Heroin use in Portland has grown dramatically in recent years due to the fact th

Heroin use in Portland has grown dramatically in recent years due to the fact that the drug no longer needs to be injected but can now be snorted or smoked. In 1986, police estimated that there were 25 heroin users in the city, but Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officials now estimate the number of users to be somewhere between 500 and 700. The problem is so great, in fact, that two out-of-state companies want to open methadone treatment clinics in South Portland. Methadone is a synthetic drug used to help addicts withdraw from heroin