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Heroin Addiction and Abuse

Heroin addiction and abuse is not as concerning in the United States as it once was with marijuana and cocaine way up on the list above heroin. However, heroin is so addictive and the effects of the drug so overwhelming that heroin addiction and abuse should not be put on the back burner and ignored. In the US, there are around one million chronic heroin users, eleven percent of all emergency room visits are due to heroin abuse, and in 2006, 335,000 individuals were treated for heroin addiction and abuse. Of course, this is only the number of people that received help.

Heroin is an illegal drug and is not used for any type of medical treatment. It is however, created with a medical drug, morphine. The drug is then sold on the street to addicts. Heroin addiction and abuse is a larger problem than most people expect with availability all across the nation in every state. The sad news with heroin is that it is very addicting once a person uses it just a few times on regular basis. Heroin, a synthetic opiate, is extremely addictive and works on the central nervous system and the brain in systematically ways.

Heroin addiction and abuse is not something a person can just walk away from any time they please. Once the addiction or abuse is present, a person will need detoxification in order to rid their body of the drug. When a person intravenously injects heroin into the veins it binds to the opioid receptors found in the brain. This creates a rush in only seven to eight seconds. This is one of the reasons that heroin is so addictive. Once the rush is gone, the rest of the high is not so pleasant with symptoms including sleepiness, impaired mental function, slowed respiration, and heartbeat. The slowed respiration and heartbeat can be so severe that it can result in death.

The major deal with heroin addiction and abuse is that once a person is hooked, more and more heroin is needed to achieve the same rush. A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse revealed that any usage of heroin including intravenous and intramuscular injection, sniffing, and smoking, are highly addictive.

Heroin addiction and abuse causes the addict to only live for the next fix. They have nothing else in life worth living for, the only think about how to get the next fix. The sad part is that a person abusing heroin will never decide to seek help on his or her own. It will take the persistence of family and friends to begin the treatment program. In most cases, for heroin addiction and abuse residential treatment programs lasting from three to six months have the best success for recovery.

The only treatment that works for heroin addiction and abuse includes drug detoxification, counseling, and behavior modification. Without this type of treatment program, many addicts return to their life of abusing heroin.

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