Summer Cisco
Mr. Loudermilk
ENG 122
May 2, 2014
"Is heroin use and addiction a growing problem in the United States?”
Introduction- The Urge:
Heroin has been and continues to get used by many addicts in the world who are not capable to overcome the urge and to stop using this drug, as they are horrified of withdrawal as it is very painful. Most users inject heroin, not knowing the dangers or the strength of the drug, users can risk by getting a disease such as HIV or Hepatitis C, overdosing from it could lead to death. (about.com)
Background: Parents take note:
Bayer pharmaceutical company of Germany manufactured Heroin in 1898 for treatment purposes such as tuberculosis and was a remedy for morphine addiction. During the 1850s, Opium addiction was a major problem in the United States. Addictions would continue to rise so another drug would take the place and was known to be non-addictive, but addictions would keep continuing. Began from morphine to heroin than to methadone, addictions to these drugs are on the rise .(drugfree.org)
If you are a parent such as myself, I feel children should know what drugs are and what they can do to not only your body but also their loved ones. Parents, you must let your children know about the illegal drugs in the world and the effects of them, if you want their future to be successful. I understand curiosity approaches to try them or some think that by doing drugs the pain they feel emotionally or physically may take the pain away. They need to know they don’t need to revert to drugs as there are resources out there to help, even if your there to give your son/daughter support that they need. I believe if our children have the knowledge and are aware of how bad drugs are, and how c...
... middle of paper ...
...positive outcome to every situation, and just be there for them.
Second Solution:
Show your child how to be an appropriate citizen in the world, they reflect from your actions. They need guidance to this world, and when it’s our time to leave this world, we want to leave what we leave behind to be successful role models of us. If they see you as an addict they will become an addict as they haven’t been taught how to take/ be responsible for their actions.
Conclusion:
Know the resources that can help those who suffer with an addiction, please reach out to them no matter how bad they hurt the pain they face every day gets deeper and before they know it their lives can get cut too short. Talk to your kids at an appropriate age as this drug affects everyone no matter what age they are, by doing so the outcome for them would be a successful/drug free future.
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
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
Where did this drug come from and what makes it different from any other drug that is on the market? Heroin's origins go back long before Christ was a bleep on the radar. It goes back to 1200 B.C. Or the Bronze Age. At that time how ever heroin would be known as its chemically altered state of the poppy seeds. Even at that time however the ancient peoples of that time knew that if the poppy seeds juice were collected and dried. the extract that was left behind could make a effective painkiller. This would later be named opium. There were small incidents of it appearing in Europe, for instance it was used by the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. But as a whole it would take more then a millennium for opium to travel from the Middle East to the Europe. This only occurred do to crusades. In just a few hundred after that is went from a rarely used painkiller to a liquid that was said to cure all aliments and would even lead to the most humiliating defeat China Empire. In the 1803 opium became dwarfed by its new brother morphine which is named in honor of the Greek god Morpheus who is the god of dreams. Morphine is an extract of opium and is ruffly 10 times the strength of its counter part. After Morphine creation it was put to used almost at once to assist battle field victims. This was a mistake however, because this refined does of opium is also 10 times more addicting then it was in its original form. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers would retur...
It is eight a.m. and she has been up for hours at this point. The diarrhea is uncontrollable and her stomach is killing her. She needs to vomit again. Her bed is covered in sweat. Her body feels hot, but she is freezing cold. Her hands are shaking. Her legs are restless and her entire body aches as if she had been run over by a semi. She feels weak, both physically and mentally. Tears stream down her face because she hates herself. Addiction is the reason her mother has custody of her daughter, Abby. Most of her family and friends disown her. This drug has taken over her life. At this point, she is debating if everyone, including herself, would benefit from her suicide. Jenny was dope sick, suffering
Eighty percent of heroin users say that their opioid use began with the use of opioids. pain relievers. These same individuals say that they have switched to heroin use. because it is less expensive.
Heroin was originally synthesized in 1874 by a man named C.R Alder Wright. Created as a solution to opium, a drug that had plagued many American households. It was originally produced for medical purposes evidently becoming highly addictive. Heroin “... was originally marketed as a non-addictive substance” (“History of Addiction”) which inevitably increased its popularity. It became especially popular in places of poverty. Heroin became a solution to struggle. So common it was almost as if heroin was a prescribed medicine for hardship. Known as “[a] treatment of many illnesses and pain” (“A brief history of addiction”) but later revealed that it caused more harm than good. Being so easily accessible it became immensely common among musicians.
If more people were aware of the dangers of heroin use, such as using while pregnant, while on prescribed medications, with dirty needles, or even possible death, more people would be likely to not partake in the use of the drug.
Watching a family member or loved one struggle with addiction can be very difficult, however watching that same person spend the majority of their life in and out of prison because of their addiction can be heart breaking and tragic for both them and all connected to them. Recidivism, the return rate to prison with or with out a new criminal charge or conviction, is highly impacted by drug and alcohol addiction and the crimes associated with it. Some points to consider might also be, the lack of effective treatment while incarcerated and upon release, being paroled to the original environment, and over coming the stigmatism held by the parole officer, society, and the parolees that they have little chance to recover and become productive members of society.
Drug abuse is part of everyday life, most of us know someone who is or was abusing drug at some point. A way to simplify a difficult time in our life, we find an exit in a product that numbs our brain to the surrounding. People find addiction through drugs, activities and action that creates chemical reaction within our bodies. Whether you love jumping off the empire state building or inject yourself with a drug, you are looking for a high that your body enjoys. The body creates chemicals which stop our self-control. According to the CDC website, “Deaths from drug overdose have been rising steadily over the past two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States.” (Birnbaum HG, web).
Prescription drugs are making parents more overwhelmed than ever before about their teenaged child! Why must they worry so much about their teenaged child? “When you can stop you don’t want to, and when you want to stop, you can’t…” (Davies). This quote signifies that adolescents and adults have the option to quit or not try the drug when being introduced, but when they get started on the drug and they are thinking abouting quitting, they cannot because of the addiction they have on the drug. Each day they try to stay away from the drug, but they are having really bad withdrawals. Rockingham County Schools should inform parents about the strategies for preventing, recognizing, and addressing prescription drug abuse.
Drug and alcohol abuse has become a worldwide epidemic within today’s society. The battle against drugs and alcohol is not going to diminish. Therefore, we as a society need to work together to address these problems while incorporating successful treatment plans and services for these individuals. The addiction to these substances does not only effect oneself, but can also have profound consequences for the children and families.
Teenagers are teenagers, they’re going to experiment, that’s just how today’s society is, but you can help them be more aware of what they may choose to experiment with. Be an involved parent, inform your child on the causes of using drugs, before they even begin to think about drugs. Help your child to surround themselves with people that are going to help encourage them not to do drugs. If your child is already on the verge, or has already started using drugs, it’s not too late, there always a chance for them to come to there senses. Don’t give up on your child, when they may need your support the most.
When people hear the word addiction, most people picture an alcoholic that spends hours a night at the bar, or meth addict that sleeps in the streets and prostitutes herself out to obtain money for another hit, but what various people refuse to realize is that addiction has become an epidemic in the United States. Addiction is everywhere from the UPS man that takes smoke breaks every few delivery’s, to your best friend 's dad whose appears to have everything put together but spends his evenings at the casino. In my opinion, it 's essential to share your story, I’m restless to tell you experience with addiction.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.
The Vietnam soldiers were some of the very first people to suffer from heroin addiction. Psychiatrist Dr. Robert DuPont is a pioneer doctor in drug abuse treatment, he conducted studies in Washington D.C. in 1969 of heroin addicts, and then convinced the mayor to allow him to provide methadone to the heroin addicts, this resulted in the city’s crime rate dropping. The cost of addiction can be devastating to the person and the person’s family. People trade in their cars, clothing and shelter just to get a fix for their addiction. The cost of rehabilitation is outrageous, unless you are attending a free one it can cost up to 1000 dollars a week.