HEROIN MORE PREVALENT IN INDIANAPOLIS, POLICE SAY

INDIANAPOLIS -- Heroin has become increasingly easy to find in
Indianapolis and other parts of the state, authorities say.

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 of the
Indianapolis Police Department.

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

An Indiana University survey this year found that 2.2 percent of high
school seniors in Indiana have tried intravenous drugs. Although
that's a small percentage, 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.