The Prevalence of Heroin Addiction

Heroin addiction is a stark reality. So many people in the United States and beyond are today grappling with the problem of heroin addiction. It's not just heroin alone that is causing dependency problems among a significant portion of the country's population, abuse of other drugs and substances is also quite rife. Heroin addiction however calls for special concern given the rising figures about its usage and addiction cases in the US. Statistics from the 2013 National Survey On Drug Abuse show just how serious the problem of heroin addiction is the United States. Data collated during the survey revealed that more than 680,000 persons had used heroin in the last one year (that is in 2012). This number is a significant rise from that of 2007. A similar survey carried out in 2007 revealed that only 370,000 persons had used heroin in the last one year. 

The 2013 survey also points out an alarming situation, that of a high number of Americans choosing to experiment with heroin usage. The set of data shows that about 170,000 persons used heroin for the first in 2007 in the United States. No discrimination of statistics Heroin usage is a problem that bedevils people all over the United States. Contrary to what has been assumed that drug and substance abuse is only prevalent in certain demographics, this isn't the case with heroin dependency. Addiction stemming from heroin usage isn't a respecter of one's socioeconomic background. Reported cases of addiction have proved that heroin dependency affects people broadly regardless of your financial situation, social upbringing, education status, race, and even neighborhood among other details. In regards to stereotypes about heroin and drug addiction in general, it has long been believed that the problem mostly plagues persons from disadvantaged backgrounds. Drug addiction is often associated with poverty, dysfunctional homes, illiteracy, crime, homelessness, and so on. This stereotype however doesn't seem to hold true for heroin addiction. Certain cases of addictive heroin usage which have been reported in the media have shown that even persons from privileged backgrounds aren't spared of addiction problems. Some of these victims live in high end neighborhoods and have steady income. They in addition also hold very solid educational qualifications. 

Why is heroin addiction prevalent? Heroin dependency continues to exist because of two major reasons. First and foremost, it's because heroin is by nature a highly addictive drug. This leads to many people becoming entangled in it after only a few uses. Heroin belongs to the opiate group of drugs, a type of drugs which are known to stimulate the brain and cause euphoric feelings. Heroin contains a chemical called morphine. This causes a heroin user to experience a feeling of highness when they use the drug. He or she thereby consequently needs to take additional doses of the drug in order to sustain this high feeling. The second reason why heroin addiction is rampant is because of the stigma associated with the addiction. The world tends to view heroin addicts as failures and losers. Because of this, addicts usually prefer to keep their addiction problem secret in order to preserve their own reputation. This hinders them from coming out and receiving help and treatment. In addition to the two reasons, heroin dependency is also stemming from the fact that prescription of opiate drugs as painkillers has lately been increasingly allowed. This leads to many people trying out heroin and consequently beginning to live on it on a day to day basis. Solving the problem of heroin addiction There are many suggestions which have been made in regards to fighting the heroin dependency scourge. No matter the approach which may be chosen, it's just important to continue talking about the addiction problem and to encourage victims to seek treatment and to even come out and share their story with others. Their story might just be what a victim somewhere needs in order to break free from heroin usage.