Heroin use are on the rise, and it’s important for people to understand the signs of opioid abuse and the impacts these drugs can have on lives and society.
How heroin affects individuals and how heroin affects society are two topics that receive a lot of attention these days. Heroin use, as well as abuse of prescription opioids, are on the rise, and it’s important for people to understand the signs of opioid abuse, and also the impacts that these drugs have on people’s lives and society as a whole.
Heroin impacts society in many ways. Here are some key points to consider regarding how the drug affects people throughout the United States:
- The number of people using heroin for the first time in 2016 (170,000) was nearly double the number of people first trying the drug in 2006 (90,000)
- Heroin is cheaper and purer than it was in the 1980s and 1990s
- There isn’t a typical heroin user anymore. It’s now more common in the suburbs and among wealthier users than it was before.
- Heroin is one of the most deadly drugs
- More people seek treatment for addiction to heroin than for any other drug
- Drug overdose deaths involving heroin rose from 1,960 in 1999 to 15,482 in 2017
- According to the most recent overdose death statistics, in 2016 there were 15,469 heroin-related deaths in the United States, up 19 percent from 2015
Heroin and Relationships
Healthy relationships are a key element of society. These relationships can include marriages, parent-child relationships and friendships.
When someone is addicted to heroin, it can destroy relationships and can lead to divorces, neglected or abandoned children, and strained friendships. Someone on heroin tends to be unable to maintain honest relationships with the people around them, and they can exhibit unpredictable or dangerous behavior that diminishes relationships and families.
Heroin use has also been associated with domestic violence, loss of custody of children and financial problems that can lead families of people on heroin to experience everything from needing financial assistance to being homeless.
Costs of Addiction
Heroin itself might not directly make people more violent, although it can exacerbate underlying mental illnesses and conditions. It does however indirectly lead to crime and violence.
Many people will turn to crime including stealing and violent robberies to pay for their addiction to heroin, and it’s not just the people who are addicted to heroin that are more likely to engage in criminal activities. There has been a surge in gang violence because of Mexican drug cartels which bring heroin into the U.S.
Crime and Addiction
Heroin itself might not directly make people more violent, although it can exacerbate underlying mental illnesses and conditions. It does however indirectly lead to crime and violence.
Many people will turn to crime including stealing and violent robberies in order to pay for their addiction to heroin, and it’s not just the people who are addicted to heroin that are more likely to engage in criminal activities. There has been a surge in gang violence because of Mexican drug cartels which bring heroin into the U.S.
Illness and Addiction
People who are addicted to heroin are at a higher risk of many illnesses as well, which impact the cost of medical care at the societal level and also leave more people exposed to communicable diseases.
Heroin can increase the risk of a range of health issues from heart and respiratory illnesses, to the likelihood of an overdose.
Also, people who use heroin and inject it are at a higher risk of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. These people often don’t have insurance, so ultimately the government pays for the treatment of their health conditions.
If you or a loved one live with heroin addiction, contact The Recovery Village today. All calls are free and knowledgable representatives can discuss what treatment options will work best for you. A healthier future is just one phone call away. Don’t hesitate, make the call today.
The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.