Heroin Epidemic in America

Heroin Epidemic in America
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Thanks to better drug awareness, people have more education about drugs than ever before. Despite this, they continue to abuse some drugs such as the opioid heroin. This ongoing abuse has led America into a heroin epidemic.

What Is Heroin?Heroin Epidemic in America

Heroin is an opioid derivative of morphine. It’s highly addictive and illegal. The drug itself comes from a naturally occurring substance in poppy plants. Pure heroin is white in color and has a very bitter taste.

How do people use this drug? They can smoke or snort it. However, it’s hard to get pure heroin. The substances that dealers sell on the street usually contain other drugs or have many impurities.

For example, many people find themselves buying black tar heroin. The dark, tar-like color comes from the impurities that develop during the crude processing method. This type of heroin is sticky and requires people to dilute it before they inject it into their veins.

What Is the Heroin Epidemic?

Americans are in the middle of a war against heroin. Of all the illegal drugs, it’s one of the fastest-growing in terms of usage. Many elements are to blame for the growing use of heroin. However, one of the biggest is the country’s reliance on prescriptions to relieve pain.

Every day, doctors prescribe pain pills to treat painful conditions instead of treating the actual problems. Like heroin, the pills are part of the opioid family. Unlike heroin, though, they’re expensive to buy illegally. When doctors stop prescribing them, people turn to other drugs.

For many people, the other drug is heroin. However, why do so many people choose it? First of all, it produces a similar but much more intense high. They get to experience an even greater high than what they got from the pain pills.

Second of all, the cost of heroin is cheap on the street. While it’s unsafe to use, people who are in search of their next high don’t care. It’s a cheap solution to their opioid addiction and it fuels the heroin epidemic.

Don’t Let Heroin Claim Your Life

Do you struggle with heroin addiction or know someone who does? Then it’s time to look for a heroin addiction treatment center in Southern California. At Clear Life Recovery, we provide long-lasting recovery programs for people just like you. Some of the many programs that we have include:

Don’t become another statistic in the heroin epidemic. Fight back against this deadly and addictive drug. Reach out to talk to one of our staff members today at 866-261-7291.

About Benjamin Hogan

Over the years, Benjamin has held positions in many different areas of alcohol and drug addiction services all over the country. He made a name for himself as an interventionist and has held certification as a Certified National Drug and Alcohol Interventionist (CNDAI-II). Benjamin specializes in helping support families of people struggling with addiction by focusing on education and instilling healthy boundaries to ensure lasting changes. Addiction is a progressive disease, but using an evidence-based approach, an intervention, when done correctly, can help to increase the willingness of a loved one to seek sobriety faster. "In my experience, by helping families make necessary changes, they not only get their lives back, but they also help change the mind of their loved one more quickly. In an intervention, family and other loved ones take a proactive approach, instead of waiting and being stuck between fear and (false) hope. I realized in my own recovery, that when my family changed, I had to change in response. That is where I found sobriety. This is why I believe in what I do!"