Heroin Addiction

See the document on a single page

We may think of heroin junkies as on the street and beyond hope, but the reality of heroin addiction is far removed from this perception, and heroin invades every suburb, every schoolyard and every boardroom, and it devastates all of us equally. Heroin will kill you. Maybe now, maybe later, but if you don't get off this drug it will get you in the end. You don't have to do it alone but you do have to do it. Get help for an easier detox, to learn what you need to stay clean for good, and to learn that although you may have done some terrible things that you are not a bad person. Heroin is a terrible all consuming drug, but you can beat it, you will live a better, longer and happier life, and you never have to use again.

The Most Lethal of All Illicit Drugs

Heroin is very pleasurable, works very fast and thus is extremely addictive. A person experimenting with heroin can become physically dependent on the drug after only days of regular use, and once physically dependent, cessation of use will lead to severe and unpleasant side effects. The euphoria created by heroin, coupled with the increasing amounts of the drug that are required to create this euphoria deepen the hold of an addiction, and the longer an addict uses, the tougher it can be to ultimately get off the drug.

Heroin has been stereotypically associated with urban areas and older junkies, but the profile of use is changing, and although older inner city addicts still represent a significant percentage of users, today's heroin addict is more likely to be a suburban middle class teenager. Heroin on the streets today is not what it was even a decade ago; the purity has gone up, and the price has come down. The higher purity means that the heroin can be snorted instead of injected, and this has been attractive to kids experimenting with the drug.

Heroin crosses the blood brain barrier very quickly, and produces a rush of euphoria, followed by hours of pleasurable worry free happiness; unfortunately, as the drug wears off the withdrawal sensations begin, and an addict needs to immediately obtain more heroin--or the money for more heroin--simply to avoid the very uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal. Heroin becomes the central and all encompassing focus of an addict's life, and the desperation to get more heroin surpasses all else in its importance.

Heroin is the most lethal of all the illicit drugs, and far more people die through accidental heroin overdoses than with any other drug. With increasing tolerance, ever increasing amounts of the drug are required to get the same high and stave off the sensations of withdrawal. Unfortunately, heroin as sold on the streets varies greatly in its potency, and an unexpectedly strong bag of heroin can be a fatal one.