The Herald is reporting that an Everett woman died of an apparent overdose in Mountlake Terrace Friday morning:
A Mountlake Terrace man, 26, called 911 around 8 a.m. Friday morning to report the woman was unconscious and was foaming at the mouth, Mountlake Terrace police Sgt. Doug Hansen said.
Rescue crews rushed to the home in the 23100 block of 54th Avenue W. but were unable to revive the woman, Hansen said.
The man told police that he and the woman had used heroin the night before and allegedly admitted supplying the drugs.
They had gone to sleep and he found the woman when he woke up, Hansen said.
The man also was hospitalized for problems associated to his drug use.
Controlled substance homicide is defined by a person who gives someone drugs and that person later dies as a result.
Hansen said detectives have a suspect in the death.
The woman’s identity was not immediately released. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner was expected to conduct an autopsy.
We’ll post more details here as they are released.
This is literally on my block. Didn’t even realize anything had happened. Sad.
Wow, that is really sad. It’s likely her family will always remember losing her right before Christmas.
One of the consequences of our government’s prohibition of heroin use is a black market for the drug where the strength of any individual dose is unknown.
This leads far too often to problems with an overdose. Also, because heroin is illegal when someone does have a problem the people around them are often reluctant to seek help not wanting to put themselves in legal jeopardy.
If heroin were legal and regulated then the chances are that this woman would not have taken an overdose. However, even if she had overdosed under a legal regime those around her would have sought official help immediately and greatly increased her probability of survival. No doubt those who support and benefit by the illegality of heroin will exploit this tragedy to bolster their position, but the reality is that if drugs were legal she would most likely be alive today.
We as a society may not like heroin use but it should not be a capital offense.
Washington House Bill 1796 & Senate Bill 5516 would provide immunity from prosecution to people who report a drug overdose in order to help the victim. Sponsored by Sen. Rosa Franklin and Rep. Roger Goodman, such legislation would save lives and focus public resources on resolving medical emergencies. House Bill 1796 would also facilitate peer distribution and administration of Naloxone, a drug that stops opiate overdoses and revives victims within minutes of administration.
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1796&year=2009
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5516&year=2009
Preventing Overdose, Saving Lives : Strategies for Combating a National Crisis from Drug Policy Alliance
https://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/OverdoseReportMarch2009.pdf
Angela, I’m just curious, do you also go to town hall meetings with a picture of Obama colored up to look like Hitler? I think I’ve seen you around before…
Mark,
You literally made me LOL.
Where on earth would you get that idea?
Oh, I was just giving you a bad time, sarcastically comparing you to the kook that disrupted a Barney Frank town hall appearance back in August.
I just find the concept of legalizing heroin so ludicrous, my first thought was ‘on what planet do you spend most of your time’, thus, the humorous comparison to the town hall meeting. Not to say the house and senate bills you reference are necessarily bad, but the very idea of legalizing and regulating such a powerful and addicting narcotic is just… well, crazy and stupid.
As I said in another message, I meant it as humor and am glad you took it as such. I’m sure you’re not (as) kooky as the woman claiming healthcare reform is nazism. 😉