Text Size
Smaller
Bigger
Heroin Addiction

Cheese Heroin Addicts in Dallas Now as Young as 9 Years Old

posted 04:55 AM EST, Wed March 26, 2008
-- filed under: | | | |
In Dallas! 9 Year Old Cheese Heroin Addicts © Photo: Slapbcn

Police say that the average cheese heroin user in Dallas is getting younger, and doctors confess that they just don't know how to treat an addiction in those as young as 9.

What do you do with a 9 year old Heroin Addict?

Dallas Texas is enduring its third year of what officials call a "mini epidemic" of cheese heroin addiction, and doctors say they are seeing a disturbing new trend.

Cheese heroin is a combination of low grade Mexican black tar heroin, and crushed sleep medications, such as Tylenol PM. The drug is cheap but very addictive; 1 dollar will buy a line, and users snort the drug for a high that wears off fast, leaving users in a state of withdrawal within a couple of hours.

Nationwide, the average heroin user is older and white, but in Dallas, the new generation snorting heroin is Hispanic, and hasn't yet moved out of middle school.

Doctor Carlos Tirado, a psychiatrist at UT Southwestern Medical Center says that "Kids as young as 9 or 10 years of age coming to the hospital emergency rooms or detox facilities in acute heroin withdrawal." He asks, "Do you send a 9-year-old to an AA meeting?"

Cheese heroin contains typically between 1% and 3% heroin, and the high wears off quickly. Police say that users describe needing a fix 8 or more times per day, with some kids saying they wake up in the middle of the night in full withdrawal.

There have been 8 overdose deaths linked to cheese heroin in the last 21/2 years, and although police have had some success in reducing access at high schools, Hispanic parents complain that their neighborhoods are full of the drug.

Police Detective Jeremy Liebe, who works with the Dallas Independent School District Police Department, says that although he has personally arrested over 300 in connection with the drug, that "This is not a problem we can arrest our way out of."

Subscribe Subscribe to this topic category
Creative Commons License
Copyright Notice
We welcome republishing of our content on condition that you credit Choose Help and the respective authors. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Helpful Information
Alcohol Addiction - the Straight Facts
Addicted to Alcohol? Learn About Alcoholism & Treatment © Josep Salvia I Bote
The difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction (alcoholism), what puts you at risk of becoming an alcoholic and what to do once you’ve crossed that invisible line to addiction. Read Article
Addictions November 13, 2023
For Teens: How to Quit Marijuana on Your Own
For Teens That Want to Quit Marijuana – 10 Situations That Lead to Relapse and 5 Ways to Overcome Cravings © John Steven Fernandez
If you prepare yourself for high-risk situations and learn strategies to prevent relapse you have a great chance of being able to quit on your own – learn how to succeed here. Read Article
Teenagers July 19, 2022

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information.

Find Treatment
Browse by region »
Scan to call us
using your phone camera app