Some heroin users start off by smoking the drug. The high, while soothing, doesn’t seem to have quite the kick after a fairly short period of smoking it. Many users say they ditch smoking heroin and move on to injecting it within a few months of initial use. Not only is injecting heroin a much more concentrated introduction of the drug into the body, but it is also a potentially lethal practice in more ways than one. In fact, heroin addiction has become rampant and needs serious attention of authorities and family members.
For one thing, overdose is always a distinct possibility. It is often hard to gauge how much is too much. Users never know the purity or strength of what they are buying on the street. What was okay yesterday may be lethal today. Injecting the drug, a user may just fall unconscious with the syringe still in the arm, foaming at the mount and blood running out of the nose. If no one finds the unconscious individual in time, death from overdose is very likely to be inevitable.
Even if the person is rescued in time to prevent death, there may be serious and long-lasting consequences. Some overdose victims suffer cardiac arrest and/or stroke. Some have permanent vision loss or impairment in mobility, unable to move, or difficulty in moving a hand, arm, or leg. In addition, cognitive skills may be severely impaired. What used to come naturally now becomes a near impossibility: thinking logically, remembering simple things, making informed choices, being able to speak coherently. Headaches are a constant presence, and overall quality of life suffers immeasurably.
Do these things happen to all heroin users who overdose or who use the drug for long periods of time? That’s just it. There is no certainty that any one person will fall victim to such risks, although the likelihood increased with length of time and frequency of use. In other words, you can only dance with the devil so many times before you are bound to get burned.
According to the US Department of Justice, the supply of heroin coming to the United States from Mexico has nearly tripled in the past years. This not only has caused the availability of heroin here to skyrocket, but it has also raised serious concerns over the risks of intravenous use due to the potency of Mexican-produced heroin.
According to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), there were 180,000 persons aged 12 and older who had used heroin for the first time in the past 12 months. The average age of first use among those aged 12 to 49 is around 25.5 years. NSDUH statistics on those dependent upon or abusing heroin are even more troubling.
But talking with law enforcement officials and emergency room workers will show you that the NSDUH data is only part of the story. Many people do not self-report their drug usage or downplay it significantly. Surveys are just that, i.e., extrapolation from a limited audience. The truth is that heroin usage in the US is much higher than reported, and it is seemingly gaining popularity.
