Heroin Infiltrating Native American Reservations

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on June 1, 2015 under AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse | Comments are off for this article

It appears that heroin has not only made its way into Native American reservations, but that it is claiming many addicts along the way. While it is not news that heroin is seeping into many neighborhoods throughout the country, some Native Americans were taken off guard by the swiftness the drug began to take over. With a past that has been laden with relocation, segregation, and conflict with others, heroin seems to be preying on the emotions that are deep within many people living on the reservations.

In addition to the emotional pull towards heroin, there are reports that Mexican drug cartels are specifically targeting Native American communities. Because of high unemployment rates and histories of alcohol and meth addiction, the cartels are able to convince some American Indians to sell and transport drugs for them. While local law enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration are aware of the heroin trend in many Native American communities, it is proving difficult to police. “And we show up and then there’s nothing. I think they have the knowledge of us not being everywhere or the short manpower that we have. They know it, so they’re getting smart about it,” explained Donald Seimy, a Navajo police officer.

Additionally, some drug cartel members, or drug dealers within the reservation are intentionally sabotaging police efforts to curb the heroin abuse problem. Because of the lack of officers throughout the reservation if one issue comes up it generally pulls many of the on-duty officers off their patrol. There have been instances of false accident reports being called in, likely to clear the roads for drug trafficking in other parts of the reservation.

Because law enforcement within the tribes is minimal, it appears that heroin is no match for the small police forces on the reservations. The problem with lack of monitoring and policing only leads to more addictions. Past studies have shown that a child who grows up in households where one family member is abusing drugs makes it more likely that the child will follow down the same path. Because of this, the close-knit community on the reservation gets overrun with heroin addicts.