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MENOMINEE, DICKINSON COUNTIES -- It's simple, addictive, and readily available, especially in Dickinson and Menominee counties.

Detective Lieutenant Greg Nast, along with the entire Menominee County Sheriff's Department, has been fighting the drug trade for the last two decades.  He said the heroin problem has exploded over the last five years.

"The truth of the matter is the supply is always there; it might be a different drug, and the demand is always there,” said Nast.  “We're not having a lot of success changing either one of those."

Critics point to the lack of jobs and education programs as reasons for the influx of drugs like heroin.  But arguably the biggest problem lies with the Michigan courts.

In Michigan, sentencing guidelines for drug cases are based on a point system.  That means first-time offenders, with few points against them, don't get much jail time.  For example, a heroin dealer charged for the first time will likely serve less than six months in jail.  That's not much for a serious crime.

"The judge's hands are tied, our hands are tied," said Dickinson County Prosecutor Stephanie Brule.

Brule has been working in the Dickinson County Prosecutors office for more than 10 years.  She is required by state law to follow the sentencing guidelines.

"As a prosecutor, I believe that sends the wrong message,” she said.  “It looks like the system isn't taking these delivery cases seriously."

This problem becomes more evident when you consider the same crime just across the border in Wisconsin.  The same first-time offender selling heroin would likely be sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison in Wisconsin versus only a few months in the county jail in Michigan.

"It just is hard to understand that,” Brule said.  “How the same conduct can be punished so much more severely a couple of miles away, but if they're lucky enough to get across the border, it’s a different outcome."

There is one sign of hope in all this:  working together.  The Menominee County Sheriff's Department is working directly with law enforcement in Marinette, Wisconsin just a few miles away.  Together, they're hoping to build the strongest possible cases against drug dealers in both states.

"If we can get them away for the longest period of time, that’s going to keep our community safer,” Nast said.  “That's going to keep more drugs off the streets and not into your children’s hands and our children’s hands."

As for changing Michigan's sentencing guidelines, that can only be done in the state legislature.