'A DOWNWARD SPIRAL'

ST. GEORGE - Finding the drug is easy. Crushing it, snorting it,
smoking it or even injecting it is easy. Determining whether a kid is
using opiates is the difficult part.

According to local law enforcement officials and substance abuse
counselors, opiate abuse is appealing to a younger clientele. The
problem may be settling comfortably into some local schools in the
form of heroin abuse.

Sgt. Scott Lemmon with the St. George Police Department said there
has been a rise in heroin use.

"In the last couple of years, there has been a spike," Lemmon said.
But the target audience is not always high school. Lemmon cited an
incident two weeks ago where a 13- or 14-year-old student was found
injecting heroin in a middle school bathroom. He said the student
stated he was obsessed with the drug after his first try.

Riding the Horse Perhaps the people who can offer the most
enlightenment on this issue are those who have lived through the
harrowing addiction and painful withdrawal. David and Michael (names
were changed to protect their identity) are two recovering heroin addicts.

David, 21, was out of high school when he started using Oxycontin. He
described himself as a good kid during his school days.

"(I was a) two-time tennis champion," he said.

"It got too expensive," David said of the painkillers, adding that he
tried to wean himself from the Oxycontin for about three months
before he ran into some people who use heroin. He began to sample it
himself, saying he smoked it in the beginning, and then moved on to
injecting it.

David said he fell hard for heroin.

"It was a downward spiral," he said, adding that drug habits either
end in death or prison. In his case, he was arrested, which led him
to the drug court program. He said he has been in the program for
nine months, and it has been helpful in keeping him from relapsing.

"It's been great," he said.

David said the heroin subculture in St. George is thriving.

"The community is bigger than people assume," he said, noting that it
has ballooned over the past two years, and may be a more lethal
epidemic in the area than methamphetamine use.

Michael, who is also 21, agreed with David. Michael said he was 16
when his opiate habit started. He said he used many methods of
ingesting opiates: smoking, snorting, freebasing and injecting
heroin. Michael said he would also crush Oxycontin and inject it as well.

Like David, he was arrested and entered the drug court program, which
he also said has "been a big help." Both men say they occasionally go
to Cocaine Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. David said the
groups are helpful because they are full of people who can relate to
his problem.

Michael said he sold opiates at high schools, and can see that the
users are "definitely getting younger."

He referenced his younger brother, who said he knew people shooting
up at age 13. Michael said he spoke to the young teens, and his
message is the same for all potential users.

"I told them they didn't know what they were getting into," he said.

The pair said the drugs are coming from multiple places, particularly
Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and through the Mexican Mafia.

Glen Humphries, 20, is also a recovering heroin addict. He said his
habit began when he was playing football in high school and sustained
an injury.

"They gave me a lot of prescriptions," he said. He continued to climb
the opiate ladder and eventually was connected to Oxycontin. Like
many others, Humphries said the pill habit became too expensive, and
he turned to heroin instead. He said the feeling between Oxycontin
and heroin are essentially the same.

"I felt numb ... pretty content," he said. "I just felt like I was floating."

Humphries smoked the heroin first, and then began shooting it. Like
Michael, he also injected Oxycontin for instant gratification.

"It's a way better rush," he said. "It's just crazy. ... It's always
about bigger and better."

Humphries said he did overdose on a couple of occasions. He described
one incident where he was using heroin at home alone and lost consciousness.

"My mom came home and found me. We went to the hospital," he said.

Humphries was eventually arrested on forgery charges, but continued
using. It was not until the drug task force appeared at his
girlfriend's door and found some of his heroin that he was arrested
on drug charges, he said. He went through the drug court program and
therapy. Humphries said he also went through withdrawal.

"It's like the worst flu you've ever had," he said.

Humphries said he tried to go through methadone treatment, but the
methadone made his problem worse and was merely transference from one
addiction to another.

As for the younger age bracket, Humphries said there is no question
that high school students are getting heroin.

"The people that are getting connections in Vegas are in high school," he said.

Humphries said he has been clean for about a year.

It Starts With a Pill

"You're looking at kids who get prescriptions from medicine
cabinets," said Sandi Burningham, a counselor with the Counseling
Services of Southern Utah. Burningham is a licensed professional
substance abuse counselor who has worked in the field for 12 years,
she said. In addition to her work in St. George, she said she worked
in a methadone clinic in Salt Lake City.

Kids can become hooked on the pills they find at home, she explained.
From the basic Lortab, a teen may jump to something a little
stronger like Percocet, and from there the individual could start to
seek Oxycontin, a painkiller that delivers similar feelings to
heroin. But Oxycontin is expensive, particularly when purchased from
a dealer. A balloon or bag of heroin can cost about $10, said Lt.
Scott Staley with the Drug Task Force, and it often contains multiple
doses for novice users. The teen may begin to use heroin for its
euphoric, ethereal numbing effects, then a habit is developed.

Burningham said pressure is a major factor in the clients she sees,
many of whom are "primarily young, affluent, white males." These
adolescents, she said, are burdened with pressure.

"Pressure to perform, succeed," she said. She added that there is a
hidden part of the male teen that is "incredibly in tune with emotions."

"We call them emotional barometers," she said. But Burningham said
the problem is the boys have been conditioned to suppress these
emotions and have no outlet for the pressure they feel.

"Nobody's told them it's OK to cry," she said. "They don't know what
to do with their feelings."

Marshall Topham, assistant superintendent for the Washington County
School District, echoed the sentiments about higher pressure in
schools today, saying, "We are in a high-stakes, pressure world." He
said the No Child Left Behind Act applies further pressure to
students through rigorous testing. As Burningham said, it is possible
such stress only worsens a possible addiction.

Dr. Mike Symond, an emergency room physician in Washington County who
also has experience running a methadone clinic, said his work in
emergency rooms involves patients who have overdosed on heroin or
other opiates. He said he frequently sees patients in their upper
teens. He added these patients frequently admit to having used drugs
for years, dating back to their days in high school.

"By the time they're 18 and 19, they tell me they've been using for
years," he said.

Moreover, Symond said he overhears young patients discussing their habits.

"I hear about it a lot ..., kids talking about (their use)," he said,
which is why the idea of kids raiding their families' medicine
cabinets does not surprise him.

"I have no doubt they're using grandma's pills," he said, adding that
in the emergency room, "it doesn't get to me unless they overdose."

"I have no doubt it's starting younger," he said of opiate addiction.
He said he is certain it will manifest itself in classrooms and on campuses.

"It's going to show up in the schools," he said.

Creeping Into The Schools

"I can't imagine teaching kids right now," Symond said.

He said deciphering a teen's behavior between what is typical and
what is indicative of opiate use would be difficult. After all, the
effects of opiates include drowsiness, impaired attention and droopy
eyelids, according to "Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their
History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse," written by Paul M. Gahlinger, M.D., Ph.D.

Symond said with those effects in mind, it would be difficult to know
if a student is popping pills or using heroin, which is also
nicknamed horse, smack or simply H, Gahlinger said. Poor quality
heroin, which is often gummy and black, is known as black tar.

Black tar is the most common heroin that has made its way into the
St. George area.

No matter what they call it, teens may be using it, and Symond said
it would be nearly impossible for a teacher or parent to notice.

"How can you tell?" Symond said. "The schools may not be seeing it."
He went on to reference the "sleepiness and silliness" teens already
often display.

But again, the elusive side effects combined with the fact that
opiates are, as he said, "a quieter thing" than amphetamines, means
this trend may be more difficult to discern.

That may be why Topham said in his 15 years in school administration,
he has only seen two situations where heroin was an issue.

It may also be why statewide statistics show very little opiate use
in teens. According to the 2005 Student Health and Risk Prevention
Survey for the Washington School District, opiate use is minimal at
best. The SHARP report reads that it "summarizes the findings from
the Utah 2005 Prevention Needs Assessment survey that was conducted
as part of the Student Health and Risk Prevention Statewide Survey."

The survey marks the drug use and behaviors of sixth-, eighth-, 10th-
and 12th-grade students.

According to the survey's charts, less than 10 percent of the
students asked to participate admitted to using heroin or other opiates.

The report offers risk and protective factors, which provide a model
based on the philosophy that "to prevent a problem from happening, we
need to identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem
developing and then find ways to reduce the risks."

In essence, the study is used by the county to focus on prevention of
behavioral problems and substance abuse. Given the low number of
opiate use submitted, one could easily dismiss any problem at all.

"To say that we don't have a problem would be inaccurate," Topham
said, acknowledging that one student or another is going to
experiment with drugs.

"It's inevitable that kids are going to do drugs," he said.

Still, Topham added that he is not alarmed by the threat of heroin
use worming its way into schools in the area. He also said he is "not
unaware of the statewide rise" in these drugs.

"I would say we're seeing ... prevalence toward prescription drugs,"
Topham said, adding the district is probably seeing a higher level of
illicit prescription drug use over the past couple of years.

An Elusive Problem

Staley said heroin has also eluded the Drug Task Force. Since
January, there have been 13 heroin arrests, he said, with three of
those arrests being juveniles. He said the total task force seizures
of heroin this year adds to 48 grams, which adds up to about $4,800.

"Heroin has been a difficult drug for us to get into and the seizures
and arrests are well below the level of the problem that we have in
the county," Staley wrote in a memo. He said the problem is "quirky"
because the force does receive information about heroin but tracing
the drug has been difficult.

From a medical standpoint, Symond echoed Staley's comments about a
spike in opiate use. He added, "Most of my partners would agree with that."

As for surrounding counties, Keith Millett, commander of the
Iron/Garfield Counties Narcotic Task Force, said he has seen a spike
of opiate abuse in adults. He added, "I'm sure if it's happened down
there, it's going to make it up here."

What About Methadone?

Methadone, a painkiller frequently used to wean addicts from heroin,
is not the ultimate resolution to the problem, Symond said.

"Methadone is not a cure," he said, adding that its purpose is to
"make people legal." Methadone clinics give people the opportunity to
come in and get quality treatment on an opiate that can be
controlled, he explained. From there, the aim is to taper the patient
off the methadone.

Methadone does not give the same high as heroin, Symond explained. It
lasts longer in the system and has a delayed withdrawal. Methadone
can be a bad word to some, but, Symond explained, it can be a helpful tool.

Still, when it comes to resolving a heroin crisis, Symond said
nothing works effectively all of the time.

Why St. George?

Though it seems an unlikely area, Burningham said she is not
surprised to see an opiate problem developing in St. George.

"Of course, St. George," she said. "People always say it won't happen here."

She said being situated near the Interstate 15 corridor makes for
easy, quick drug deals. Burningham said she feels heroin has been
lurking in the area for some time, and not just the past two years as
others have indicated.

"It seems like it's been longer to me," she said.

The Solutions

Topham said enforcing and discovering which student has been dabbling
is intrusive and illegal. Testing students is prohibited by the U.S.
Supreme Court, unless the student is an athlete.

"What should we do? Search every kid?" he asked.

Symond said testing is the answer, as is tougher parental guidance.
Lemmon also said the solution depends largely on parental vigilance.

"The parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing," Lemmon
said. "Our main objective is to get these kids help."

In the meantime, students who violate the campus drug policy are
usually expelled. Topham said each student is important to the district.

"We're concerned about each of them as individuals," he said. For
that reason, he explained, when a student is expelled, they are put
in a program where they do not get behind in their schoolwork. He
said every student who is expelled is "a loss" to the district, but
dealt with "in a very serious manner."

Topham said the district collectively asks, "How can we intervene?"
It uses curriculum and the SHARP study, for instance, and any other
methods the law allows.

"We do everything we can," Topham said.

He said students who have been through troubling times such as drug
use have returned and been able to regain focus in their lives.

"We've had a lot of kids who've turned their lives around completely," he said.

Michelle Hunt, Topham's secretary, said the district is working to
keep any drug problem to a minimum.

"We haven't had an incident until this year, and that student was
expelled," she said. Hunt said the Southwest Behavioral Health Center
provides education to the schools and the students about substance
abuse. She added the student resource officers who patrol the high
schools are "very active" and confiscate prescription drugs when
students are caught popping pills that are not their own.

Teresa Willie with the Southwest Behavioral Health Center said there
is an 86 percent reduction in the likelihood that a kid will try
drugs if parents maintain open communication with their kids.

"They need their parents to talk to them," Willie said.

Hunt said the district is currently trying to provide a resource for
parents to test their children.

"So that parents can take that initiative," she explained.

Meanwhile, Barbara Johnson, with the Dixie State College Wellness
Center, said students who approach her and have prescriptions are
advised to hide their pills, because if they are opiates, they will
likely be stolen. Johnson said she educates the students about
wellness, and while she is aware of the growing problem, she has not
seen a disciplinary issue arise at DSC.

"But that only means they're not getting caught," Johnson said.

From a counseling standpoint, Burningham said the clients she sees
are typically kids who have usually been caught by their parents. The
method of treatment used at the Counseling Services of Southern Utah
varies. The center uses a combination of group therapy and individual
therapy to help the individual recover.

"We provide them with information," she said. She added that heroin
is a coping mechanism, so they offer suggestions for lifestyle
changes. She said the service works in conjunction with psychiatrists
when necessary, only after a period of sobriety on behalf of the client.

Additionally, Burningham said she advocates the notion of informing
users how to properly administer a drug.

"I am all for harm reduction," she said. She cited needle exchange
programs in particular, which may not be a cure, but she said the
programs help keep users clean and safe.

Regardless, sobriety and weaning from the opiate involves withdrawal.
It is described in horrible detail by anyone who has ever suffered it
or witnessed it. Burningham said the best description she heard was
that "You feel like your bones are trying to crawl out of your skin."

Burningham also said the problem will not dissolve on its own, and
that individuals who are using need to seek help.

"This is not an issue that's going to be resolved without treatment,"
she said.methamphetamine use.

Michael, who is also 21, agreed with David. Michael said he was 16
when his opiate habit started. He said he used many methods of
ingesting opiates: smoking, snorting, freebasing and injecting
heroin. Michael said he would also crush Oxycontin and inject it as well.

Like David, he was arrested and entered the drug court program, which
he also said has "been a big help." Both men say they occasionally go
to Cocaine Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. David said the
groups are helpful because they are full of people who can relate to
his problem.

Michael said he sold opiates at high schools, and can see that the
users are "definitely getting younger."

He referenced his younger brother, who said he knew people shooting
up at age 13. Michael said he spoke to the young teens, and his
message is the same for all potential users.

"I told them they didn't know what they were getting into," he said.

The pair said the drugs are coming from multiple places, particularly
Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and through the Mexican Mafia.

Glen Humphries, 20, is also a recovering heroin addict. He said his
habit began when he was playing football in high school and sustained
an injury.

"They gave me a lot of prescriptions," he said. He continued to climb
the opiate ladder and eventually was connected to Oxycontin. Like
many others, Humphries said the pill habit became too expensive, and
he turned to heroin instead. He said the feeling between Oxycontin
and heroin are essentially the same.

"I felt numb ... pretty content," he said, "I just felt like I was floating."

Humphries smoked the heroin first, and then began shooting it. Like
Michael, he also injected Oxycontin for instant gratification.

"It's a way better rush," he said, "It's just crazy. ... It's always
about bigger and better."

Humphries said he did overdose on a couple of occasions. He described
one incident where he was using heroin at home alone and lost consciousness.

"My mom came home and found me. We went to the hospital," he said.

Humphries was eventually arrested on forgery charges, but continued
using. It was not until the drug task force appeared at his
girlfriend's door and found some of his heroin that he was arrested
on drug charges, he said. He went through the drug court program and
therapy. Humphries said he also went through withdrawal.

"It's like the worst flu you've ever had," he said.

Humphries said he tried to go through methadone treatment, but the
methadone made his problem worse and was merely transference from one
addiction to another.

As for the younger age bracket, Humphries said there is no question
that high school students are getting heroin.

"The people that are getting connections in Vegas are in high school," he said.

Humphries said he has been clean for about a year.

It Starts With a Pill

"You're looking at kids who get prescriptions from medicine
cabinets," said Sandi Burningham, a counselor with the Counseling
Services of Southern Utah. Burningham is a licensed professional
substance abuse counselor who has worked in the field for 12 years,
she said. In addition to her work in St. George, she said she worked
in a methadone clinic in Salt Lake City.

Kids can become hooked on the pills they find at home, she explained.
From the basic Lortab, a teen may jump to something a little
stronger like Percocet, and from there the individual could start to
seek Oxycontin, a painkiller that delivers similar feelings to
heroin. But Oxycontin is expensive, particularly when purchased from
a dealer. A balloon or bag of heroin can cost about $10, said Lt.
Scott Staley with the Drug Task Force, and it often contains multiple
doses for novice users. The teen may begin to use heroin for its
euphoric, ethereal numbing effects, then a habit is developed.

Burningham said pressure is a major factor in the clients she sees,
many of whom are "primarily young, affluent, white males." These
adolescents, she said, are burdened with pressure.

"Pressure to perform, succeed," she said. She added that there is a
hidden part of the male teen that is "incredibly in tune with emotions."

"We call them emotional barometers," she said. But Burningham said
the problem is the boys have been conditioned to suppress these
emotions and have no outlet for the pressure they feel.

"Nobody's told them it's OK to cry," she said, "They don't know what
to do with their feelings."

Marshall Topham, assistant superintendent for the Washington County
School District, echoed the sentiments about higher pressure in
schools today, saying, "We are in a high-stakes, pressure world." He
said the No Child Left Behind Act applies further pressure to
students through rigorous testing. As Burningham said, it is possible
such stress only worsens a possible addiction.

Dr. Mike Symond, an emergency room physician in Washington County who
also has experience running a methadone clinic, said his work in
emergency rooms involves patients who have overdosed on heroin or
other opiates. He said he frequently sees patients in their upper
teens. He added these patients frequently admit to having used drugs
for years, dating back to their days in high school.

"By the time they're 18 and 19, they tell me they've been using for
years," he said.

Moreover, Symond said he overhears young patients discussing their habits.

"I hear about it a lot ..., kids talking about (their use)," he said,
which is why the idea of kids raiding their families' medicine
cabinets does not surprise him.

"I have no doubt they're using grandma's pills," he said, adding that
in the emergency room, "it doesn't get to me unless they overdose."

"I have no doubt it's starting younger," he said of opiate addiction.
He said he is certain it will manifest itself in classrooms and on campuses.

"It's going to show up in the schools," he said.

Creeping Into The Schools

"I can't imagine teaching kids right now," Symond said.

He said deciphering a teen's behavior between what is typical and
what is indicative of opiate use would be difficult. After all, the
effects of opiates include drowsiness, impaired attention and droopy
eyelids, according to "Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their
History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse," written by Paul M. Gahlinger, M.D., Ph.D.

Symond said with those effects in mind, it would be difficult to know
if a student is popping pills or using heroin, which is also
nicknamed horse, smack or simply H, Gahlinger said. Poor quality
heroin, which is often gummy and black, is known as black tar.

Black tar is the most common heroin that has made its way into the
St. George area.

No matter what they call it, teens may be using it, and Symond said
it would be nearly impossible for a teacher or parent to notice.

"How can you tell?" Symond said. "The schools may not be seeing it."
He went on to reference the "sleepiness and silliness" teens already
often display.

But again, the elusive side effects combined with the fact that
opiates are, as he said, "a quieter thing" than amphetamines, means
this trend may be more difficult to discern.

That may be why Topham said in his 15 years in school administration,
he has only seen two situations where heroin was an issue.

It may also be why statewide statistics show very little opiate use
in teens. According to the 2005 Student Health and Risk Prevention
Survey for the Washington School District, opiate use is minimal at
best. The SHARP report reads that it "summarizes the findings from
the Utah 2005 Prevention Needs Assessment survey that was conducted
as part of the Student Health and Risk Prevention Statewide Survey."

The survey marks the drug use and behaviors of sixth-, eighth-, 10th-
and 12th-grade students.

According to the survey's charts, less than 10 percent of the
students asked to participate admitted to using heroin or other opiates.

The report offers risk and protective factors, which provide a model
based on the philosophy that "to prevent a problem from happening, we
need to identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem
developing and then find ways to reduce the risks."

In essence, the study is used by the county to focus on prevention of
behavioral problems and substance abuse. Given the low number of
opiate use submitted, one could easily dismiss any problem at all.

"To say that we don't have a problem would be inaccurate," Topham
said, acknowledging that one student or another is going to
experiment with drugs.

"It's inevitable that kids are going to do drugs," he said.

Still, Topham added that he is not alarmed by the threat of heroin
use worming its way into schools in the area. He also said he is "not
unaware of the statewide rise" in these drugs.

"I would say we're seeing ... prevalence toward prescription drugs,"
Topham said, adding the district is probably seeing a higher level of
illicit prescription drug use over the past couple of years.

An Elusive Problem

Staley said heroin has also eluded the Drug Task Force. Since
January, there have been 13 heroin arrests, he said, with three of
those arrests being juveniles. He said the total task force seizures
of heroin this year adds to 48 grams, which adds up to about $4,800.

"Heroin has been a difficult drug for us to get into and the seizures
and arrests are well below the level of the problem that we have in
the county," Staley wrote in a memo. He said the problem is "quirky"
because the force does receive information about heroin but tracing
the drug has been difficult.

From a medical standpoint, Symond echoed Staley's comments about a
spike in opiate use. He added, "Most of my partners would agree with that."

As for surrounding counties, Keith Millett, Commander of the
Iron/Garfield Counties Narcotic Task Force, said he has seen a spike
of opiate abuse in adults. He added, "I'm sure if it's happened down
there, it's going to make it up here."

What About Methadone?

Methadone, a painkiller frequently used to wean addicts from heroin,
is not the ultimate resolution to the problem, Symond said.

"Methadone is not a cure," he said, adding that its purpose is to
"make people legal." Methadone clinics give people the opportunity to
come in and get quality treatment on an opiate that can be
controlled, he explained. From there, the aim is to taper the patient
off the methadone.

Methadone does not give the same high as heroin, Symond explained. It
lasts longer in the system and has a delayed withdrawal. Methadone
can be a bad word to some, but, Symond explained, it can be a helpful tool.

Still, when it comes to resolving a heroin crisis, Symond said
nothing works effectively all of the time.

Why St. George?

Though it seems an unlikely area, Burningham said she is not
surprised to see an opiate problem developing in St. George.

"Of course, St. George," she said. "People always say it won't happen here."

She said being situated near the Interstate 15 corridor makes for
easy, quick drug deals. Burningham said she feels heroin has been
lurking in the area for some time, and not just the past two years as
others have indicated.

"It seems like it's been longer to me," she said.

The Solutions

Topham said enforcing and discovering which student has been dabbling
is intrusive and illegal. Testing students is prohibited by the U.S.
Supreme Court, unless the student is an athlete.

"What should we do? Search every kid?" he asked.

Symond said testing is the answer, as is tougher parental guidance.
Lemmon also said the solution depends largely on parental vigilance.

"The parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing," Lemmon
said. "Our main objective is to get these kids help."

In the meantime, students who violate the campus drug policy are
usually expelled. Topham said each student is important to the district.

"We're concerned about each of them as individuals," he said. For
that reason, he explained, when a student is expelled, they are put
in a program where they do not get behind in their schoolwork. He
said every student who is expelled is "a loss" to the district, but
dealt with "in a very serious manner."

Topham said the district collectively asks, "How can we intervene?"
It uses curriculum and the SHARP study, for instance, and any other
methods the law allows.

"We do everything we can," Topham said.

He said students who have been through troubling times such as drug
use have returned and been able to regain focus in their lives.

"We've had a lot of kids who've turned their lives around completely," he said.

Michelle Hunt, Topham's secretary, said the district is working to
keep any drug problem to a minimum.

"We haven't had an incident until this year, and that student was
expelled," she said. Hunt said the Southwest Behavioral Health Center
provides education to the schools and the students about substance
abuse. She added the student resource officers who patrol the high
schools are "very active" and confiscate prescription drugs when
students are caught popping pills that are not their own.

Teresa Willie with the Southwest Behavioral Health Center said there
is an 86 percent reduction in the likelihood that a kid will try
drugs if parents maintain open communication with their kids.

"They need their parents to talk to them," Willie said.

Hunt said the district is currently trying to provide a resource for
parents to test their children.

"So that parents can take that initiative," she explained.

Meanwhile, Barbara Johnson with the Dixie State College Wellness
Center, said students who approach her and have prescriptions are
advised to hide their pills, because if they are opiates, they will
likely be stolen. Johnson said she educates the students about
wellness, and while she is aware of the growing problem, she has not
seen a disciplinary issue arise at DSC.

"But that only means they're not getting caught," Johnson said.

From a counseling standpoint, Burningham said the clients she sees
are typically kids who have usually been caught by their parents. The
method of treatment used at the Counseling Services of Southern Utah
varies. The center uses a combination of group therapy and individual
therapy to help the individual recover.

"We provide them with information," she said. She added that heroin
is a coping mechanism, so they offer suggestions for lifestyle
changes. She said the service works in conjunction with psychiatrists
when necessary, only after a period of sobriety on behalf of the client.

Additionally, Burningham said she advocates the notion of informing
users how to properly administer a drug.

"I am all for harm reduction," she said. She cited needle exchange
programs in particular, which may not be a cure, but she said the
programs help keep users clean and safe.

Regardless, sobriety and weaning from the opiate involves withdrawal.
It is described in horrible detail by anyone who has ever suffered it
or witnessed it. Burningham said the best description she heard was
that "You feel like your bones are trying to crawl out of your skin."

Burningham also said the problem will not dissolve on its own, and
that individuals who are using need to seek help.

"This is not an issue that's going to be resolved without treatment," she said.