Over the last five years, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has seen a 211 percent increase in the number of inmates experiencing heroin detox in jail.
According to numbers from the sheriff's office, 806 inmates experienced heroin withdrawal in 2010. Last year, that number jumped to 2,510.
It's a problem inside other Miami Valley jails too.
In Preble County, Sheriff Mike Simpson says as much as 25 percent of the inmates in his jail are addicted to heroin. The medical staff at the Clark County Jail says they treat four inmates every day, on average, for heroin detox symptoms. "It's a very painful experience for the individual," said Dr. Wade Smith, medical director for the Clark County Jail.
"Symptoms are typically... shakes, nausea, vomiting, unable to eat, diarrhea." said Tony Jones, RN, the health services administrator for the Montgomery County Jail. "We keep them on the detox protocol for five to seven days because it varies with each person how long it can last," Jones said. "They can have nothing by mouth. They can have water and we treat them with Pepto Bismol for that opiate withdrawal until they're through that nauseated period where they can hold solids down."
"I feel like crap. My whole body hurts." That's how Michael Schnapp described his detox symptoms from the medical wing of the Montgomery County Jail. The Dayton man told us he last used heroin 12 hours before our interview. "My back hurts. My arms hurt. My head hurts. I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Can't stop using the bathroom," Schnapp said.
"The withdrawals are so bad it just -- the pain and everything that you're going through just so bad you just wish you would just die. Die just to get it done with," Schnapp said.
Other inmates described similar symptoms. "You can't stop puking. You can't sleep," said Brittany Betzner in an interview in the Preble County Jail. The Camden woman is waiting to go to prison for a second time. She was recently sentenced on burglary, theft and forgery charges. Betzner is from Camden and said she committed the crimes to feed her heroin addiction. "It takes me about a month before I start sleeping again," she said.
The number of heroin addicts is affecting local medical personnel. "It puts a burden on the jail medical staff," said Tony Jones, RN. "We average the past two weeks, we've averaged approximately 70 to 74 on any daily basis experiencing opiate detox (in the Montgomery County Jail)."
At the Clark County Jail, Dr. Wade Smith says treating four inmates a day for heroin withdrawal symptoms is "pretty standard for us."
The problem is also costing local taxpayers.
Last year, Clark Conty paid out more than $1,800 in medical bills at the jail. In 2015, through only May, it's paid more than $38,000.
"If 10 to 20 percent of your (jail) population is addicted to heroin, that cost is going to go up," Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson said. "And the local taxpayers are paying for that. You know it comes out of my budget. So money that we're using for medical care -- we're required to provide medical care for inmates -- means that we're not using that somewhere else within our budget."
To fight back against this problem, some local jails are trying a drug called Vivitrol to try to buy addicts time they need to get and stay clean.
"Vivitrol for 30 days, even if they try to use Fentanyl or heroin it will have no effect," Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said. "And during that 30 days, we're gonna get them into treatment we have residential treatment and our hope and prayer is that during that 30 day period that we can get them on a road to recovery and productivity."
Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said his office is also looking into possibly using Vivitrol. "We need to get them into treatment and get them into counseling and we believe that's the only way we're gonna get this problem," Plummer said.
Law enforcement officials say more treatment is needed locally. "I'll speak for out here," Sheriff Simpson said. "The treatment centers that we have locally, there's no in-patient treatment center and a lot of these people probably need an in-patient program. They need that support. They need to be away from the drug, the element, the friends, the crowd they're hanging with. Because as long as they're there, the peer pressure will get them."
"We used to have multiple in-patient treatment facilities," Sheriff Kelly said. "Unless you're a movie star or a rock star, you don't get that kind of in-patient treatment. And insurance companies today don't provide that coverage. Everything has limits."
The addicts we talked to in jail are simply hoping to get help and break free from the gripping addiction of heroin.
"It's like you're in a vice," said Jeffrey Holbert. "It's what I think about when I wake up every day." The Springfield man says he's been using heroin for the last 38 years.
"My entire family has nothing to do with me when I'm using," Holbert said. "I feel alone and shameful. I'm really ashamed of myself because I know I could have been something great. I still can. But -- not if I continue to use."
We asked Betzner and Schaap what they would say to someone who is thinking about using heroin for the first time?
"Don't start up because it will destroy everything that you have," Betzner said. "And you'll be here like me ... second time going to prison."
"Please don't do it," Schnaap said. "It's not worth it. It's not worth it at all. All it's gonna do is ruin your whole life. It'll take everything from you. Everything."