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Courtney Stookey
11/30/2015
Life, Society, and Drugs
Research Paper
Heroin Epidemic
Heroin use in the United State has reached an alarming number. U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that heroin use has increased 63% from 2002 to 2013.
Heroin-related overdose deaths have also nearly quadrupled in this time (Sifferlin, “Heroin Use
in U.S. Reaches Epidemic Levels”). In 2014 we reached over 10,000 overdose deaths related to
heroin use. It is estimated that 517,000 people in the United States have used heroin in the last
year or have had a heroin related dependence in 2013. This is a 150% increase from 2007
(Sifferlin, “Heroin Use in U.S. Reaches Epidemic Levels”). What has happened to show these
huge increases in heroin abuse? We need to find a way to stop this deadly epidemic in its tracks.
It has always been found that heroin abuse is most common in men between the ages of
18-25 who make less than $20,000 annually, but in recent studies it is now shown that people in
almost every demographic group are using the drug more than ever before (Sifferlin, “Heroin
Use in U.S. Reaches Epidemic Levels”).
One theory behind the rise in heroin use is because of the addiction to prescription pain
killers. It’s shown that people who are addicted to these painkillers tend to make the switch to
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heroin. It’s reported that heroin offers a similar high, it’s cheaper and it’s also available without a
prescription. According to the CDC, people who are addicted to prescription opioid painkillers
are 40 times more likely to be addicted to heroin (Sifferlin, “Heroin Use in U.S. Reaches
Epidemic Levels”). It’s common for heroin users to have a history of painkiller abuse. While the
rate of heroin overdose deaths has increased, the rate of prescription opioid overdose deaths has
also increased simultaneously.
Heroin use is also connected to other drug use like cocaine. It is reported that Americans
using heroin are likely to use other drugs. People who are addiction to cocaine are about 15 times
more likely to also be addicted to heroin. 96% of people who used heroin in the last year admit to
using at least one other drug during the same time frame, with 61% reporting using at least three
different drugs during that time (Sifferlin, “Heroin Use in U.S. Reaches Epidemic Levels”).
What is it about heroin that causes these kinds of alarming numbers? Why is this drug so
much more of a problem than other illicit drugs in the US? When heroin enters the brain of the
user, it is converted to morphine. This causes it to bind to opioid receptors. The feeling of heroin
is usually described as a “rush” by its’ users. Heroin causes a surge of pleasurable sensation. The
more you use of the drug, the higher the intensity of this “rush” becomes. The physical effects of
heroin can include a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a feeling that our extremities are
very heavy. This feeling can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and severe itching. After
those initial effects, heroin users tend to experience drowsiness for several hours, cloudy mental
function, and heart and breathing slowing. This slowed breathing can lead to coma and
permanent brain damage (“Heroin”).
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Continuing heroin abuse just adds to the long term effects of the drug. Research has
shown that repeated abuse can affect the makeup and physiology of the brain. This can create
imbalances in the brain that are not easily reversed. The drug can also affect an individuals’
decision making techniques, as well as their ability to handle stressful situations.
Physical dependency is probably the worst of these affects in my personal opinion. The
tolerance your body builds up to the drug is remarkable. The withdrawal symptoms of heroin are
so intense, they’re often felt just hours after a person uses last. These symptoms can include
muscle and body pains, shaking, nausea and vomiting, insomnia, and feelings of restlessness
(“Heroin”). I’m a big fan of shows like “Intervention”. The majority of heroin addicts on that
show claim to only use to avoid ‘getting sick’, meaning avoiding these withdrawal symptoms.
After learning how severe these symptoms can get, it definitely makes their reasoning a bit more
understanding, though certainly doesn’t justify their actions.
There are many medical complications from chronic use of heroin as well. Such
complications include insomnia, lung complications, constipation, veins collapsing, irregular
menstrual cycles in women, and sexual dysfunction in men. With additives that can be found in
street heroin, this can lead to blood vessels being clogged leading to the brain, liver, and kidneys.
This can result in infections in those organs. One of the most severe medical complications from
heroin is the risk of contracting hepatitis C or B, HIV, or other blood-borne viruses that can be
spread from sharing needles (“Heroin”).
It’s no secret that we have got to put a stop to this horrifying pattern in heroin addiction.
At this time with addiction rates at an all-time high, the waits to getting into rehabilitation
facilities is incredibly high. With that being said, it is hard for addicts to get the help they need.
Given the fact that realizing you have a problem and want to work to change it is such a huge
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accomplishment for an addict, it’s heartbreaking to me that the people in this position aren’t even
able to find the help they need! Being able to look at something as serious as chronic heroin
abuse in your life, and realizing that you need to change that is something most heroin addicts
never realize. When people who make this realization and try to get help, they’re faced with a 2
month waiting list in some states. Even if individuals put themselves on this waiting list, it’s
common that they’ll only wait for two weeks before they take themselves off the list and
continue using the drug. In Massachusetts the wait time is a couple of weeks. In Florida, it can be
a month. Wait times can be as long as 18 months in Maine. In some states with a longer waiting
list, addicts are going as far as to ask judges to incarcerate them to kick their heroin addiction
once and for all. One woman in Ohio asked specifically to be sent to jail because she couldn’t
find any rehabilitation centers to help her. All of them had at least a 2 month waiting list. It is
reported that only 11% of addicts are able to get treatment at a rehabilitation facility. Most
people state that the long wait lists are the primary reason for them not getting help (Gile, “As
Heroin Epidemic Grows, So Does Rehab Wait”).
If we have any hope of beating this and helping our fellow citizens who are trying to get
clean, we have to invest more into these rehab facilities. President Obama has been working to
change the persecutory views of addicts, and instead, switch views to helping them achieve
sobriety. The White House is contributing $2.5 million to this new program, and will be focusing
on finding the primary source of this rise in addictions (Gile, “As Heroin Epidemic Grows, So
Does Rehab Wait”).
The Gloucester Police Department in Massachusetts is working to changing things up as
well. They’ve adopted an innovative policy where any addicts seeking help to get clean will not
be charged with a crime, instead they’ll be put straight into a treatment program. Part of this
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program provides addicts Narcon, which is a nasal drug that counteracts opioid overdose, at no
cost. The police department is paying for this drug out of their own pockets. Since they started
this program in June, they’ve already had 109 addicts receive treatment, costing the department
about $5,000 from June to October (Gile, “As Heroin Epidemic Grows, So Does Rehab Wait”).
Looking at how badly this problem has become, I really hope that more police
departments will follow suit of The Gloucester Police Department. If we can realize that this
epidemic is something that requires immediate attention, hopefully we can put an end to it soon.
With over 10,000 deaths in 2014 alone, this is not something we can afford to ignore any longer.
In 2013 we were just over 8,000, that’s an additional 2,000 deaths in just one year! (“Overdose
Death Rates”). Action needs to be taken now, and we need to find a solution. Being able to
contribute more funding to rehabilitation clinics is going to be the first step. I can see we are on
the right track, but we need to focus on what other drugs we are spending our money on and if
the negative effects are as detrimental as heroin abuse.
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Works Cited
Gile, Charlie. “As Heroin Epidemic Grows, So Does Rehab Wait.” NBC News. 21 October
2015. Web. 1 December 2015.
“Heroin.” National Institute of Drug Abuse. November 2014. Web. 30 November 2015.
“Overdose Death Rates” National Institute of Drug Abuse. December 2015. Web. 1 December
2015.
Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Heroin Use in U.S. Reaches Epidemic Levels.” TIME. 7 July 2015. 30
November 2015.