DETROIT, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Experts say the Detroit area's tough economy has illegal drug users turning to heroin instead of prescription drugs because it is less expensive.
"People are going for what they can afford; the economy drives it," said Lt. Darcy Leutzinger, who heads the police department's Special Investigation Division in the Detroit suburb of Warren. "When times are tough, and the drug prices get too high, people want more bang for their buck. Heroin is cheaper than pills, and it's a high that lasts a long time."
Prescription drugs such as Vicodin sell for as high as $15 a pill, while 1/16 of an ounce of heroin costs $10, and the high lasts for much longer, The Detroit News reported Monday.
Leutzinger said the cost savings of heroin are offset by the increased danger of using the drug.
"One of the problems with heroin is, you never know how strong it is," Leutzinger said. "That's what leads to overdoses."
Last year, Michigan recorded 680 deaths related to overdoses on opiates or opioids, which include heroin, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said.
"We're seeing a large number of overdoses from prescription drugs as well," Michigan Department of Community Health spokeswoman Angela Minicuci said.
Rich Isaacson, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, said increased heroin use has affected both poor and wealthy communities.
"You'd be hard pressed to find a suburban school district where heroin isn't an issue," he said. "You might think the more affluent communities haven't been affected by heroin in the schools, but they are. A lot of people are surprised to hear that."
