Heroin Epidemic 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;

According to O 'Grady, A. (2015). Fighting Ohio 's heroin epidemic, “At least 18 people die every week in Ohio from a heroin overdose” (para. 1). That is why the war on drugs is real. People are losing family members and loved ones due to the tight pull of drugs and not just in Ohio, this is a worldwide epidemic and mostly teens are getting hit by the peer pressure. Teens are into social media and their reputation among others. Therefore, they want to look their coolest and have fun through the teenage years. That is why they resort to drugs, get addicted and

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

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.

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

Heroin overdoses, have become a bigger issue over the last few years. Heroin is made from morphine, which itself is a very powerful and addictive drug. In an article on nlm.nih.gov they found that around .6% of people between the ages of 15-64 use heroin. About 23 percent of people who use the drug become dependent on it. Overdoses frequently involve suppression

rate and cities are struggling to find solutions. The CDC reports that 27,000 people die each year due to heroin overdoses. The jails are filled with offenders, that once released go out and use again, continuing a cycle of insanity without producing answers. Youths experiment with drugs, which is nothing new, but the availability of heroin, meth and the lack of education has contributed greatly to this epidemic. No one seemed to be paying any attention until it reached epidemic proportions, or as some have suggested, became "a white middle class problem" that surpassed the poor minority population.

“...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.

One obvious danger that these drugs have is their addictiveness. One illegal drug that is devastating Ohio and many other states right now is heroin. Heroin is in the opiate family, and is arguably the most addicting

The United States is not immune to the worldwide drug addiction epidemic. Drugs pour in from Mexico daily, then distributed to throughout the country. The economic crisis in America is creating an excuse for drug use (e.g., depression, hopelessness). This chemical fix not only creates problems for the addict, but the family and community as well. Every addict has an enabler, a person who makes the addiction possible through various venues of support (e.g., financial, denial). Addicts are only concerned with their next fix and will resort to any means to obtain it (e.g., theft, prostitution, pan-handling). Some have even resorted to extremely desperate measures; for example, murder for inheritance or life insurance proceeds.

However one article caught my eye. It told a story of a 24 year old Hilliard Darby graduate who had been to 14 funerals of friends who died related to heroin. He himself had been a heroin addict, “Heroin wasn't hard for him to find after his path to addiction began in an increasingly common manner: He was prescribed expensive painkillers for a sports-related injury, and the effects of the medication could be replicated with cheap heroin” (Heroin Battle) The pain caused by heroin is calamitous in Hilliard, the 14 funerals he went to, had 14 families, and 14 groups of friends in agony. The families of drug addicts go through a lot of pain. Go to any hilliard school and you will find numerous children of heroin addicts, and it not only affects the children's home life, but their school life. Many children of drug addicts are abused, and grow up to be drug addicts themselves (How Children). In Hilliard, the next generation of heroin addicts is growing up, and within 20 years, Hilliard will be like many cities that have been destroyed by

The majority of people relying on heroin are young adults in particular between the age of 18 and 25. The young adults are vulnerable to substance use because of peer pressure (National Institute of Drug Abuse). It is at this age when the teenagers and youths are seeking recognition and identity. The period of transition is not easy for them and therefore prompt

Today heroin abuse exists in nearly every town and city across the country. “From 1988 to 1994 the number of emergency room visits in which heroin was a contributing factor rose nationwide to 64,221 from 38,063,” according to the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services administration. This is just a microcosm of the heroin problem that faces our society today. Much of the heroin on America’s streets today is smuggled from other parts of the world (Freeman 52).

People are consistently turning to heroin, because it is cheaper and easier to gain access to on the streets. Federal laws are being tightened, new rules, as well as regulations, are increasing; and the cost of prescription medications are consistently rising.

First, it is best to define what heroin is and how people are getting to it. As said by Dr. Pedersen in The Northwest Dentistry Journal , The changing face of heroin addiction, “Heroin is an opioid analgesic originally synthesized from morphine, naturally found in the opium poppy” (p.14). Now the that the “what” is out of the way let's move onto how. How are people getting sucked into the heroin epidemic? Well in The changing face of heroin addiction it is stated that people who end up addicted to heroin often start with an over the counter opioid prescription that is often written to them by a doctor (The Northwest Dentistry Journal, p.14), so plenty of people who end up addicted to this drug end up that way by accident. People more often