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East Meadow Parents Unnerved By Pile Of Discarded Drug Paraphernalia

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- An abundance of drug vials has been popping up in a new place, and some say it's evidence of an epidemic extending to new areas.

The drug paraphernalia littering a quiet neighborhood in Nassau County has some parents realizing a dangerous epidemic could be closer to home than they though.

Empty bottles and plastic baggies piled at the curb on 7th Road in East Meadow have been a sobering sight for parents.

"It's drugs, and stuff like that it looks like. I have two little kids, so no good," Mike Wood said.

Residents noticed them outside at the corner of Stanley Road last week, but didn't know what they were looking at.

CBS2 showed images to Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun of the Nassau County Police Department.

"Yes they could be illegal drugs, or it could be legal drugs. Obviously someone placed them there or threw them out of their car," he said.

He said the paraphernalia was never reported, but parents' concerns are justified.

"Heroin, it's fentanyl, it is of epidemic proportions at this time, we're all parents, we're all concerned," LeBrun said.

For the Brusca family, the discovery put a far off threat in plain sight.

"We moved here two years ago, I never seen anything around, ever," Brusca said.

"We have a lot of kids, kids across the street, kids next door, that whole dead-end right there is all kids, so that's the sad part," Vanessa Gomes said.

The block has been cleaned since CBS2's cameras were there on Monday, but cleaning Nassau County of a growing drug problem is not as easy.

"We want to do our research, we want to rehabilitate, we want to educate, and again we need to enforce the laws and that's by arrest, and no we can't arrest our way out of any type of epidemic, we need the other prongs," LeBrun said.

Nassau County Police advised anyone who believes drug paraphernalia is in their neighborhood to call police immediately, so they can investigate and clean up.

Last year, nearly 500 people died from opioid overdoses on Long Island.

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