll Eichelberger - Robbie to his mother - started using drugs before he reached puberty. By age 12, he had run away from home. In his 20s, he was in and out of Washington County District Court on charges that included assault and burglary. In his 30s, he added credit-card theft and eluding police to his record. And at 35, he and his girlfriend were selling prescription drugs to high school students to support their own addictions. Last year, one of those teenagers died. "I know my saying 'I'm sorry' won't bring him back, but I am sorry.

Police chief: In aftermath of overdose, a 'cover-up' pro basketball A suburban New York police chief likened the conflicting accounts of an accidental overdose at Isiah Thomas' home to a "cover-up" and rebuked the former New York Knicks coach yesterday for saying it was his teenage daughter who required treatment. "It wasn't his daughter," Harrison Police Chief David Hall told the Associated Press. "And why they're throwing her under the bus is beyond my ability to understand." Authorities were called early Friday to Thomas' Westchester County home, where police said a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an overdose of sleeping pills.

The June letter from the Baltimore Health Department alerted physicians, nurses and other providers to a significant increase in methadone-related overdose deaths. The letter from Dr. Laura Herrera, a deputy city health commissioner, raised the possibility that the overdoses involved prescriptions for pain. It was a cautionary reminder that health care providers should educate their patients about the proper use of methadone and the lethal risks of taking extra doses. Dr. Herrera was right to be concerned: Methadone-overdose deaths of city residents have risen from seven in 1995 to 74 in 2007.

The addiction treatment drug buprenorphine will come under closer scrutiny through a new federal initiative to track the deaths of opiate addicts taking it or methadone. U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration officials hope the new tracking system will significantly improve the safety and quality of drug treatment for more than 400,000 addicts across the country, including thousands in Baltimore. A series of articles published in The Sun in December showed that while buprenorphine can be a highly effective addiction medicine, misuse of the drug is on the rise.

Maybe George Soros has a $6,000 shower curtain in his mansion in the Hamptons. I don't know for sure - I've never been a houseguest - but somehow I doubt it. And, at this point, it wouldn't matter much if he did. He's been good to my city. Soros is a card-carrying member of the global billionaires' club and, if he was so inclined, he could spend all of his time acquiring more wealth and property, indulging himself, and grossing everyone out. Instead, he's been pushing for social and political progress around the world and, in the midst of all that, he's given millions of dollars to help Baltimore recover from an epoch of drug addiction, violence and poverty.

The Westminster woman whose body state police discovered in an Eldersburg creek on March 22 died of an overdose of drugs and alcohol, according to an autopsy by the chief medical examiner's office in Baltimore. State police do not suspect foul play nor do they believe the overdose was intentional, said Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman. The woman, Janet L. Seal, 44, of the first block of Pennsylvania Ave., was pronounced dead at the scene near the 1700 block of Bennett Road.

The death of 16-month-old Timothy Ashton Preston in 2004 had all the elements of a heartbreaking mistake. The toddler and his mother, a recovering heroin addict, were taken in by a family they met at church. The mother was taking methadone, some of which wound up in her son's Mickey Mouse cup, according to police reports. Then, police said, the methadone was inadvertently given to the toddler in a deadly dose by the woman they were staying with. This week, however, prosecutors will try to convince a jury that the death was no mere accident.

In 2004, the number of fatal drug overdoses in Baltimore dropped to its lowest level in five years. Health Department officials and drug abuse experts credit "Staying Alive," a program that trains mostly addicts to recognize a heroin overdose and to administer Narcan, a medication that helps revive a user who might die. The program deserves support as officials now sensibly want to continue and expand it. Since April 2004, more than 800 people have been...