ATASCADERO, Calif- One central coast city is facing a new battle against drugs! Atascadero is seeing a shift in the people using drugs even the types of narcotics. The city is taking new steps to win this war on drugs.
Ricky Johanson was on his way to a bright future. He was a graduated football player from Atascadero High but he fell victim to black tar heroine last month. It's a growing problem for youth all over the county including Atascadero.
"In recent past there was a shift, a lot of younger kids, when I say kids I'm talking 17-25 year old population, is using heroine," says Commander Joe Allen of the Atascadero Police Department.
In Atascadero alone three people have already died this year form an overdose of black tar heroine. One of the biggest concerns for police is that users don't know the purity of the heroine and never wake up after trying it.
These drugs aren't just leading to death, it leads to other criminal activity. "We can attribute a lot of these thefts and these theft sprees to addiction," says Commander Allen.
The addiction that is spreading among youth has pushed city leaders to create a group called "Light House". It's main goal is to educate the community of the problem, signs and symptoms of drug use, and most importantly, "if we get somebody of the drugs we can lessen the crime in our community and we can feel good that we have succeeded in hopefully saving another kid or adults life."
A life like 22-year-old Ricky whose life was cut short because of addiction. The new group, Lighthouse, will host a town hall meeting Wednesday at 6pm in the Atascadero High School Gym.
