For the past 10 years, one of largest battles that Cass County law enforcement officials has waged has been in the campaign to stem the manufacture, sale and use of methamphetamine within county limits.

Thanks to efforts of local police officers and prosecutors, progress has been, though the fight against the illegal substance rages on.

Lurking on the horizon, though, is another dark cloud that has recently moved into the region, that presents another host of problems for drug enforcement officers in the county — heroin abuse.

“We’ve got heroin now in our communities,” said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz. “It takes a year or two for it to get into the court system…but it’s here.”

The prosecutor discussed the growing trend of heroin use and the factors that contribute to it during his program to the Dowagiac Rotary Club meeting Thursday afternoon at the Elks Lodge. The former Rotary president was joined by Scott Wellman, the criminal investigator with his office, as he gave the audience a slideshow presentation highlighting the problem and how it affects Cass County.

Fitz has become quite knowledgeable about the recent resurgence of heroin abuse over the past year. In March, Fitz, the president of Prosecutors Attorneys Association of Michigan, was invited by U.S. Rep. Fred Upton to testify about the issue to a congressional subcommittee.

“It’s a gathering storm, here in Michigan and across the county,” Fitz said.

The reason for the recent growth in heroin addictions can be traced back to similar growth in prescription painkilling medication, specifically those containing opiates such as hydrocodone or oxycodone, Fitz said. Over a 10-year period, between 2002 and 2012, prescriptions for these types of medications nearly tripled; in Michigan alone, there are 107 prescriptions for opiate painkillers for every 100 people, Fitz said.

Naturally, this growth in prescription painkillers has contributed to easier access for teenagers to begin abusing them, many stealing them from their parents’ drug cabinets.

“Kids don’t realize how dangerous opiates are,” Fitz said. “They think they are like marijuana or alcohol. They don’t realize how life changing they can be.”

Once they lose easy access to these kinds of medications, these addicts turn to heroin, which is much cheaper to purchase on the streets, Fitz said. Unlike the previous heroin epidemic of the 1960s, the abusers of the substance tend to be young suburbanites, purchasing drugs smuggled into the country by Mexican cartels.

As with other dangerous substances like meth, users of heroin become extremely addicted. Unlike with meth, though, abusers build up tolerances to the substance, which leads to increased dosages — and increased odds of an overdose.

“The sad thing is that heroin addiction is a lifetime problem,” Fitz said. “Once you’ve been addicted to the stuff, your life is rarely ever the same. There’s lifelong maintenance.”

In spite of the issue, lawmakers have begun to take notice — and action — including Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Members of the governor’s recently formed heroin task force, which includes Fitz, have been developing a plan of action to address the issue, which the committee is looking to complete by fall.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Fitz said.