Vermont's heroin problem has wheels.

It can travel anywhere in the state that an ambitious dealer from New York City wants to drive.

Or fly.

Or travel by train.

A series of high-profile overdose deaths in the past year underscore Vermont's accessibility to dealers on the go. Vermont is no longer a sometimes sleepy backwater when it comes to urban American problems.

That's why a new crop of state grants to local police departments is good news.

The $230,000 in grants, approved in the last legislative session, will help eight towns fight smalltime dealers as well as bigger traffickers.

Burlington and South Burlington working together will get tough at the Burlington International Airport. Williston will crack down at shipping companies, many of which are located in that town's industrial parks.

The remaining towns that won grants are strung along the state's major highways, in a nod to the role that the interstates play in bringing illegal goods to Vermont.

What's best about this money is the acknowledgment by Chittenden County's police forces, in particular, that they must cooperate to combat the problem.

Just as residents ride a daily tide in and out of Burlington as they travel to and from work, so dealers use the larger cities as a hub from which to expand their markets. Hinesburg might not be directly on the interstate, but it's only 20 minutes from Burlington an easy target for a dealer with a little extra heroin and a few hours to peddle it.

That means Burlington's problem might migrate to Hinesburg and Richmond, or vice versa.

Still, as smart as it is to beef up police efforts to control dealers, enforcement is only part of the solution.

Dealers wouldn't make the trek here if they didn't know they'd find willing buyers.

That's where Vermont has truly failed its residents. Not enough treatment centers; a Legislature, a governor and hospitals unwilling to have rational discussions about methadone treatment. All those add up to terrible neglect when it comes to helping Vermonters who have drug problems.

There's a small glimmer of light on the horizon. The state of Vermont and a developer have said they will appeal the Brandon Planning Commission's rejection of a treatment center intended for the former Brandon Training School. The treatment center would house as many as 30 teen-age boys a situation the planning commission decided would make it a correctional facility. That characterization was part of the reason for the commission's rejection.

Vermont can't afford to play these kinds of games. When will Vermonters decide that treatment, however flawed, is better than deaths from overdoses?