Heroin Addiction

Heroin addiction is a serious and life threatening issue for our country. Addiction can occur very quickly among individuals who use heroin on a regular basis. Tolerance to heroin develops upon repeated use of the drug. Users suddenly find that they are using more and more heroin to achieve the same high that half the amount once produced. Heroin addiction is characterized by the compulsive use and seeking of heroin, even when an individual knows that heroin use is not in their best interest.

The users addiction is fed by uncontrollable cravings. Addiction to any drug, including heroin, can be defined as chronically making the firm decision not to use the drug followed shortly thereafter by a relapse. The relapse is due to the user experiencing overwhelming, compulsive urges to use despite their earlier decision to abstain. This contradiction is a characteristic of heroin addiction problems. When an individual is addicted to heroin, they tend to focus all their thoughts on the drug. They wonder where to get it, when to get it, is there enough of it, is it good enough, and will I have the money for more? These are some of the most frequent thoughts that run through their minds.

The addictive nature of heroin is characterized by the tolerance a user builds to the drug as well as the constant cravings they experience to use heroin. Heroin activates regions in the user?s brain that produce euphoric sensations and physical addiction. Heroin addiction is notorious for producing both psychological and physical dependence. Those with a severe heroin addiction will experience withdrawal symptoms when heroin use is discontinued.

There are several different types of drug addictions. Heroin addiction takes place both mentally and physically. The user not only craves the drug to feel good, but physically needs the heroin to avoid withdrawal symptoms. This becomes a double edged sword for those individuals who try to hamper their heroin addiction. Many users find it very difficult to abstain from using heroin as their withdrawal symptoms become worse because they know that using the drug will end their suffering and pain. Many turn to methadone as a supplement to their heroin addiction. They do this to avoid experiencing heroin's withdrawal symptoms. In the end, they either become dependent on methadone for the rest of their lives or they find that the withdrawal from methadone is even more painful and unbearable than when they tried to withdrawal from heroin.

Heroin is a highly addictive drug which has led to high occurences of heroin addiction among its users. Heroin?s addictive nature comes from the rapid onset of euphoria that it creates in the brain. Like all opiates, heroin blocks pain messages to the brain. It creates a false sense of calmness by depressing body functions and increase feelings of pleasure in the body through the brain. Heroin addiction itself may well be the most destructive long-term effect of heroin use next to death. Once the body and mind are addicted to heroin the brain's chemistry is changed permanently. A sign of heroin addiction is an increase in tolerance. This means a person must use more of the drug to get the same effect that a smaller amount would have accomplished before.

Heroin addiction implies that a person is no longer functioning normally because he or she is dependent upon heroin to live. Heroin addiction breaks apart families and relationships. It ruins lives and all too often results in death, either by the drug itself or by its deadly consequences. HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart failure, and clogged arteries are only a few of the deadly consequences associated with heroin addiction. Because heroin is most often injected intravenously, users run the risk of contracting HIV and other diseases transmitted through dirty needles and blood.

According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 3.7 million Americans ages 12 and older reported trying heroin at least once during their lifetimes. This represents 1.6% of the population ages 12 and older. Approximately 314,000 (0.1%) reported past year heroin use and 119,000 (0.1%) reported past month heroin use.

Among students surveyed as part of the 2004 Monitoring the Future study, 1.6% of eighth graders, 1.5% of tenth graders, and 1.5% of twelfth graders reported using heroin at least once during their lifetimes. These percentages remained unchanged from 2003.