In the film Swansea Love Story, the difficult lives of heroin addicts in Swansea, Wales is illustrated quite vividly. The film mainly focuses on the story of a homeless couple, Amy Protheroe and Cornelius Collins, but does occasionally piece in other people. The film focuses on the rise of heroin and how it’s becoming increasingly popular in Swansea. The drug seems to have taken over the town, and turned doing heroin into a sort of sub-culture there. The film shows the hardships Amy and Cornelius face as homeless addicts, and sheds some light into their family life to explain why they are the way they are. Swansea Love Story also incorporates other people into the film and shows the struggles that come with being a heroin addict. I think …show more content…
It’s very hard to be a heroin addict and have a normal, properly functioning life. Most of the times addicts cannot hold stable jobs, so there is not a stable income coming in, which in turn results in these individuals becoming homeless, or turning to criminal activity to support their drug use. It is not easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you struggle with an addiction. I’ve seen first hand with family members how quickly your life spirals out of control, and how hard it can be to get back on your feet once you’re addicted. If people using heroin are taking it intravenously, there are a number of risks that come with that as well. Unclean needles can cause people to contract HIV or Hepatitis, and other infectious diseases if they use dirty puddles of water to cook their drugs. The veins of heroin addicts can also become damaged. On top of all that, if these addicts aren’t using clean needles, abscesses can form wherever they’re injecting drugs into the body, which can be very dangerous. For all of the reasons above, the cons of taking heroin certainly outweigh the …show more content…
Back then, people were convinced that heroin was not as addictive as morphine and was safer for people to consume. Obviously that’s not the case. The scary thing is heroin isn’t that different from morphine, yet doctors are okay with giving patients morphine. I think with a drug that is so addictive, doctors need to be more vigilant on who they use morphine on, even when it comes to medical procedures. Back in the early 1900’s, when people weren’t truly aware of the effects of heroin, it might have been okay for them to use it to help people suffering from severe pain. In this day and time, heroin is widely abused and not used for its’ original intentions. Heroin has become a recreational drug of choice for people, not something they use to treat
Before the mid 1900’s the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was formed to tax those making, importing or selling any derivative of opium or coca leaves. In the 1920s, doctors became aware of the highly addictive nature of opioids and started to avoid treating patients with them (Center, 2004). In 1924 heroin became illegal. However according to a history published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, anesthesiologists opened "nerve block clinics" in the 1950s and 1960s to manage pain without having to resort to surgery (Meldrum, 2003). This push for treating pain without surgery was a major factor in the opioid epidemic we see today. In 2008 the overdose death rate was almost four times the rate in 1999, and the sales of prescription pain relievers in 2010 were four times higher than in 1999 (Paulozzi et al, 2011). The substance use disorder treatment admission rate is also greater than in 1999, with it having been six times higher in 2009. Chasing Heroin’s claims surrounding the fear of prescribing pain medications is accurate as you see an increase in public policies surrounding opiate use in the early 1900’s. The climbing rates of overdose deaths and the increased amount of people seeking addiction treatment suggests that the fear of prescription opiates was
In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat anything from coughs to restlessness. Yet, just as quickly as it became a household staple, many began to question the innocence of the substance. While the 1906 law had inherent weaknesses, it signaled the beginning of the end for “cure-all” drugs, such as opiate-filled “soothing syrups” that were used for infants. By tracing and evaluating various reports by doctors and investigative journalists on the medical use of heroin, it is clear that the desire for this legislative measure developed from an offshoot in the medical community-- a transformation that took doctors out from behind the curtain, and brought the public into a new era of awareness.
For one, addiction would be the biggest problem due to a person's need for more and more opioids in order to function. Opioid abuse has also been known to weaken a person's immune system and in turn making they more likely to get sick. Also, if a person did not die from a opioid related overdose, they could end up in a coma because of it. Even if a person were to stop using opioids all together, they could have lifelong health problems due to their previous use of opioids. This is more common with the opioid Heroin since it is often used by syringe. Many Heroin users have contracted HIV/AIDS as well as Hepatitis because they tend to share needles with other people who may have these diseases.
The reason for the increased use of heroin are unclear currently but death rate and emergency room visits for heroin have grown to staggering rates there were 201,000 emergency room visits alone in 2008 and this is only for the lucky few that had friends kind enough to take them to seek help. There are thousands more that worst so lucky and remain unreported. Heroin has become such growing issue that Chattanooga Count has put out a put awareness campaign waring that there has been more death from heroin over dosing then vehicular manslaughter and homicide combine.
Heroin is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world. When using heroin, people run the risk of developing serious “infectious diseases” such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis (The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2014, para 10). Above all, heroin use often results in death. The DEA Strategic Intelligence Section (2016), who prepared the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary claims that heroin is the most fatal drug compared to other drugs because heroin related deaths occur at a much higher rate. In 2014 cocaine users outnumbered heroin users by about three and a half to one, yet there were twice as many heroin related deaths compared to that of cocaine (p. 9). One of the main causes of the large amount of death is a result of what dealers are lacing their heroin with. Fentanyl, a drug that is considered “50” to “100” times stronger than morphine (NIDA, 2016, para 1), is being used by dealers to mix in with their heroin in order to increase its effects and the quantity of their product. Because of how strong fentanyl-laced heroin is, the possibility of overdosing rises, which is the effect that numerous addicts seek out to attain. In the article “Spiked”, written by Maggie Lee (2015), Lieutenant Rick Mason from the Atlanta Police Department emphasizes, “… if somebody OD’s, that’s who [heroin addicts] want to buy their heroin from because it’s the strongest and it must be the best” (para 22). Heroin addicts chase the powerful batches, often asking around for the dealer selling the batch that is causing mass overdoses. Their high tolerance for heroin lead them to believe that they will not fall victim to a deadly overdose until it is too late. When these users consume what they think is their normal dose, the fentanyl kills them. Those unable to receive prescription medication from a doctor will argue that heroin is a cheap way to relieve pain. While heroin may help to
In the YouTube video titled “Heroin Dangers – Mayo Clinic” the affects of heroin are explained, it is derived from morphine and is highly addictive. It can be smoked or injected; when it’s injected it can be very dangerous. It enters the brain and then stimulates the brain to release dopamine. The high will last about a thirty minutes on average. The problem is that it also can be contaminated with dangerous substances. There have been deaths in several states because of the contaminants that have been found in heroin. The respiratory system can be slowed down which can cause the heart to stop and can lead to death. After heroin usage there is a very quick spike of dopamine levels, so this is a reinforcement for the user that will cause
Heroin can be taken in three different ways. It can be snorted, smoked, and injected. Heroin can take minutes or even seconds to kick in, no matter the form though. The snorted form is a chopped up form of it’s original state and looks like pale brown dust. The smoked form is in rolled, marijuana-like joints. The injected form is a liquid and is made with mixing the heroin with warm water and putting it into a syringe. Taking the injected form is the most addictive way to take the drug because it hits faster and is put directly into your bloodstream. Many get addicted after the first try. Heroin itself is not the only thing dangerous about it, diseases can be spread by users who use the same
As early as, 1810 morphine an opium derivative was being used and marketed as a wonder drug for pain. However, many patients developed an addiction problem as a result of using morphine. Around 1874, heroin, considered a new drug and the answer to the morphine addiction was invented by a German physician. This new wonder drug was imported to America shortly after its invention. (Heilig) (Narconon) Physicians in America thought this new drug was the solution to the increasing number of morphine addicted patients. The new wonder drug was very appealing to doctors as it was marketed as safe and non-addictive alternative to morphine. (Narconon). Sales of heroin were unregulated therefore, heroin was administered to kids and adults for all types of physical and mental ailments. By the 1920, Congress began to recognize the danger associated with heroin and other drugs. The Dangerous Drug Act was enacted with new laws that deemed these drugs illegal and put federal regulations on their distribution. Nevertheless, this action was already too late the heroin addiction had already taken hold and has been present in the American culture since.
Drug abuse is one of the singular commonalities between the majority of jazz musicians. Those who did not participate or who overcame their addiction were honored throughout the jazz community. It was too easy to become entrapped in the temptation of escape that heroin offered. Ignoring the consequences of such a drug, ignoring the toll it took on their lives. Although many jazz musicians still struggled with obtaining fame and fortune and simply surviving in the times they lived in heroin was able to provide a temporary but fulfilling escape. Being highly addictive many lost their lives to heroin abuse or HIV/AIDS because of sharing hypodermic needles. “Many talented jazz musicians either had their careers sidetracked or prematurely ended due to their addiction ...” yet the use of narcotic did not dissipate. Death being one of the side effects of heroin provoked the question of why anyone would take it. Not being able to understand sacrificing their body to “free” their souls. Not all addicts were suicidal but their addictions caused the misconception that they were. Throughout the majority of the story, Sonny’s unnamed brother attempts to comprehend why anyone, especially his brother, would partake in drug abuse if they did not have a death wish, “... why does he want to die? He must want to die, he’s killing himself, why does he want to die?”. A friend
It doesn’t matter if these patients will become addicted, because these doctors are so sure of it that they overprescribe just so the patients won’t come back asking for more in the near future. Due to the inconsideration and selfishness of these doctors “Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing form of substance abuse”(Hanson). To make matters worse, a majority of these doctors aren't even warning their patients about the type of drug they are dealing with. According to the National Institute on drug abuse, opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, causing them to be highly addictive(Thomas et al). Not only is it clear to see that these doctors are at fault here for even prescribing a drug they know can be as addicting as heroin, but also because they aren't doing anything to fix their mistakes, much less admit that they are at fault here. Doctors are to blame for these addiction, not the patients. Doctors are also to blame for not giving these unhealthy addictions the attention they deserve. After all, they are required by the FDA to give risk evaluations when the risks of the drug outweigh the benefits(Blake). Yet on the contrary to popular belief these doctors aren’t giving those evaluations out, if they were more deaths could
Another way to tell that the use of heroin is on the rise is by the number of emergency room visits that deal with heroin users. In 1990 there was 33,000 emergency department visits nationally where heroin use was involved. By the year 1995 the number had more than doubled to 76,000. In the mid-1980's about ten percent of patient population was identified as being IV drug users. Now, the number is up to about twenty percent. (Source # 4, Gabor Kelen, Professor of Emergency Medicine in the School of Medicine and director of Hopkins Emergency room).
Morphine is a highly addictive opiate psychoactive painkiller. It is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe pain. Morphine acts by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. The drug was originally derived from the poppy seed plant before it was chemically enhanced and manufactured. Starting off, the drug was used to cure alcoholism and certain types of addictions. This didn’t last very long considering morphine was found to be much more addictive than alcohol. In the early 1900s, morphine was identified as a controlled substance under the Harrison Act. The Harrison Act was put in place to control morphine by making it only legal for those with a prescription for the drug to carry and use it. It is now considered a Schedule I&II drug, which basically defines the levels of enforcement against the drugs. At the time, morphine was the most commonly abused drug, because of its mind-numbing, and reality shattering capabilities.
Prior to the 1960s, the stigma of opioid addiction was pervasive and unfortunately continues to this day. Prior to the introduction
Every day thousands of addicts are taking a major health risk by sharing dirty needles. These dirty needles are potentially harboring blood borne pathogens along with thousands of microorganisms and bacteria. This can be detrimental to the person who is putting this needle directly into their veins. Drugs might always be a problem, but there is one way to assist and help better the lives of the drug addicts. This aid is clean needle exchanges. By giving the addicts clean needles to use, this would help to prevent the spread of disease.Both of the images shown above are geared toward clean needle exchanges. In this case, the Addiction Treatment Alternatives picture is a better representation of clean needle exchanges.
Dobler-Mikola, A. Gschwed, P. Gutzwiller, F. Steffen, T. Rehm, J. Ucthengagen, A. (2001) Fesaibility, Safely, and Efficacy of Injectable Heroin Prescription for Refractory Opioid Addicts: a follow-up study. The Lancet, volume 358, pg 1417-1420