HEROIN USAGE ON RISE IN INDIANA

Number Of Cases In 06 Could Hit 700, Nearly Double Last Year's

INDIANAPOLIS -- Authorities say heroin has become increasingly easier
to find in Indianapolis and other parts of the state.

The Indiana State Police estimate they will investigate nearly 700
heroin cases this year -- twice as many as last year and triple the
number of cases in 2004.

"I'm seeing a lot, lot more heroin," said Jamie Guilfoy, with the
Indianapolis Police Department.

Guilfoy and other IPD narcotics investigators have confiscated more
than 2 pounds of heroin this year, more than 10 times what they seized in 2005.

A 2006 Indiana University survey found that 2.2 percent of high
school seniors in Indiana have tried intravenous drugs. Although
that's a small percentage of all seniors, the number marks a 25
percent jump from the previous year.

If heroin continues to become more popular, police say, there could
be an increase in burglaries, thefts and robberies.

"People on heroin aren't the most productive people," said Eric
Lawrence, director of forensic analysis at the Indiana State Police
Crime Lab System. "They are unable to maintain employment. They have
no money, and they have to have (the drug)."

Nate Rush, an Indianapolis social worker, is a former heroin addict
who has been clean since 1991.

"When you're on heroin, you have to do it or else you'll be sick,"
Rush said. "And it's the worst kind of sick -- body cramping,
throwing up. It's like the worst case of the flu ever. The pain goes
all the way to the bones."

Authorities have tried to crack down on heroin use across the state.

In August, federal prosecutors in Indianapolis charged 12 people with
conspiring to distribute heroin in Indianapolis and Bloomington.
Wabash County officials have also reported more instances of heroin
use recently.