Heroin Use In Caledonia

Over the next several days we’ll be talking to law enforcement officials about heroin use in Caledonia. We’ll also have a place for people to talk about the issue and offer resources for people to use. If you have any questions, please email denise.lockwood@patch.com.

While heroin use has remained stable in the area for years, the more high potency forms of the drug being used have caused more overdoses and deaths.

Over the last few months in Caledonia, a man died from a heroin overdose, a mother overdosed in front of her children, and several men were arrested for trafficking heroin.

Tom Terry, medical examiner for Racine County, said he used to see more people dying from prescription medication overdoses including hydrocodone, and oxycodone.

Now he sees at least one person a month overdosing from heroin.

“I think the price of heroin is down and it’s cheaper to buy than oxycodone,” Terry said. “They call oxycodone poor man’s heroin…but we haven’t gotten any pill crushers for quite some time.”

Most people who get hooked on the pain killers had a prescription for them at one time, but then have a hard time getting off of them, Terry said.

Heroin users typically snort, and shoot up the opiate drug. Often called “black tar heroin,” which comes from Asian opiate poppy plants. In the last two heroin-related deaths, Terry said the users still had the needles stuck in their arms.

“They are either getting good stuff or not cutting it,” he said.

Here are a few resources to learn more about the drug:

Research report on heroin use, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Heroin, Partnership for a Drug Free American

Neuroscience for Kids,

Tomorrow we’ll be talking to an agent with the Department of Justice and the Racine County Metro Drug Unit.