Man Loses Heroin At Coffee Shop, Tries To Get It Back

PUYALLUP, WA - Some items just don't belong in the lost and found. A man dropped a bag of heroin at a Puyallup coffee shop recently, and then came back later asking for it back after he realized what had happened.

According to Puyallup police, the incident took place along the 200 block of West Pioneer in downtown Puyallup on Friday. After the man dropped the bag of heroin, a barista decided to scoop it up and call the police.

By the time police arrived, the man had already left the coffee shop. Police said a customer took a photo of the man, which might be useful for a future arrest - if the man is able to find more heroin.

While it might be an amusing story, Pierce County - and the nation as a whole - is in the midst of an opioid crisis. The Pierce County Council declared a "State of Opioid Crisis" in early August noting that the county's death rate from opioid overdoses is higher than the state average (10.2 per 100,000 people compared to 9.8).

But according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, the number of people being admitted to the hospital over an opioid overdose has skyrocketed recently. In 1999, 50 out of every 100,000 people went to the hospital for an overdose. In 2015, the rate was close to 200 per 100,000.

Also last week, Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the maker of the powerful opioid OxyContin. Ferguson is suing, he says, because the company marketed OxyContin as non-addictive, when in fact addiction to OxyContin has led thousands of people to start using heroin.

Image Patch file photo courtesy Seattle police