heroin

Midwestern and Southwestern states struggle with an influx of heroin being sold for cheap by Mexican cartels. In one community, a spike in heroin-related deaths has everyone on high alert.

Opiate abuse has reached crisis levels, but some states aren't doing all they can to determine the depth of the problem. Finding up-to-date statistics for specific drugs is often difficult.

Native Americans have some of the highest substance abuse rates compared to other ethnic groups. Alcohol and meth are the drugs of choice. Now, cartels are taking advantage of lax police enforcement.

The rise in heroin use in the town of Turners Falls, Mass., has led to another problem: a proliferation of discarded hypodermic needles. Police can't keep up, so they've asked residents to help.

The U.S. epidemic of injected-opioid use could lead to more severe outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C, like those now occurring in Indiana, the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention says.

Some drug users in Philadelphia are reselling syringes they get for free at needle exchanges. That's illegal, but researchers say the practice still helps prevent the spread of diseases like HIV.

Quick treatment with Narcan can save a life after an overdose of heroin or opioid pain pills. The year 2014 saw more police, drug users and their families carrying Narcan "rescue kits."

Heroin overdoses and deaths in High Point and in the region are growing at alarming rates.