Increasing Use Of Heroin On Suburban Teens

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

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

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.

Many articles I have read say that both law enforcement agencies and state officials suspect that the rise of heroin abuse is due to many reasons. One theory is that because local and federal drug agencies have been shutting down illegal prescription pill mills, and that drug abusers that were hooked on prescription opiates are seeking out cheaper alternatives such as heroin (Kounang, 2015). “Heroin seems to be the drug of choice right now for a number of reasons. Users can inject it, they can snort it and it’s very, very inexpensive and easy to obtain. We’re are seeing that it is cheaper in Providence than it is here in Massachusetts.” stated Ramos when I asked him why it’s so popular. In my opinion, one thing is clear. Both national and local authorities are making an effort to combat this growing issue. They are not turning a blind eye to this epidemic.

“People often share their unused pain relievers, unaware of the dangers of nonmedical opioid use. Most adolescents who misuse prescription pain relievers are given them for free by a friend or relative.” (ASAM) People are unaware of the danger that opioid addiction can cause and it only takes one time to get addicted. More people should be educated about this crisis. “In 2015, an estimated 21,000 adolescents had used heroin in the past year, and an estimated 5,000 were current heroin users. Additionally, an estimated 6,000 adolescents had heroin a heroin use disorder in 2014.” (ASAM) What excuse is there for adolescents to even come into contact with heroin. The public needs to be more informed of the drugs and what they can do to destroy someone’s

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.

The city of Philadelphia is home to some of the richest and most influential history the United States has to offer, but it’s also home to a very large crime rate. Heroin and opioids have been largely abused for continuous decades in cities like Philadelphia throughout the world and the law needs to come down with harder sanctions to combat this issue. This is largely in part because crime simply leads to more crime. Another reason why more rigid law structure needs to be centralized around heroin and opioid abuse is that previous addicts from all sorts of backgrounds rarely maintain remission, but end up relapsing. In fact, heroin is one of the most addictive drugs in the world. Not to mention, basic necessities within the city, such as public space for its residents, have transitioned to heavily policed areas due to drug use. The conjunction of all these issues demands for more firm and rigid laws which will help to diminish drug use in America.

Pressure to use heroin and other drugs from some students as well as pressure from non-students.

The United States is in the grips of one of the worst heroin epidemics in its history, due in part to a flood of cheap doses of the drug. In some regions, heroin is deemed "highly available" by local police in more than three times the number of communities as it was just seven years ago. This drug has taken many lives in the past and it is now becoming very popular again. The resurgence of the deadly drug has sparked a flurry of action from governors' mansions and statehouses across New England. The addiction of this drug is devastating and the deaths are rising.

The drug is a part of the highly addictive opioid family, which are used to make painkillers needed by many Americans. The issue is that the many Americans who have used painkillers, whether prescribed or taken illegally, are forty times more likely to try heroin (“Today’s Heroin Epidemic”). The epidemic is hard to control because it effects everyone. Not one gender, race or economic level is considered safe from the abuse of this substance. The government has been attempting to end the high levels of abuse in America since the late sixties, but old methods proved costly and ineffective. The transitioning of viewing heroin addiction as a crime to mental health has reaped some benefits. Facilities now a days have made break throughs in assuring better futures for addicts by proving them with proper treatment and arming them with correct knowledge of how to combat their disease. Heroin has sparked an important discussion in society involving media, race, sex and economic status, and the epidemic forced the federal government to act accordingly, which allowed communities to properly react and try to lower addiction. Though the rise of heroin use will most likely continue, the epidemic has to eventually come to an end; whether the government makes a final push to eliminate drug use completely or police enforcement cuts down on dealers, the epidemic eventually

USA Today reasons that says since there is a tougher crackdown on prescription pills, people are turning to heroin and cheaper, easier-to-come-by drugs. The article even says that as prescription drug abuse declines, heroin use increases. It seems as if making it harder to get one drug forces drug addicts to get their fix elsewhere or else they’d have to quit, which is not an answer to them. When this happens, there may seemingly be an epidemic, but in reality it is just addicts of one drug being redirected elsewhere. The Drug Enforcement Administration found and stopped a big “heroin mill” that had eight million dollars’ worth of heroin. Adding this detail in help fuel the epidemic fire, but there are always drug busts, from meth to heroin to crack cocaine.

During 2007, there was a severe increase but returned to usual rates within the year. In 1980-1990, there were 314,000 heroin users aged 18-25. Out of those 10 years 7.8% were males while only 2.2% were females. The 1980’s also had a larger number of users over age 30 than today. Recently, data shows that from 2005-2015 there are 669,000 heroin users ages 18-25 and the number is rising. While males still lead in the 10 years with 5.4%, and females have gone up to 4.6% (CDC, Schwartz).

Heroins cheap and widely available status has spread to many cities throughout the United States; these users are buying and shooting up right away, often in public. Many police officers find users unconscious or dead in cars, restaurants, in parks, hospitals, and libraries. Not only does this add to visibility of the drug to public eye, but leaving behind dirty needles in these public locations lead to a health hazard. The heroin epidemic needs to be stopped immediately by understanding where the problem starts, the effects of the drug, and educating the public about treatment, addiction, and the problems the addiction causes on a personal level. Keeping heroin addiction under control can lead to less overdoses and a more positive future for the youth of this county.

Heroin was once a low-profile drug, addicts were strictly impoverished, or they were uneducated merely following in their addicted parents footsteps. However, heroin trends have changed once wholesome people are now addicts. Today you find the former valedictorian of your graduating class,the loving father of your childhood best friend, or worse your own mother falling into the terrible trend. Addicts now are from all social classes, races, education levels, and professions. Heroin is so abundant that entire towns are swallowed by this monster, forcing good hard-working people to transform into homeless, dope fiends. This epidemic shatters the past image of heroin addicts. In 2013, one hundred people a day died of heroin overdoses:today the

The problem with the epidemic of opiate addiction is that addiction was referred to as being “weak” and was never fully addressed till later on in the 20th century. Research shows that heroin and prescription drugs were on the rise in the 1990’s. In the article” The Opiate Pain Reliever Epidemic among U.S. Arrestees 2000–2010: Regional and Demographic Variations”, written by Andrew Golub and Luther Elliott, explains “Ethnographic research has indicated that the incubation phases for recent drug epidemics have been associated with specific contexts involving Opiate Pain Reliever Epidemic among U.S. Arrestees 3 social gatherings, music, and fashion. For example, the Heroin Injection Epidemic originated in the jazz music scene”