Heroin Use in The U.S is on The Rise

The number of individuals choosing to use heroin in the United States has surged out of control. According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the numbers of individuals choosing to take Heroin increased by an incredible 63% between 2002 and 2013. What’s more, the numbers of young people between the ages of 18-25 choosing to take the drug has more than doubled in the past decade too.

When they were first released these figures sent shockwaves throughout the country and the wider media, however what was never analysed was exactly why the number of heroin users was rising so considerably.

The Reasons for the Rise

Research has found that there’s a strong and key correlation between illegal prescription drug use and heroin use, and prescription drug use has also been on the rise for decades.  However in recent years the medical community has been cracking down on illegal prescription drug use, making it harder and harder for those using the drugs to obtain, and also making those illegal prescription drugs that are on the market more expensive. Those patients that found it was difficult to access the painkillers they were dependant on choose not to seek medical help and rehabilitation but rather to turn to the next best alternative: heroin.

Individuals who are addicted to painkillers are instead an incredible 40 percent more likely to abuse heroin, which goes some way towards explaining why heroin use is on the rise. In fact, these individuals are considered to be the most vulnerable to potential heroin use, soon followed by individuals who are addicted to other substances such as alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.

Heroin use is a serious problem in the United States and one that can lead to serious health consequences, including risk of death. These statistics should have served as a wakeup call to the hundreds of thousands of drug users in the country and a moment of realisation for law makers and those within the medical profession that we have a very real and serious problem on our hands. If you suspect that you or someone you love has an addiction to heroin then now is the time to act and get help.

To find out more about the skyrocketing use of heroin in the United States you can read a fuller version of this article here.

Mel Caron