Marijuana continues to be the drug of choice in Berrien County, while heroin and methamphetamine use is on the rise.

That’s according to the annual drug report from the forensic laboratory of Berrien County, which was presented to county commissioners in the administration committee Thursday.

Marijuana accounted for 40 percent of the samples examined at the lab with 3,933.

Heroin had 871 samples and meth had 215. Those figures are twice as high as in 2010.

The number of “over the counter” and “non-control substance” reports also doubled from the prior year.

The overall number of submissions for analysis increased in 2011. There were 1,501 in 2011 compared to 1,280 in 2010.

Berrien County 2011 Drug Statistics

Drug            Samples
Marijuana    3933
Cocaine        833
Heroin         871
Amphetamine    23
Methamphetamine    215
Prescription drugs    85
Over the counter    2499

*According to the Berrien County Forensic Lab