There is nothing positive about heroin.
It’s illegal.
It’s addictive.
It’s expensive.
It can be fatal.
Yet, it is the “glamour drug” right now. It’s in the news often. Movie stars are doing it. Politicians are talking about it. Cops are arresting people selling it.
It has become the “cause celebre’” in the 21st Century. Heroin is tearing a destructive path through our culture and thousands are being harmed deeply by it.
Many people ask: How can this drug be doing this much harm? It’s a common and relevant question but first we need to understand the addiction.
Heroin, according to the National Institutes of Health NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse, is: An opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of the various opium poppy plants grown in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico, and Colombia. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Other common names for heroin include big H, horse, hell dust, and smack. www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin
Heroin can be ingested by doing any of the following:
- injection
- sniffing
- snorting
- smoking
- It can also be mixed with crack cocaine, known commonly as “speedballing”.
Heroin then enters the brain quickly. It causes euphoria, a decreased perception of pain and even intense feeling of relaxation. It brings the user up fast and then drops them soon, but they feel good and rested following the high.
Those effects are only short-term for the user. The long-term effects of heroin addiction, however, are quite serious. Some of the physical issues resulting from heroin addiction are (http://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-morphine-use/):
- chest pain
- dizziness
- confusion
- nausea and vomiting
- itchy skin
- altered or irregular heart rate
- shallow breathing
- seizures
- death
- organ damage
- Infections (HIV, Hepatitis)
- Pneumonia
- Kidney or liver disease
In the long-term, heroin addiction may mean the loss of employment as they have no interest in work. They also ignore health issues due to the drug and get into financial trouble due to the high expense of the drug. Often, they end up stealing from others to get it. Finally, their family and friends are tossed aside as they become alienated from everyone in pursuit of the drug.
Heroin addiction does not have to be a death sentence, however. Heroin Treatment Centers can be found all over the country. Hundreds of thousands of heroin and oxycotin (a prescription version of it) abusers are finding help and lifetime relief from addiction.
Heroin Treatment should be administered at a professional, licensed treatment center. Treatments include:
- Detoxification (detox): This is the first stage of recovery. It involves starting to get off the drug for complete withdrawal. It is usually the most difficult stage.
- In-Patient Therapy: A licensed case management team of drug abuse counselors, medical technicians and staff lead the patient off of drugs utilizing medications, classes and therapy sessions. Many substance abuse treatment centers use outdoor activities (horseback riding, hiking, swimming, etc.) to help the patient learn to use physical activities to relieve stress. Sports, art, hobbies and other productive activities are also used and have proven successful.
- Maintenance: Once the outpatient addiction treatment is completed, they are then admitted into 12-Step Programs, family therapy, group therapy and other credible programs that help the patient stay on the road to recovery.
Heroin is like any addiction drug: the user can be free from it. It is not an automatic death sentence. If you use it, get help and do it today. If you know of someone who is using heroin, find them help. Today. It can be treated. There are thousands and thousands who have overcome it.
If you are addicted to heroin or know someone else who is, contact our licensed, experienced and caring counselors at The Concerted Care Group. We treat the whole person and their whole life. (https://concertedcaregroup.com/the-whole-life-solution/) Contact us at (410) 617-0142) or at info@concertedcaregroup.com.