VIDEO: The Heroin Epidemic Is Creeping Into The Magnolia State

LOWNDES COUNTY and MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s cheap, and apparently easy to buy. Those are a couple of reasons why heroin is creeping into Mississippi.

Heroin is reaching epidemic levels on the east-coast and the mid-west, and now, the people who fight on the front line of illegal drugs are seeing more heroin use moving even closer to north and central Mississippi.

Desoto County ranks number one in the state for heroin related overdose deaths, and even though the drug hasn’t hit our area as strong as others, law enforcement and coroners are preparing for its arrival.

It was one of the drugs of choice in the 1970’s, and through the years, heroin has been dismissed as the junkie’s drug, but first responders say heroin is now the drug of the middle class, and it’s coming to a neighborhood near you.

“If we knew how quickly it was moving, we’d go where ever it is and stop it there, but you know, there’s no telling, we may have an overdose today, so there’s no timeline as to how it moves, or when it moves, or where it’s going to pop up next,” says Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant.

Merchant says he hasn’t seen heroin overdoses yet, but he knows the drug is out there, and it’s dangerous and deadly.

“We understand that every dose is not always the same, and depending on the supplier and the need, and so forth. I think that’s the problem with the heroin right now, it’s just there’s not a standard for it.”

It’s that inconsistency that’s causing those overdoses, and it’s something Sheriff Cecil Cantrell has dealt with in Monroe County.

He says the drug is getting to be a problem in the area, but not as bad as it currently is in other counties.

“We have heroin here. We make arrests on heroin through the Sheriff’s Department, investigations, and drug busts. Heroin is getting to be a real choice for drug dealers. It’s easy to get.”

Cantrell says heroin is one the strongest drugs on the street. He believes most users are in their mid 20’s.

“Heroin is hard to detect on someone. It’s a high that you reach, and you really don’t know that person is high, but he knows he’s high. He’s in la-la land, but it’s hard to detect. That’s why they do that because they can fool people.”