In 2000, officials proposed a 12- to 18-month residential treatment facility for anyone between the ages of 18 and 25 who needed help overcoming a heroin addiction. The program was expanded by county commissioners in 2003 to include anyone over the age of 18 with any substance use disorder. The county has budgeted $2 million for the construction of the center, and the state has granted the county $1.1 million for the project.

But the county is chasing a moving target. George Butler, drug investigator with the state's attorney's office and member of the Demand Treatment! leadership team recently released statistics showing that heroin-related hospital admissions in Carroll County reached an all-time high in April, according to an article in the Carroll County Times.

In April, the local hospital admitted 17 heroin-related cases, after a previously recorded high of 15 admissions in December 2000. In the first four months of 2003, there were 50 heroin-related hospital admissions compared to 23 through the first four months of last year. If admissions continue at the current pace, there will be 150 by the end of this year. Last year, there were 100 admissions.

Butler said he isn't exactly sure what is causing the increase. He said the numbers are not an exact representation of the heroin problem in the county. Some users who overdose refuse medical treatment after emergency crews help them regain consciousness, and no statistics are kept on those who refuse to be taken to a hospital, he said. Also, the numbers are underreported because heroin abusers who use, overdose or die outside of the county are not represented in the statistics. Butler said he is looking into a better way of tracking these numbers.

However, according to Butler, no evidence has been found to prove that a dealer is setting up in Carroll County. People are still traveling to Baltimore to purchase heroin. "It's the nature of this drug, people are willing to travel 30 miles down the road to get heroin," he said.

Also noteworthy among the statistics is that the majority of the heroin admissions are people in their 30s and 40s. "We're not seeing as many young people, which is good," Butler said.