The city of Kokomo is reporting nearly as many overdoses in the first few months of this year as in all of 2014.
Heroin is inexpensive, highly addictive and easy to obtain, and Howard County police say it's become common in the area.
An undercover Kokomo police officer says heroin use is becoming a serious problem statewide.
"That's what I'm hearing personally from other task force officers across Indiana, that they are having more of a problem with heroin than they did years ago, and instead of cocaine," the officer says.
Howard County Coroner Jay Price says heroin overdoses have killed 11 individuals so far this year. Pending toxicology tests could raise that number to 17.
"I'm very concerned," Price says. "It's just going to go higher."
The county saw a total of 18 heroin overdose deaths in all of 2014.