HEROIN MAY BE STATE'S DEADLIEST DRUG

Another drug is getting quite a bit of attention in Missouri. A new report suggests that heroin may be the state's most deadly drug.

The state health department said that for every person who died from methamphetamine in Missouri last year, four died from heroin.

Drug treatment centers in eastern Missouri also reported a large number of heroin addicts seeking help. In that part of the state, there were 10 heroin addicts for every one meth addict. However, meth abuse seems more prevalent in the western part of the state around Kansas City and in Southeast Missouri.

Heroin -- a white to brown powder with a bitter taste -- is known by many names: black tar, mud, smack, junk, China white or Mexican brown. Typically, it is sniffed or injected.

Unlike meth, the drug is brought into the country from a growing number of places that grow the raw material, opium.

While it was considered a hard-core drug in the 1970s and 1980s, its lowered price, availability and purity have increased its appeal to young people.

Missouri is not alone in the increase of heroin use. Some experts suggest that heroin is responsible for the greatest number of deaths among young people today.

Heroin is like a game of Russian roulette. In too many cases, heroin leads to the ultimate escape: death. And there's no second chance.