Trussville police see increase in incidents involving syringes

By David Lazenby
Editor

TRUSSVILLE — During a three-day period earlier this month, Trussville police were involved in daily incidents in which an individual was in possession of a syringe or hypodermic needle.

Justin Ragsdale

On Aug. 6, Sarah Tisdale, a 28-year-old Hoover resident, was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, according to police reports. Officers alledge a needle was found on the woman when she was taken to jail by Trussville police for public intoxication following an incident at a Waffle House restaurant on Gadsden Highway.

The next day, police gave assistance to an individual who had an overdose. The person who was transported to a local hospital possessed a syringe that contained residue from a substance believed to be heroin, a bag that also contained the residue and a spoon with burn marks, a telltale sign of illegal drug use.

On Aug. 8, Trussville police arrested Justin Ragsdale of Cullman at a local Hilton Garden Inn. Ragsdale was alledly in possession of a syringe and a bag of a substance believed to be methamphetamine. He is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. Because he gave police a false name, he is also charged with obstruction of justice. A bond for Ragsdale is set at ,300.

Rush said Ragsdale was passed out in a hotel room. “We couldn’t get him to wake up,” he said.

Trussville Police Lt. Eric Rush said arrests for unlawful possession of needles has become common for police in Trussville as well as law enforcement officers across the country as the current heroin crisis in the U.S. shows no signs of slowing down.

“Heroin is a huge problem,” Rush said. “It’s the new meth.”

Rush said about once a week, Trussville Fire & Rescue officers are required to save the life of an area resident who has overdosed on the dangerous narcotic.

“Usually they can save them, but not always,” Rush said. “It (heroin) is causing a lot of deaths.”

When required to save someone who has overdosed on heroin or similar opioids, the Trussville fire department uses a drug called naloxone, which can be administered as an injection or through an atomizer, a device for emitting liquids as a fine spray.

“We do use it quite a bit,” said Trussville Fire Chief Tim Shotts about the medication that blocks the effects of opioids.

Shotts added that as demand for heroin has increased, so has the cost of naloxone. An article published this year on the website for Scientific American stated the cost of the life-saving drug is about 6.5 times more expensive than it was just three years ago.