Heroin Drug Problem, Essay Example

Kurt Cobain committed suicide. Jim Morrison died in a bathtub. Jerry Garcia passed away in a treatment facility. Ray Charles found a way to escape. What problem did each of these famous musicians have in common? They were all addicted to heroin. Heroin is a drug. It is illegal, and it is addictive. It is an opiate drug, like codeine, processed from morphine, and is by far the most abused and fast acting of its class. It comes from the seedpods of poppy plants. Most of these are grown in Afghanistan and in Southeast Asia. Frequently, those who deal in illegal drugs will mix heroin powder with other ingredients, such as sugar, to make it almost impossible for users to know its strength when they buy it. Heroin users are likely to mix their heroin use with abuse of others drugs. “Speedballing” is the term used to describe the mixture of heroin and cocaine.

One source says that about 4 million people have used heroin at some point in their lives. The guess is that about a half a million people use heroin in any given year. Most users are male, and about 300,000 are treated annually, through clinics, for heroin abuse. One out a hundred high school students will use heroin. About 100,000 people visit hospital emergency rooms each year because they have used heroin. Based on hospital reports, most heroin use seems to come from either the east or west coasts.

People inject, sniff, and smoke heroin. Injectors are likely to contract hepatitis. Sharing needles also poses a health risk. Many users inject up to four times daily (intravenous use provides the most forceful high, producing euphoria within a matter of seconds. Abuse of this drug leads to HIV/AIDS and a number of other illnesses, such as tuberculosis, fetal issues, crime (to get money to buy the drug), domestic violence, and workplace improprieties. Pop culture glamorizes the drug through films, music, and related videos. Addicts congregate in places known as “shooting galleries,” typically located in vacant buildings. This produces a social dilemma that costs billions of dollars a year to combat.

Smack, H, ska, junk, or by any of its street names, heroin addiction is treatable. In 2002 the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug known as buprenorphine, which gives a less addictive option for addicts to use while trying to reduce their cravings for heroin. Physicians prescribe the new drug routinely. Methodone is a drug widely used for heroin retoxification.

Short term, heroin acts as it enters the bloodstream. Users have a rush sensation. The pupils constrict. The skin warms and feels itchy. The mouth gets dry. Extremities feel heavy. Nausea and vomiting frequently occurs. Breathing is depressed. Feelings of pleasure abound. There is no pain. Users feel sleepy for several hours. Heroin slows down reaction times and a person’s ability to produce cogent thought. The heart rate slows –sometimes so much that it stops beating all together. Heroin can kill you if you use it.

The long term effects of the drug are devastating. Addiction to this drug tears people’s lives and families apart. The mind  and body of a heroin user has an unceasing preoccupation with taking more of the drug. Nothing else in life matters as much as obtaining and using heroin. Users cease to be who they once were. When they go for long periods without using heroin, addicts get restless and experience bone and muscle pain. They cannot sleep. They are subject to bouts with diarrhea. Their legs have spasms. If the withdrawing user is pregnant, her pregnancy might terminate. Veins sometimes collapse. Heart linings get infected. The liver is impaired, because it is hard for it to filter heroin. Pneumonia sets in more frequently for users than for the general population.

People who sell or use heroin are breaking the law. A person who possess 100 or more grams of heroin (in pure or mixed forms), is subject to a sentence of at least five years in a federal prison. According to a recent report from the World Drug Association, heroin is sold for an average of $172 per gram in the United States. Sadly, the more they use, the more they use, the more they have to increase their dosages to realize the same results. Their bodies build up a tolerance to the drug. Friends should do all that is within their power to dissuade others from having anything to do with this drug. It does not matter how the drug is used, its impact is equally problematic. Friends need to encourage addicted friends to enter some form of rehabilitation program.