Heroin and opiates are everywhere. It's more hidden in some cities than others but most big towns in New England and the Northeast in general have a problem that is not getting better. A family that we are friends with, helped start the Franklin Co Opiod Task Force years ago, so I hear first hand about the problems in Massachusetts and beyond.
I was at a show in Hartford last month talking to a few Hartford cops about it. They said kids from VT and NH can drive down to Hartford and get heroin for $5/bag and then flip it for twice that back home. Even worse, because firearms access is much looser up North they trade guns for big packets of heroin to resell or use.
The town I live in has worked very hard to come face to face with the problem and address the many challenges of stemming use, stopping supply chains and getting people help.