People are dying from heroin overdoses at alarming rates.
Though the amount of prescription painkiller usage has begun to taper off, the number of people who end up overdosing from street drugs like heroin has increased exponentially.
There’s several different suspected factors in the sharp increase of heroin overdoses, which can be attributed to the growing intensity of prescription painkillers that are illicitly making their way onto the street (like fentanyl), as well as the way that doctors tend to hand out precription painkillers like candy.
Opioid addiction consists of two distinct groups of users: those who pop prescription painkillers, and those that use (far) cheaper street drugs, such as heroin, morphine, codeine, opium, and so on.
Even maintenance medications (or drugs that are used to fight cravings for opiates) like methadone, and suboxone, can be addictive.
But all-too-often, those that end up addicted to heroin began their journey to addiction with a licensed physician.
No studies had been performed until very recently, to uncover what really creates such a transition, from a legal doctor’s prescription, to illicit street drug use. The NIDA began a study wherein a group of 18-23 year old prescription opioid users (used illegally, without a real prescription) were followed over the course of 3 years. 7.5% of those opioid users began using heroin by the time that study was completed.
When the prescription drugs are used in ways that’ll hit the addict with more force, for example, taking prescription drugs intravenously rather than orally, that usually predated heroin dependence. As one can imagine, an aggravated association with the drug, as characterized by more frequent, stronger use, indicated eventual heroin dependence or addiction, as well.
Or, instead of treating the self for pain: the user who used the opioid specifically to get high predicted a higher chance of becoming addicted later in life.
By any rate, heroin addiction often begins in an innocent, legal way. Right in the doctor’s office.
