DETROIT (WKZO) -- A tough economy is being blamed for a spike in heroin use in the Metro Detroit area.  Authorities say many prescription drug abusers are turning to heroin as a cheaper alternative.

According to the Michigan Department of Community Health Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services, heroin abuse in Michigan has skyrocketed.  In the department's annual report in 2011, it showed that treatment abuse has jumped from 7,800 in 2001 to eleven-thousand last year.