Dope Like a Pound

One of the more notable facts in the documentary Chasing Heroin is that usage of this narcotic has considerably increased in the last several years. There are numerous reasons to account for this fact. One of the most important is that there are several different ways people can consume heroin. They can either choose to inject it into their veins, smoke it, or snort it. Each of those different ways of taking this drug is associated with different connotations. For instance, hard core drug users tend to inject heroin. Those just becoming acclimated with the drug may smoke it, while those more acclimated to hard drugs may snort it. Because of the different types of users involved with this substance, its adoption rates are likely to become higher and continue to increase. This trend is also impacted by the greater availability of prescription medicine to reduce pain, which is associated with “an epidemic of nonmedical use of prescriptive opioids” (Novak et al, 2016, p. 298).

Another important reason why heroin usage has expanded over the last several years is because it is no longer a drug that is only regarded as suitable for inner city minority users who have major drug habits. Heroin users are becoming younger; it is not anomalous to find teenagers and even some preteens who abuse this drug (Jones et al, 2015, p. 719). This trend also reinforces heroin’s influx into the suburbs. Once, heroin was seen as something that only poor or destitute people used. Today, there are wealthy people and those who were once wealthy who are turning to heroin in suburban environments. It is not just a drug reserved for the bottom of society. Heroin’s proliferation into affluent communities is a critical reason that its usage has increased. Because its use has become much more commonplace, heroin overdoses have become more commonplace as well. After all, heroin is lethal.

References

Jones, C., Logan, J., Gladden, M.R., Bohm, M.K. (2015). Vital signs: demographic and substance use trends among heroin users—United States, 2002-2013. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 64(26), 719-725.

Novak, S.P., Bluthenthal, R., Wenger, L., Chu, D., Kral, A.H. (2016). Initiation of Heroin and prescription opiod pain relievers by birth cohort. The American Journal of Public Health. 106(2), p. 298-299.