This document discusses the heroin epidemic in New York State and the push for "Laree's Law", which would make it a crime to sell drugs resulting in death. It notes that heroin deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Currently, dealers in New York cannot be charged with murder for drug sales leading to overdoses. The families of two women who died of overdoses, Katie Scheidt and Laree Cascone, are advocating for this law change so that dealers face accountability for deaths. Chief Veitch notes that law enforcement alone cannot solve the heroin crisis and that treatment and social services also need to play a role.

1. No Murder Charge in NYS for Dealing Death
up hope – I’m saying be very careful
and watch carefully because it can
just grab anybody. It’s a disease, not a
moral issue.”
Chief Veitch said that in partic-
ular, heroin addiction is exception-
ally difficult to handle for both the
user and their loved ones. “Heroin
is an issue in Saratoga Springs as it
is everywhere,” said Veitch, “and law
enforcement is only one part of the
solution. Families, friends and ser-
vice agencies all have a part to play in
reducing the adverse effects that her-
oin has on the individual, their loved
ones and the community.”
Schreiber said for many users
treatment would be better than jail.
“We have a drug treatment court in
this county,” he said, “and my office
is pretty progressive – we just hired
a social worker.” With her help, the
court can better assess the best course
of action not only for rehabilitation,
but also for preventing situations like
Katie’s and Laree’s.
Victims’ families do want bet-
ter rehabilitation, but they also want
dealers to face accountability – not
just for selling drugs, but also for the
resulting deaths. As far as these fami-
lies are concerned, dealers in New
York State are getting away with mur-
der. Literally. That’s why so many are
pushing for Laree’s Law.
Part of the problem, Schreiber
said, is that it can be difficult to prove
thedefendantwasselling,andnotjust
in possession as another user. And
Scheidt wants to be sure the Good
Samaritan Law stays in effect.
“I’d much rather have Katie back
alive than Matt Charo in jail for life,”
said Scheidt. That said, Katie’s father,
Week of April 15 – April 21, 2016 NEWS 13
Saratoga Drug Arrests
Arrests in the City of Saratoga Springs for Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance have doubled
from 52 in 2010-11 to 106 in 2015-16.
Source: Saratoga Springs Police Department.
Total drug arrests in Saratoga County have increased 33
percent from 299 in 2011 to 443 in 2015.
Source: DCJS, www.CriminalJustice.ny.gov.
Statewide Opioid Trends
• Heroin-related deaths increased 163 percent between
2009 and 2013.
• Naloxone emergency administration increased by 57
percent in one year, 2014 over 2013.
• Opioid-related emergency department visits
increased 73 percent between 2010 and 2014.
• Half of heroin-related overdose deaths are under age 35.
• Heroin-related overdose deaths of people under age
35 increased by 268 percent in 2013 since 2009.
“Most overdoses are not instantaneous, and
most are witnessed by others.
Therefore, many overdose fatalities are preventable,
especially if witnesses have had appropriate training.”
Source: Opioid Poisoning, Overdose and Prevention 2015 Report to the
Governor and NYS Legislature by the New York State Department of
Health and AIDS Institute.
Continued from page 12. as a former state police officer, knows
well that some dealers are not reha-
bilitatable,andbelongunderlockand
key for a long time.
“It’s not just the money for
them,” said Scheidt. “Some of this
is power as well. They find this
21-year-old girl and now they
own her. Drug addiction is ter-
rible enough. Homicide is terrible
enough. But if you’re 21 years old
and addicted, your dealers own
you. They offer it free because
they know you’ll be addicted, that
you’ll go to the ends of the earth
for it. They’ve cornered the mar-
ket. What New York State needs is
a clean law without a lot of loop-
holes, so these scumbags who prey
on them, these pushers, don’t kill
any more addicts. Katie’s dead.
She’s not coming back. We’re not
doing this for us, it’s for others.”
Cascone believes Katie would
have wanted her family to help
people understand the heroin cri-
sis. “Before she died, she had been
off the heroin for quite some time,”
said Katie’s mother. “And we were
seeing the Katie we all knew. She
was clear headed and had goals.
One of them was to speak out
against heroin, and I feel her fam-
ily is doing that for her. I think
that’s what she really wants us to
do. I hope the people who love her
never forget her.”
Scheidt remembers exactly
having such a conversation with his
daughter before she died. “Like Katie
said to me on the 26th of September,”
he said, “people have to know.”
For more information about
Laree’s Law, call your New York State
senator 518-455-3216 or assembly
member 518-455-4218. For more
aboutKatieandherlife,visitherobitu-
ary at http://www.burkefuneralhome.
com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1428288.