Madison is at the center of what experts are calling a ""heroin epidemic,"" with a 400 percent increase in heroin use over the past two years, according to city officials.
In 2009, Dane County reported 125 cases of heroin- or opiate-related overdoses and 18 confirmed deaths. Already in 2010 there have been 14 overdoses and 5 deaths, according to Sgt. Gordon Disch of the Dane County Sheriff's Office.
This recent spike in the use of heroin and other opiates is widespread throughout the county and involves people of every age, ethnicity and income level, said Disch, who has encountered heroin addicts as young as 13 and as old as 65.
Heroin addicts often first experiment with marijuana or abuse prescription opiates such as OxyContin or Vicodin, according to Michael Florek, president of Tellurian UCAN, a drug addiction treatment agency. Once addicted, he said, people search for heroin as a cheaper and stronger drug that is readily available on the street.
Tellurian only treats patients over 18 years old, but Florek said most young addicts begin using heroin at around age 15.
""The problem with the younger heroin addicts is that they don't understand how addictive it is and how fast you go downhill when you start using,"" Florek said. ""They start using heroin for recreation and can be addicted in a week or two.""
Luis Yudice, Madison Metropolitan School District coordinator of school safety, said at this point heroin addiction is not a problem in the schools, but the district is prepared to face potential problems.
""The primary drug of choice still appears to be marijuana,"" Yudice said. ""But as we see greater heroin use in the community it could make its way into our schools.""
According to Florek, heavy heroin addiction can cost anywhere from $50 to $800 a day, and addicts often resort to stealing from family and friends to fund their habit. Madison police have also linked the heroin epidemic to an increase in petty theft, and a Madison Police Department report in November noted heroin addiction as a possible cause of a spike in robberies last year.
Police have been working with city leaders and health officials in an attempt to combat the rise of heroin use. Last August, nine heroin dealers were arrested in a sweep of south-central Wisconsin. The last of these dealers was sentenced Feb. 8. Sentences for the dealers range from two years to 12 years and seven months.
""The dealers were all working together in a conspiracy based out of Chicago, but we have not been able to establish a source,"" Disch said.
