Heroin Abuse Troubling Consequence of Economic Hardship

A troubling consequence of the hard economic times faced by many is the increase in demand for relatively cheap heroin and the resulting drug addiction. In larger cities such as New York and Chicago officials are seeing a rise in illicit heroin use and are attributing it to the availability of very pure and low cost heroin supplied by Mexican drug cartels.

The evidence supporting the increase in availability is the amount of the drug which has been confiscated recently by different law enforcement agencies.

• In July, 21 people were indicted on charges of trafficking 400 pounds of heroin in California.
• In New York 2 men were arrested with 14 pounds of pure uncut heroin.
• 70 pounds of Heroin was found in June in the trunk of a Lincoln town car.

While these incidents were not related and happened of different sides of the country it illustrates that the available amounts and quality of the drug available is increasing. The rise in its availability in California is pushing prices down dramatically. Special Agent Bob Cooke of the San Jose, Calif., office of the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement says that cost of an ounce of heroin hovers around $250 compared with $800 a decade ago.

The quality of the drug is also being greatly increased, while 20 years ago most of the heroin was imported into the country from the Far East, now the drug is being manufactured in Mexico and distributed by the large drug cartels operating in the United States and Mexico.

In fact an extremely pure form of heroin “china white” named for its white color is becoming more and more prevalent, this form of heroin can be snorted or smoke, in a process called “chasing the dragon”. This form of the drug is growing in popularity among the youth because no needles are necessary.

An estimated 9.2 million people across the world use heroin and it use accounts for 18% of drug and alcohol treatment admissions in the United States. Some estimates place the number of Heroin users in the United States alone at nearly 1 million.

Heroin is a highly addictive illegal drug. It is used by millions of addicts around the world who are unable to overcome the overwhelming desire to continue taking the drug. Heroin like opium and morphine is made from the resin of poppy plants. A milky white substance, opium is first removed from the pod of the poppy flower and then refined to make morphine and heroin.

Narconon of Georgia provides effect treatment for Heroin Addiction. Narconon is a non-profit network of addiction treatment centers which provide holistic approach to drug rehabilitation.