Heroin Addiction Is The Highest Rate It Has Been Since 2002

This paper is intended to educate those who almost nothing about heroin and those who use it. Many people have been associated with friends or families who have used some kind of drug. There are many people who have not had any contact with heroin users or if they have, don’t understand much about it. Using various sources about heroin to explain where it came from, how it is used, who uses it and how a person starts on the path towards heroin, preventing addiction, and global issues surrounding this drug. Although the topic of heroin is inexhaustible, it is my hope to spark reader’s curiosity. Knowledge of this drug might just help the reader join in on discussions about heroin.

The United States currently faces an unprecedented epidemic of opioid addiction. This includes painkillers, heroin, and other drugs made from the same base chemical. In the couple of years, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescriptions painkillers. Heroin abuse and overdoses are on the rise and are the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing car accidents and gun shots. The current problem differs from the opioid addiction outbreaks of the past in that it is also predominant in the middle and affluent classes. Ultimately, anyone can be fighting a battle with addiction and it is important for family members and loved ones to know the signs. The cause for this epidemic is that the current spike of opioid abuse can be traced to two decades of increased prescription rates for painkillers by well-meaning physicians.

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.

Heroin addiction is one of the leading killers of adolescents and adults in the United States. In recent years, addiction has skyrocketed, and “the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths increased by 286 percent between 2002 and 2013.” In 2002, “100 people per 100,000 were addicted to heroin, and that number has doubled by 2013” (The National Institute on Drug Abuse 2013). The most affected populations include low income males, adolescents, and those who have a family history of addiction, due to their increased susceptibility and crime-ridden environment. While it may seem as though heroin addiction is “just another drug problem” in the U.S., it is actually a problem of major public health importance because there are numerous physical, economic, and social risks associated with heroin dependence. Heroin dependence in the United States accounts for brain damage, increased homelessness, crime, and incarceration rates, as well as economic decline.

Heroin addiction does not discriminate it reaches across all social classes, age groups and genders. For instance, in Louisiana alone the rate of heroin overdose rose from 5 in 2008 to 110 in 2012. Heroin users often start off as patients who become addicted to prescription drugs for pain. The strict procedures that surround prescription drugs have caused many individuals to turn to Heroin which can be purchased cheaply on the street. Production of heroin in Afghanistan has actually increased since the United States entered the war on terror in that

The social effects of opiate addiction are felt by those who may have never even seen more than an image of heroin. For example; “In an early study, for example, Inciardi reported that a cohort of 239 male heroin addicts from Miami committed 80,644 criminal acts during the 12 months before being interviewed (Inciardi, 1979).”. (Strain and Stitzer, 2006) In part, this is due to the problems associated with the severe withdrawal symptoms that begin about 18 hours after the last use, and the result that addicts will do almost anything to avoid them. These include sweating, vomiting, insomnia, cold sweats, pain in the limbs, yawning, sneezing, severe bone and muscle aches, diarrhea, stomach cramps

The world of opioids can be divided into two categories: (1) illicit opioids and (2) prescription opioids. Illicit opioids include substances like heroin that people abuse to reach a euphoric and relaxed state. In contrast, prescription opioids are commonly used by doctors in a medical setting to treat pain. Some of these powerful painkillers include codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and methadone. While these prescription medications provide pain relief for patients who are recovering from surgery or injuries, they also pose serious risks when they are misused. Among these risks are addiction, overdose, and death.

“In 2002, 404,000 people used heroin in the United States. By 2016, there were 948,000 people. This is a 135% increases in the past 14 years” (Kounang). I decided to research about heroin, because I want to know what heroin is and which celebrities have done it and survived or died. I knew it was an addictive drug that many people overdose on. There was a lot of misconceptions that I had about heroin. Originally I thought heroin users become addicted instantly. I still have some questions about heroin. Why is heroin so popular? Who has done it? Even though some people think heroin is not bad, people should not take heroin because it's a highly effective drug and tons of people are dying from overdosing.

It is estimated that heroin is 80 percent cheaper than opioid painkillers. Additionally, the report showed that half of people who used heroin abused opioid painkillers before they started using heroin. Heroin is converted into morphine in the body. This morphine binds to the opioid receptors in the brain. These receptors affect how we perceive rewards and

Here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, overdose death outnumbered traffic fatalities for the first time. ¨ According to the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 728 people died from heroin overdose while only 700 died on Virginia roads.¨ (Forzato,2015) Heroin is a painkiller from the opium family tree. This tree includes legal drugs such as morphine, codeine, methadone, buprenorphine, hydrocodone and oxycodone to name a few. (Hanson, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein, 2014) Heroin is the only member that is illegal, but is not the only one abused.

Almost half of those who suffer from heroin addiction began initially by using prescription painkillers. 75% of users state that they tried heroin because of its low cost and great availability.

Heroin is a highly addictive illegal drug that kills users and destroys lives. It is tearing apart communities, ripping up families and ruining millions of lives. About 4.2 million Americans around the age of 12 or older have tried heroin at least once while some have become addicted for life. Heroin is the most dangerous drug in America today because of its harmful effects, widespread use, easily availability, low cost and the high that comes with using this drug.

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

In general, Heroin is bad and less commonly useful in medical treatments otherwise increase the cases of heroin epidemic and healthcare institutions like to use other methods of administration until there is high requirement because after serving, it converts to morphine by the mean of first-pass metabolism and resulting in deacetylation when ingested in the body of the person. For instance, drug like OxyContin has impacted and had become heroin epidemic ravaging and could be seen in America. Its impact also depend on the type of ingestion and in past, it has many bad results where youngsters used for the intense pleasure since it floods the brain and its immediate unpleasant side effects and an example as Eve has threaten her own life. In this condition, it was difficult for her

With the rise of opioid use whether over the counter, prescription or illegal, heroin has become the drug of choice in much of the United States. Heroin in particular is used to take away people’s pain whether emotional, mental or physical. Due to laws put in place to prevent prescription drug abuse, people have been finding an alternative in heroin. According to the UN's World Drug Report 2016, the number of heroin users in the US reached around one million in 2014. Over the last 20 years, heroin usage has reached an all time high. In fact, heroin has been considered to be an epidemic. Overdoses are more common than ever and those affected are not just the users. In recent years, heroin users have ranged from low-income singles to middle class moms and dads. Due to this change in pace, children have been more negatively affected and many are orphaned as a result. Children have been found still strapped into their car seats with an overdosed parent in the front seat. Adults are passed out in the middle of the floor with a child within reach of heroin. Police officers and ambulances are more often than ever called due to reports of overdoses. America is in serious trouble as heroin from south America continues to ravage the