When he stood before a judge and was offered drug court for the first time, Chris Marr basically said thanks, but no thanks.

But after spending some time “drying out” in the county jail, the 21-year-old Mokena man had a change of heart and realized he needed help to kick his heroin habit.

He is now one of about 75 people in Will County's drug court program. He credits that time he spent in jail — away from heroin's grip — as the key for getting him into drug court.

On Tuesday, Marr shared his struggles with U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, who was at the Will County government building in Joliet to discuss the drug court program and the ongoing epidemic of heroin addiction.

“If it wasn't for that, I'd be dead or I'd be in prison awaiting my release date so I could relapse again,” Marr told Durbin about the program.

The drug court offers offenders a program that trades prison time and a felony record for support, treatment and counseling.

Though cocaine was the drug of choice when the program started in 2000, heroin addictions are the most common today.

Participants meet weekly with a drug court team that includes a judge, case workers and treatment experts.

“We've had a pretty dramatic change in America,” Durbin said, noting heroin was once primarily an inner-city problem. “There isn't a town too small or a town too wealthy to avoid heroin.”

Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil told Durbin the county already has set a record for heroin deaths this year. So far, 56 deaths have been attributed to heroin overdose. Previously, the record was 53 deaths in 2012. O'Neil anticipates the number will continue to climb this year and could top 70 by year's end.

Durbin has supported measures that would have increased funding for drug court programs, expanded Medicaid coverage for treatment and improve access to Naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses. He added that this year pharmaceutical companies have agreed to decrease the production of opioid painkillers by 25 percent.

He noted that pharmaceutical companies have produced 14 billion pills annually — or enough for every American to have a one-month supply.

He also supported a measure for the Centers for Disease Control to set up guidelines for physicians when prescribing painkillers.

Marr's been clean for about seven months.

Marr, who suffered a back injury at the age of 13, said his addiction started with pain killers. But when doctors cut him off, he realized he could go into Chicago to buy heroin. He overdosed three times. Each time, his heart stopped and had to be shocked into rhythm, he said.

“Until you change who they are and how they view the world, they're just going to go back,” he said, stressing the time he spent in the county jail helped him realize he needed help.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said he will continue the fight against heroin and expects county officials to start another round of talks across the county to make parents, educators, health care providers and others aware of heroin's toll.

Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.