Federal agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) visited local law enforcement agencies and the public in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Thursday, April 30, and Friday, May 1, announcing that an agent will serve full-time in the Upper Peninsula for the first time to address the growing trend of drug abuse in the U.P. Pictured while visiting The St. Ignace News office are (from left) DEA Special Agent Richard Isaacson, Ken Mills of Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement, Elizabeth Reed of U.S. Senator Carl Levin's office in Escanaba, DEA Resident Agent in Charge Michael Yasenchak, Jim Geldhof, DEA diversion program manager, and Mackinac County Sheriff Scott Strait. For the first time in its history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has a permanent physical presence in the Upper Peninsula. An agent has been assigned to Marquette to follow up on all drug-related issues, including those in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Agent Ryan White will work closely with local police and drug enforcement units here.

Mr. White's new federal assignment, said Mackinac County Sheriff Scott Strait, "will make a bigger impact with DEA working with local law enforcement on drugs, because now we have federal resources available, more than we have had in the past. Our ultimate goal here is to prevent deaths and cut down the number of recurring abuses in communities we live in and care about."

Mr. Strait led an introductory tour of the area last week, when members of the DEA in Michigan, accompanied by U.S. Senator Carl Levin's U.P. office representatives, visited Sault Ste. Marie, Cedarville, and St. Ignace Thursday, April 30, and Friday, May 1, to make the announcement, meet with local authorities and the public, and hear concerns about rising drug use in their communities. The group included DEA Special Agent Richard Isaacson of Detroit, Michael Yasenchak, who is the resident agent in charge in Grand Rapids and has direct oversight of the western U.S. district in Michigan, including the entire Upper Peninsula, and Jim Geldhof, diversion program manager for DEA in the Detroit area. They were joined by Lieutenant Ken Mills from Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement and Sen. Levin aides Elizabeth Reed and Amy Berglund.

Biggest battle in the U.P.

is misuse of prescription drugs

The trend of misuse of pharmaceutical drugs is the biggest battle DEA and local law enforcement have in the U.P. today, said Mr. Isaacson. "What we've learned in the last two days is the issues you have here locally mirror closely what we've seen statewide, and even nationwide. We're seeing an increase in the misuse of pharmaceuticals, non-medical use, overthe counter drugs. That seems to be the largest drug use threat in the U.P., and that's certainly going on statewide and nationwide, certainly with our teens."

Another issue DEA is battling nationwide is the purchase of pharmaceuticals over the Internet, which, Mr. Geldhof said has improved now that federal regulations put stricter responsibilities on physicians. New laws also limit the amount of some medicine that can be prescribed at one time.

"It is important to point out that DEA is not telling doctors how to practice and how much pain pills to prescribe," said Mr. Geldhof. "We are just trying to help keep from having old prescriptions, or extra pills, lying around the house when they should be discarded."

The misuse of pharmaceutical drugs is nothing new, says Mr. Mills, but awareness of the problem is building, which is the goal of the visiting DEA group.

"We're making sure people are aware of this because it impacts all of us," said Lt. Mills. "The big thing is we don't have big dealers of crack, for example, on our corners. Pharmaceuticals are being legally prescribed by physicians in our communities and some coming across from Chippewa County. That's the biggest thing, is that they are available here."

Awareness of the misuse of pharmaceuticals hasn't caught on quickly because, said Lt. Mills, "it doesn't have the stigma."

Added Mr. Geldhof: "There is a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of misuse of these kinds of drugs."

"People hear about heroin and know that it's a serious drug," he said. "People think they are safe because they are prescribed, but pharmaceuticals are every bit as dangerous and addictive as heroin."

Mainly, the opiate-based pharmaceuticals are what local authorities are seeing, such as morphine, methadone, Vicodin, and OxyContin, said Mr. Isaacson.

To help prevent misuse of drugs in the home, he advised individuals to clean out their medicine cabinets and discard any unused prescribed medicine, and to lock up any prescribed medicine in use.

"We've had people visiting an open house for a home for sale and steal pharmaceutical drugs from the medicine cabinets," said Mr. Isaacson, "so you have to take every precaution you can."

Although information about Mr. White is classified, he will be a great asset to local authorities in the fight against drugs in the U.P., Mr. Isaacson said.

"This is a wonderful thing with getting someone assigned here to the U.P.," he noted.

The group visited with local authorities in all three communities and with community residents at St. Ignace Public Library, the Les Cheneaux's neighborhood watch program, and the Sault Ste. Marie middle school.