Heroin Addiction In Trainspotting

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.

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

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.

The movie industry has involved the use of drugs, sex, violence over the years to increase the thrill of movies. Realistic depictions or not, movies with any of these three categories have been frequently viewed and accepted in our culture. With movies creating false “fictional drugs,” along with amplifying the side effects of prescription drugs, it is crucial to critique what is actually true or not. Whether or not the drug’s effects are medically correct has been glanced over by many. Directed by Scott Calvert in 1995, the movie The Basketball Diaries focuses on the substance abuse of heroin by the main character, Jim.

You would think that people would stop using when they hear the statistics, or when they see their friend die because of it, but the truth is they can’t stop because they are already addicted. Alison, a young girl using states, “From the day I started using, I never stopped. “Within one week I had gone from snorting heroin to shooting it. Within one month I was addicted and going through all my money.” (International) The expanding epidemic of unawareness is taking its toll on the adolescents of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and the rest of the world. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs makes it somewhat easier to understand why people use heroin. The top three levels of the pyramid, 1.social 2.esteem 3.self-actualization, show what people are trying to get out of using. Most people will begin using due to peer pressure and trying to fit in. What kids do not realize is that the first time using could lead to addiction. So they will continue using because it makes them feel better about themselves, it becomes a part of who they are. Pretty soon they look around and realize heroin is the only thing they have left, because everyone else has left. These problems teens are facing here in Missouri are the same ones they are facing all over the world. A recent statistic from the International Statistics of Heroin Addiction & Abuse reports that over 9 million people in the world are using heroin. (International) You read stories every day of

Chasing heroin is a documentary giving us insight information on the rapidly growing pandemic of addictions to drugs, notably heroin. The heroin epidemic is rising at an alarming

Addicts can still pursue normal lives. They can clean their apartment and even have a job. For example, some of the psychiatrist’s patients actually worked jobs while addicted to heroin. Sally states that addicts have time to make other choices and do other things. These addicts could seek out treatment or even quit cold turkey. She has evidence of some of her patients quitting completely. So it is possible for addicts to make other valuable decisions and choices to benefit them and lead them to quitting. However, relapse can occur but during the time they are not using the drug they have a choice to do it or to not do it. Internal and external cues also play a role in use of the desired drug. For example, in the external cues if a person sees something or even hears something it could trigger them into reuse of the drug. Another example, in the internal cues if a person feels stressed or bored that can trigger their reuse as well. There are also factor that can cause the patient to not reuse the drug such as going to jail, disappointing their family, or losing a job. Some of her patients came to a point of self examination and that led them to want to fix their current addiction. The small choices like who to spend time with is crucial during the recovery phase because they could cause relapse. The

Heroin addiction can have positive and negative effects on people's relationship. When a family member becomes addicted to drug, it affects the whole family emotionally. The relationships starts to fall apart. In Sonny’s Blues, Baldwin demonstrates how relationships are continuously falling apart and building back again. The narrator hates the lifestyle of Sonny. He is angry, since Sonny hangs around with his drug addict friends. He does not like how Sonny “Carried himself, loose, and dreamlike” (Baldwin 138). The narrator feels as if his friends are having a bad influence on Sonny’s lifestyles. He does not approve the plan Soony have with music in the future. He sees it as “an excuse for the life he led” (138). He is worrying how music will

Heroin was once considered a dirty back alley drug, far from leafy suburban streets. Now a epidemic is arising, making heroin usage a health crisis amongst our youth. Heroin has spread from the slums to the suburbs because of the significantly increased use of prescription painkillers. Heroin is cheaper in comparison to medically prescribed opiates like OxyContin and Vicodin. Heroin is an epidemic spreading into suburban towns and destroying homes and communities. We should have more prevention programs in our school systems, provide greater access to drug treatments and send more nonviolent drug offenders to treatment instead of jail.

Often referred to as the “devil’s drug”, heroin in today’s society holds responsibility as one of the top killers next to murder, suicide, and car accidents. From 2002 to 2013, the number of deaths by heroin has quadrupled. In 2007, approximately 2,000 lives were taking by heroin, and these numbers increased to 8,000 by 2013. Heroin has affected thousands of people lives and killed many at an alarming rate; it now holds a spot as an epidemic in the United States. In a poem by an anonymous author, the effects of heroin are described explicitly, “If you try me, be warned this is no game. If given the chance, I’ll drive you insane. I’ll ravish your body; I’ll control your mind. I’ll own you completely; your soul will be mine.” Thousands of

In order to that people are more likely to use drugs when they got into troubles as what the Foundation for a Drug Free World (n.d) illustrates. However there are questions need to be answered, answers need to be clarified, addicts need to be educate, and societies need to become better and awake from this demolished narcotic. According to the Foundation for a Drug Free world, people use drugs because the think that the will relieve the pain and escape for their reality to find somewhere else to belong to. More therefore, there are lots of ways that addicted use for heroin, but eventually they all have the same annihilation effects, some people smoke the dose, others snort and the majority inject it through their vein. (Campbell

The state of Ohio has more deaths than larger states and 1 in 9 heroin overdoses happen in Ohio (Johnson). This is surprising because there's fifty states and 1 in 9 overdoses happen in a small state. There are so many people in the U.S. and these numbers show the epidemic is changing for the worse. The heroin epidemic is increasing everywhere but one place that is really bad is in Northwest Ohio.

Heroin addicts have the psychological dependence on heroin that leads them into the state of self-destruction and the possibility of leading to death by the extreme use of heroin. Never estimate the poppy flower for its power that withholds the fiends to their mentality enduring the euphoria enslavement of the mind that contained for many centuries. The heroin addiction nation is a self numbing injection and dry approach to have the mind under the state of the greatest feeling of great happiness leaving the pain behind under the spell of heroin. Heroin comes in many forms for addicts to enjoy in their own way. They come in powder and rock like form that is combined with other narcotics. The snorting form for heroin is not

The ancient practice of yoga is called meditation in motion ( ). It is a technique that uses physical postures and controlled breathing to lengthen and strengthen the spine and increase flexibility. It also builds strength, calms the mind, improves concentration, promotes patience, and relieves stress. Yoga can also contribute to a greater sense of control in more acute states when experiencing drug cravings, insomnia, and agitation ( ). Many addicts in recovery find that the serenity they learned in yoga acts as a natural tranquilizer that allows them to step back and evaluate their thoughts with greater clarity. A person who experiences a craving, for example, may apply the practice of mindfulness to that craving and acknowledges it without emotion. One can recognize it as an object of active addiction and let it go without using the drug. Regular yoga practice is needed to fully experience these kind of benefits. Overall, the huge addiction problem is complex, requiring multiple methods of intervention and