INTRODUCTION
The portrait of a heroin addict. Images emerge of a homeless junkie huddled in the corner of a subway seat at 3:00am feening for his next hit. Or the drug addict laid out on a New York City bench, just skin and bones, with syringes littering the ground below. What probably does not come to mind is a picture of the perky cheerleader rooting her team on to victory at a Friday night football game, nor does a vision of the mother of three living in the suburbs with her husband working for a Fortune 500 company in her Executive position. However, these are some of the real people who are falling victim to the temptation of heroin on a daily basis. Heroin deaths are surging amongst suburban whites and the impact of the drug has taken a devastating turn. The heroin epidemic in the United States is entering a new stage in the war on drugs.
THE HISTORY OF HEROIN
Men and women have been using substances that promote psychotropic effects throughout history. These substances are used for a number of reasons including recreational pleasure, to obtain euphoric physical states, stress relief from every day pressures and to seek enlightenment through a suggested altered state of consciousness. The earliest written history of this is found in the writings of the Sumerian tribe, who told of the opium poppy, dating back to 3300 B.C. The Sumerians are a tribe who are believed to have migrated from Persia, which is now Iran. The civilization is one of farmers who grew
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Written with the purpose to inform its audience about the very real and very serious Heroin epidemic spreading through our country, using expert storytelling and exhaustive detail, Quinones chronicles the perfect storm of circumstances that cleared the way for Heroin to infiltrate our communities over the last two decades. His story centers on Portsmouth, Ohio, home to the nation’s first pill mill*. Following the release of OxyContin in 1996, corrupt physicians seized the opportunity to get rich quick. Addicts traveled to pain clinics by the carload, bearing forged MRIs and false complaints of pain, sometimes trading sexual favors for pills. Soon, Portsmouth had more pills per capita than any other city. “If you see lines of people
Heroin is a drug most children grow up learning about as being one of the worst things you can do. Being young, a child could never imagine doing something to them that is harmful. Yet here we are, at home, right in Northeast Ohio with the biggest heroin epidemic in history. Heroin is essentially a pain blocker. It turns into morphine when it enters the brain. Is this why it is so popular, or is it because this drug is becoming cheaper and cheaper? The answer is both. Heroin offers users a cheap, quick fix to temporarily numb themselves. With its growing popularity, this drug needs to be stopped. The Heroin and Opioid Epidemic Northeast Ohio Community Action Plan is currently a working draft that will
In today’s society, there is a growing opioid epidemic. Many teens are abusing every day medicines such as depressants, stimulants and painkillers. Most teens also have an addiction for heroin. In the article, it talks about how over the counter drugs are misused by Americans aged 14 years or older. when it comes to drug abuse the number of casualties have grown exponentially. I learned that in 2012 to 2013 there was an increase of 39% of heroin related deaths. Most first time users are Caucasians. In addition, Heroin users first abuse prescription painkillers such as opioid painkillers. When it comes to teens, they choose cheaper methods of drugs because heroin is a lot cheaper then prescription pills. Heroin by its self is horrible enough,
Heroin is making a comeback in the United States and is highly prevalent in certain areas. The heroin epidemic is sweeping across the Midwest, and claiming the lives of young white males. It is very different from the 1960’s use of heroin, and is now typically used because of its low cost and previous opioid addictions to other prescription drugs. Young white males in many different communities are becoming hooked because of the careless use of pain pills prescribed or taking them from parents’ medicine cabinets. The communities include rural towns, big cities, and suburbs all across the country.
Today, in society, there has been a huge rise in the amount of deaths due to heroin overdose and addiction. Heroin and opiate addiction is something that needs to be recognized within our society in order to help protect one another. In this essay, I will explore the different methods of treatment, health insurance issues, and how the addicts affect the society. Information involving treatment for heroin and opiate addicts needs to be more prevalent in society because we do not hear much about how to treat addicts until something goes wrong. With knowing that there are these issues in society, information about treatment and help needs to be addressed more affectively in order to prevent death and other health issues from occurring. Insurance is also a major factor that goes along with treatment, and I believe that treatment and other rehabilitation programs should partially be covered by health insurance in order for the whole process to be affordable. All of the educational parts of these issues go untouched because it is not talked about in many societies; in a news article by Dan Dearth he discusses the concerns of many police officers within the area of Washington County, MD. The police officers believe that Heroin is the up and coming drug that is going to affect many citizens, and there is no education about how Heroin affects an individuals body and mental stability. Therefore, the educational part of this situation needs to be introduced more within the society
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
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
To look at the heroin addiction in females, we will first have to look at where it all began. A study done by Deborah L Rhoads shows that, in the early 19th century, “Society considered it a wealth or status symbol for most middle and upper middle-class women to need to have numerous home visits from their male doctors who often prescribed opiate medicine for “female” complaints. A lady was expected to need of chemical assistance, and Laudanum, a liquid opiate preparation, was the female medication of the day.” There was an early outlook that everything wrong with females was a medical condition and men or their husbands always controlled the drug choices for his wife, daughter or mother. This might have set a path for the epidemic of
Heroin has ravaged the lives of millions of Americans in the United States and its prevalence is only growing. In states such as Kentucky and Ohio, the amount of heroin overdoses and deaths are now reaching epidemic levels. (Second Ohio) With heroin having such a devastating effect on families, users, and those involved, one would expect every individual to know of its adverse effects. However, even with all the media attention heroin stories have received, many are still unaware of its lethalness.