Second Graded Blog post. Due: February 10, 2010
Two Hartford men were arrested for drug and traffic related offenses last week on I-91 in Holyoke, MA. Aaron Diaz, 22, was pulled over for a lane violation. When authorities asked Diaz to step out of the car, they noticed a large bulge in his pants (I am not making this up), only to discover that there was a large amount of cash in there. His passenger, Steven Pedraza, 22, complied with state policemen, while Diaz ran away once the troopers realized he was unlicensed.
Diaz dropped 500 small bags of heroin and $1,690 in cash. He was located approximately two hours later in Holyoke. There was no mention of needles in the Daily Hampshire Gazette article. Diaz claimed he was using the money for a shopping trip. The Holyoke Mall is great, but that is SOME shopping spree….
Diaz’s exact involvement in drugs is unclear. Perhaps he was transporting them to or from a dealer, was a dealer himself, or was even planning on using the drugs. Heroin is harmful to the body and its usage results in extreme dependence on the drug.
Here is Drugfree.org’s description of heroin:
Heroin is a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, which is obtained from the opium poppy. It is a “downer” or depressant that affects the brain’s pleasure systems and interferes with the brain’s ability to perceive pain.
Heroin needle users put themselves at risk for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. I was told recently that there is a “heroin clinic” in Northampton, not far from Holyoke, where drug abusers can seek help and clean needles. The website explains that the Community Substance Abuse Center is a methadone treatment facility. This means that heroin is substituted with methadone, which is an FDA approved drug. This helps wean and stabilize the drug abuser without taking more heroin.
