A Brief Note On Heroin And Its Effects On The Body And Their Families Essay

Heroin and opioids have grown in appearance in communities. Since, 2008 in Allegheny County alone there was more than two thousand overdose deaths, with one hundred-seventy-seven deaths in this year alone (Pennsylvania). Furthermore, in 2015 there was only one -hundred-twenty-six;

Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual.

In Nolan and Amico’s article, “How Bad is the Opioid Epidemic?” they argue the opioid epidemic has become the worst drug crisis in American history. Heroin and other opioids overdose kill more than 47,055 people a year. Deaths caused from drug overdose has outnumber as much as 40 percent compared to the death caused from car crashes in 2014 (Nolan and Amico 3). Furthermore, in 1999 there were only 15000 people died from drug overdose. This number has tripled in 15 years. Also, in his article, “America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse” Volkow also presents the fact that “with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin. The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise. For example, the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain relievers has

There is no cookie cutter heroin user. In fact, many of heroin’s newest addicts are in their teens or early 20s; many also come from middle- or upper-middle-class suburban families. Heroin is a dangerous drug that has many different “street names” such as Smack, Mud, Dope, Dragon, and Junk. The scientific names are diacetylmorphine or morphine diacetate, also known as diamorphine.

Many people may not realize this but multiple states, including Michigan, are facing an epidemic. It is not a disease, however, it is a heroin epidemic. In a country where addictive opioid pain-killer prescriptions are handed out like candy, it not surprising heroin, also known as smack or thunder, has become a serious problem. The current heroin epidemic Michigan is facing, as are dozens of other states, has spiraled out of control in recent years. In Michigan, some of the areas hit hardest by this drug are in the southern portion of the state, like Wayne, Oakland, and Monroe Counties. The connection between painkillers and heroin may not be clear, but this is because both are classified as opioid drugs, and therefore cause many of the same positive and negative side effects. As a country, we are currently the largest consumer of opioids in the world; almost the entire world supply of hydrocodone (the opioid in Vicodin) and 81% of the world’s oxycodone (in Percocet and OxyContin) is used by the United States (Volkow). Along with consuming most of the world’s most common opioids, we have gone from 76 million of these prescriptions in 1991 to 207 million in 2013 – constantly increasing except for a small decrease starting in 2012 (Volkow). This widespread use has caused numerous consequences from increasing emergency room visits – for both painkillers and heroin – to sky-rocking overdose cases all over the country (Volkow). Michigan, unfortunately, currently has one of the

A huge epidemic that is obtaining a lot of attention from Congress and medical professionals across the county is the spiking heroin overdoses that are rising at alarming rates. (Krisberg, 2014). My question to everyone that is researching this topic is this:

Society today has been clouded and somewhat overtaken by social drugs. Wherever you may look, a drug is being used, whether it is more commonly a cigarette being smoked on the street, or the covert teens smoking marijuana in secluded areas. In any case, there is not one person who can say drug use is not prevalent, since society has made it clear through news, music and everyday life. However, there are certain drugs that seem to be worse than others, and society once again has taught us that through our laws and restrictions. The worse the drug, the more you pay for having it. Basically, drugs have become a part of our life, and you never know when they can land on your doorstep.

Depending on the source, some would term the heroin and opioid problem in the United States a crisis, while others would use the word epidemic. Regardless of which expression is more accurate, the situation regarding heroin and opioid use, abuse and dependence has ignited national, if not global concern. History shows us that pervasive dilemmas have a tendency to cultivate a variety of intervention and the heroin and opioid crisis is no different.

Volunteering and participating in service projects are two of the most rewarding activities in my opinion. Some people may find it was a hassle or only do it because they have to meet the minimum requirement for school or work. Helping others, for me, has always been somewhat second nature to me. Over many years of volunteering I believe I have developed qualities that will stick with me for life and benefit me in my career. As early as freshman year, in high school, I found myself looking for ways to give back. I started by looking for opportunities within school, where I came across the A+ tutoring program, and so my journey of giving back began. While tutoring, my patience for others really evolved, partly by choice and partly because

This literature review will focus mainly on the drug use of heroin, the scary numbers behind the drug and the sudden rise of overdosing on the drug across the United States. Issues that will be discussed are what is Heroin, what’s in Heroin that makes it addicting, how it can increase the users risk of contracting other life threatening diseases and where it’s use and abuse are most popular across the United states and we will take a look at multiple studies that show examples of our new drug problem in the United States. While we looked at how homicide rates have dropped while in class, the flip side to that is that the amount of drug usage has risen.

The heroin epidemic in New Jersey has been more and more relevant in 2016 and in the past few months. There was a report earlier this year of a mother and father overdosing on heroin in a car with their toddler in the backseat. This along with other sad and tragic stories have shaped the public narrative of the heroin epidemic in New Jersey. A report last year by New Jersey Advance Media notes that the per-capita rate of 8.3 heroin-related deaths per 100,000 people is more than triple the national rate reported by the Centers for Disease Control (Hochman). Ocean County seems to be one of the impacted communities in New Jersey. The death toll in this county and many other in Jersey have been rising. Researchers have found that dealers in New Jersey are adding more Fentanyl, an opioid painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine, to the heroin and thus sells at higher rates because it produces a better and bigger high. And the purity of heroin in Jersey is higher than the average. The fact that drug dealers are cutting their product with deadly toxins, that make it more addictive and more dangerous and most importantly keeps the cost low. Heroin has morphine mixed in it and can be a more affordable stand in for painkillers. A bag of heroin goes for about $5 or $10 whereas painkillers go for about $40 or $50. The affordability of the drug and the addictive nature

“...from that moment on I didn't take heroin because I wanted to, I took it because I needed to.” Heroin is a highly addictive, illegal drug that comes from the opium plant. In just the year 2014, 12,000 people in the United States died from heroin overdoses. The York County community has made a big effort to help fight the heroin epidemic, but despite these efforts the county is clearly still struggling with over 60 overdose deaths last year. Some of the efforts York County is making include the use of NARCAN, drug drop boxes, the Good Samaritan law and treatment courts.

A heroin overdose is generally a familiar, yet taboo, subject in today’s culture. It is familiar because one can witness the drug’s devastating effects like crime, imprisonment, and death within their community. It is taboo because it is culturally unacceptable and embarrassing to use an illegal product. Heroin overdoses have become a huge epidemic in Northwest Ohio, due in large part, to a misinformed culture, an influx of pain management programs, mixed drug toxicity, and a user’s desire to abuse laced heroin. With doctors, scientists, and researchers desperately searching for an answer to why heroin addiction is so prevalent, our community can find relief by being properly informed on

I live in Taunton, Massachusetts and for this assignment I chose the health problem heroin overdoses. On Facebook there is a group with the name “Taunton DP Scanner Talk”, which I am a member of. People from the Taunton area and Taunton residents that are listening to the scanner and are being updated, by this what is happening in the town of Taunton. Unfortunately, a lot of times you will hear on the police scanner that another overdose has occurred and that the police is on the wat to the scene. Some of the risk factors of heroin overdoses are that people who use heroin and “shoot up” unintentionally poising themselves, which is the leading cause of fatal deaths. Their intentions are to get high and not to kill themselves. Opioid patience that misuse the substance may also at risk of an overdose. Not enough doctors warn their patients about the risk of an overdose when prescribing opioids. Also people who misuse the substance also have a greater risk of getting HIV, since many users share their needles. Drinking a lot of alcohol is also a risk factor, which

Heroin use and overdose related deaths have increased considerably in the United States in recent years (Jones, Logan, Gladden, & Bohm, 2015). The results of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH] (2014), showed in the year 2013, approximately 517,000 Americans abused heroin, which was almost a 150 percent increase since 2007 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2014). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA] (2014), in the year 2011, 4.2 million people who were twelve years of age or older said they used heroin at least once in their lifetime. Furthermore, data from NSDUH showed approximately 460 people, twelve years of age or older, used heroin each day in 2013 (Lipari and Hughes, 2015). An even more frightening statistic is death rates doubled for people who were twelve years of age or older as a result of heroin overdose in the years 2010 through 2012 (Hedegaard, Chen, and Warner, 2015).