The Oakland County Sheriff's Office told Local 4 there is a new trend of heroin use among high school students.

One city that is seeing a rise in teenage heroin cases is Royal Oak, with three teenagers overdosing in the last few weeks, police said.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said statistics show heroin usage has increased nearly 50 percent since last year. What's even more alarming, he said, is that younger people are trying it.

"Often times they think because they're not injecting it, it may not be as addictive or as dangerous," Bouchard said. "But in reality it is, whether they are smoking it or snorting it. With all these overdoses, we're obviously seeing a result of that."

Bouchard said parents should be concerned by this increase in heroin use, and also to pay attention to any behavior changes, as they could be a symptom of drug use.

"Don't think it can't happen in your community or to your child," he said.