There is a drug epidemic plaguing the nation.

Heroin, meth and oxycodone are becoming the drugs of choice for many because they are cheap.Because of this, area agencies and groups are working to find ways to battle this ever-growing problem, which is affecting communities, the court system and prisons.In December, Todd Zimmerman, an adjunct lecturer at Lehigh Carbon Community College, in conjunction with Jim Thorpe's Students Against Destructive Decisions, held a town-hall meeting as a way to open up a dialogue about the heroin epidemic.He, partnered with 15 people in the law enforcement, medical and rehabilitation fields, along with a parent of a heroin addict who passed away in 2015 participated in a panel discussion with the community."Since the modern drug problem started with the American involvement in Vietnam, we've spent over $1 trillion fighting the war on drugs," Zimmerman said. "There are more drugs available today and we have a higher incarceration rate than ever before. We need a new strategy."Possessing heroin or other drugs is illegal and local law enforcement officials have no choice but to make sure addicts are held accountable for their actions.Ultimately, however, no amount of jail time is going to cure someone of a chronic relapse disease.Carbon County District Attorney Jean Engler said at that event that Carbon County's court system has seen that drugs are the underlying cause for many of the crimes committed, whether it be obvious drug-related cases or household burglaries that to go support a drug habit."Families in Carbon County need to be aware of the brutal truth about the temptation of these drugs before a loved one becomes an addict or a criminal," she said. "The first line of defense has to come from within the home, long before a person wants to start experimenting with drugs."As a way to help with working to combat this problem, and as a first step to stop it before it starts in younger generations, Carbon County agencies, as well as state Rep. Doyle Heffley, has taken steps to host numerous drug expos for parents and students, started a drug counselor in its prison and is working to establish a re-entry program that aims to help people leaving incarceration return to society.