. >> dr deb richter is one of vermont's leading specialists, she says the current invasion can we traced back to the abuse of cheep powerful pain-killers that are too easy to gate. >> it's a problem in rural states, boredom, not sure. i was in primary care. i remember seeing it. i moved here in 1999. in the early 2000, 2001. i saw a bunch of 20-year-olds come in with habits of oxicontin. it was a turning point. it started with pills, pills crushable and easy to snort. dr richter believes pharmaceutical problems could have done more. >> who did it stem from? >> the company chose not to but a coating around the medication, that would have made it difficult to snort. most kids start by snorting medication. if they put the coating around it it may have stopped this. when they decided or the company decided to put a coating, the cost of the drug went way up. the heroin dealerses moved in. >> with pain killers going for $80 a pill, heroin was a cheaper alternative. dealers saw a market in rutland recollects and major profit. >> we are near new york, near massachusetts, near connecticut. people

dr. deb richter says it can be traced back to cheap painkillers that can be easy to get. >> i started seeing0 year olds coming in with an addiction to onningsy cotton. it started with pills. >> reporter: pills that were crushable and easy to snort. dr. richter believes that pharmaceutical companies could have made it better. >> they could have put a coating orn the pills that would have made it hard to snort. >> she has turned her life around and returned to college. >> reporter: but martin's life shattered one night when police knocked on his door. >> it was devastated. i had had loss before but never my child. >> reporter: martin says his daughter's body was dumped in a hospital parking lot. >> reporter: this is the ben thatch sarah used to sit on? >> this is the bench. >> reporter: he and his wife started coming to this bench to start a support group to help understand. they named the group wits end. >> if we can help one other person live. help another family save their child, then her life won't have been in vain. >>> in the next installment of its special series, addicted in vermont, "

. >> dr deb richter is a one of vermont's leading addiction specialist and says it can be traced back to cheap, powerful pain-killers that were easy to get. >> it's a problem in rural states. perhaps boredom, i'm not sure. i was in primary care. i remember seeing it. i moved here in 1999. in the early 2001, 2001, i started seeing a bunch of 20-year-olds coming in with habits of oxicotin. to me that was the turning point of how things started. it started with pills. >> pills that were crushable and easy to snort. dr rictor believes pharmaceutical companies could have done nor prevent the epidemic. >> how did heroin become a problem. >> essentially the company decided not to put a coating around the medication. that would have made it difficult to snort. most kids started out snorting the medication. if they had put the koeting around it, it may have stopped this. they chose not to for economic, financial reasons. when they decided or the company decided to put a coating, the cost of the drug went up. the heroin dealers moved in. >> with other powerful pain-killers going for $80 a bill.