Connecticut rise in heroin use 'unlike anything'

The Register Citizen (New Haven, CT) April 5, 2014:

"Numerous states, including Connecticut, are reporting a rise in heroin use as many addicts shift from more costly and harder-to-get prescription opiates to this cheaper alternative. A look at what’s happening in Connecticut:
THE PROBLEM: The Connecticut medical examiner’s office says accidental deaths from heroin rose sharply between 2012 and 2013. Police in and around Hartford have started seeing a deadly form of heroin laced with the prescription painkiller fentanyl. And according to the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, heroin addiction currently ranks second behind alcohol as the reason people seek treatment. 'This dramatic increase of heroin use and abuse in Connecticut is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,' says U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, DMurphy, D-Conn.
THE NUMBERS: Connecticut’s heroin-related overdose deaths jumped 48 percent in two years. Connecticut reported 174 deaths in 2012 and 257 deaths in 2013, according to the medical examiner’s office." Read More