topic Re: Heroin Abuse in Community Chat

Heroin Abuse

Rainbows and Roses — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 23:48:46 GMT

Oh no, and they on NBC news said it is growing so much because people that used to take pain pills are using Heroin because they can't get the pain pills and they can get Heroin for $20...........I had no idea this was so rampant in our country.

Re: Heroin Abuse

loveschocolate — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 23:53:43 GMT

I think it's cheaper than that. And yes, it's a growing problem here in Ohio. A lot of heroin overdose deaths.

Re: Heroin Abuse

Rainbows and Roses — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 00:04:35 GMT

So so sad. When people are addicted they should just give them the medicine and let them dry out or tone down the medication instead of just letting someone be addicted.......life though is not worth anything except to the loved ones.

Re: Heroin Abuse

hckynut — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 03:01:15 GMT

This drug went into the background for some years but now it is said to be among the most popular choice for those addicted to drugs, and also one of the most dangerous and deadly. I have heard it mentioned several times that many that go to heroin got addicted first to legal drugs(aka-prescriptions)

Re: Heroin Abuse

Rainbows and Roses — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 03:16:20 GMT

I heard that also Hockeynut........so good to hear from you. Is it that the doctors have stopped giving the medications that were addicting and left them in the cold to find a drug to help them? This is what it appears like to me.

Re: Heroin Abuse

mistriTsquirrel — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 08:02:16 GMT

On 4/7/2014 Rainbows and Roses said:
I heard that also Hockeynut........so good to hear from you. Is it that the doctors have stopped giving the medications that were addicting and left them in the cold to find a drug to help them? This is what it appears like to me.

A patient may build up a tolerance to the pain meds, so they require more to keep the pain at bay or to ward off withdrawal symptoms. (This is most likely to happen when people overuse the pain medication instead of using it as it is prescribed.) When the prescriber refuses to up the dosage or frequency of the prescription, the person addicted to the pain meds seeks out an alternative...and that is often heroin.

ETA--People who are addicted to pain killers or heroin can seek help for their addictions and be gradually weaned off, usually with methadone.

From Wikipedia:

"Methadone is mainly used in the treatment of opioid dependence. It has cross-tolerance (tolerance to similar drugs) with other opioids including heroin and morphine, and offers very similar effects, but a longer duration of effect. Oral doses of methadone can stabilise patients by mitigating opioid withdrawal syndrome or making it more tolerable. Higher doses of methadone can block the euphoric effects of heroin, morphine, and similar drugs. As a result, properly dosed methadone patients can reduce or stop altogether their use of these substances."

Re: Heroin Abuse

Topaz Gem — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 14:47:16 GMT

Heroin use and overdosing is up virtually everywhere in the U.S. I just read an article in my local paper about heroin use in my area. It's very sad.

Re: Heroin Abuse

gardenman — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 15:56:37 GMT

Heroin use has been very common here in South Jersey for years now. Heroin is cheap, readily available, and widely used.

Heroin use here isn't so much for people with real medical conditions (pain) as it is for people who were using oxycontin to get high. They'd crush the oxycontin to get the full impact in a rush. The authorities have cracked down enough on the oxycontin trade that heroin is now the far more affordable option for those looking for a quick high. From local reports you can get heroin for under ten dollars while the street cost of oxycontin is now around twenty dollars a pill or higher.

If you sit in the parking lot at a local shopping center you'll likely see multiple drug deals going down. Dealers have learned how to avoid getting busted with large quantities of drugs so they deliver small quantities to their customers and parking lots are the preferred meeting place. (Typically by a landmark like the clothing drop-off boxes.) You'll see a car pull in and sit there for a few minutes, then a second car will pull in and the windows will roll down and a transaction will take place with money going from one car to another and then the drugs going to the other. The windows go back up and the two cars will drive away. If the police were to arrest the person selling the drug they'd likely only be able to get them on a minor charge since the quantity of drugs exchanged was small. The laws in this country tolerate small scale drug dealing, so dealers have adapted and create smallish stashes of drugs that they can then draw from and deliver to customers with little risk of prosecution, or serious criminal charges being lodged.

Unless we get serious about cracking down on illegal drugs and create a zero tolerance policy where any drug dealing is dealt with harshly, this situation will continue. There's little to no real risk for the dealers or buyers of prosecution since small quantities are all that's involved. I'm afraid we're getting more and more to the point where any chance to crack down hard on the dealers is lost. There's more of a move to legalize everything (in the foolish belief that buyers will only buy the taxed/legal drugs) and that's just going to lead more people into addiction.

I would be willing to bet that the people who profit the most from legalizing marijuana use in Colorado will be the illegal drug dealers. They can undercut the state's prices (by a lot) and with the use now being legal, there's next to no risk for the buyer. Now I'm sure the state will work hard to track down the illegal dealers, but the profit margin is so high for the illegal dealers that any the state arrests will be quickly replaced. Those with money to spare will likely use the state stores and pay the higher price, but most users will opt for the street versions which are cheaper. There's a fallacy that legalizing drugs will put drug dealers out of business. It does just the opposite though. Instead it legitimizes their 'business' and makes them a lower cost option than the state backed stores which sends them even more business.

Re: Heroin Abuse

stilltamn8r — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 16:49:50 GMT

Back int he 1930's and '40's, my grandfather who was a pharmacist had al icense to sell "heroin, morphine and coca leaves" (i am quoting)It was more of a tax stamp, as the US didn't mind them selling it, after all, these drugs have very beneficial medicinal properties, it wasn't illegal then, they just wanted their "cut"....

Re: Heroin Abuse

151949 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:05:36 GMT

When a person has pain the codiene (opiate) in the pain meds they take is used up by the pain receptors to aleviate the pain and they do not get addicted to it. However, if a person uses opiate medications who does not have pain or uses more than necessary -ie: continues to take the meds even though the pain is relieved - they will become addicted. It is certainly not the doctor's fault when a patient takes their meds irresponsibly. He tries to figure out how much medication a pateint needs for the condition and order appropriately but sometimes patients are calling the doctor begging for more pain relief and it is very difficult for him to know if they are just wanting to get high or if they are actually in pain. The poor doctors have to walk a very thin line on this as the government watches them extremely carefully. And, of course, every one has a different tolerance to pain, as well. And God help the poor doctor who says no more to a patient then that patient will tell everyone on earth not to go to that doc as they are cruel and won't give you the meds you need.

Re: Heroin Abuse

gazelle77 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:15:24 GMT

scary thing is that when someone is hooked on heroin, they can act normal as long as they keep it in their system.... so teachers, doctors, police, etc can work HIGH.

Re: Heroin Abuse

Allegheny — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:30:38 GMT

I heard on a newscast last night (can't recall if it was local or national news), that 95% of those addicted to heroin got there because they got addicted to prescribed prescription pain medication. This statistic sounds way too high to me.

I am on prescribed a medication for a back condition, only taking it when absolutely necessary. A while back I asked my doctor how he determines if a patient may have an addiction issue, and he says they do a profile on the patient. I didn't explore it any further.

I just worry that so much pressure will be placed on physicians that they will refuse to prescribe needed pain medication all together. So where does that leave the patient? Probably will have to go to specialists and jump thru all sorts of hoops.

Re: Heroin Abuse

stilltamn8r — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:33:11 GMT

On 4/8/2014 gazelle77 said:
scary thing is that when someone is hooked on heroin, they can act normal as long as they keep it in their system.... so teachers, doctors, police, etc can work HIGH.

Many already DO.. they are taking prescription drugs which do basically the same thing as heroin...

Re: Heroin Abuse

151949 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:37:34 GMT

On 4/8/2014 gazelle77 said:
scary thing is that when someone is hooked on heroin, they can act normal as long as they keep it in their system.... so teachers, doctors, police, etc can work HIGH.

When a person is high on drugs it is pretty obvious to anyone with a brain - they look high and act high.

Re: Heroin Abuse

azterry! — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:42:33 GMT

On 4/8/2014 happy housewife said:
On 4/8/2014 gazelle77 said:
scary thing is that when someone is hooked on heroin, they can act normal as long as they keep it in their system.... so teachers, doctors, police, etc can work HIGH.

When a person is high on drugs it is pretty obvious to anyone with a brain - they look high and act high.

I would disagree.

People who are addicted pain killers behave "normally" because you never see them without the drugs in their system.

I know people who were hooked on Oxycontin and you couldn't tell they were "high".

Re: Heroin Abuse

stilltamn8r — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:42:47 GMT

taking medication doesn't neccesarily make one "high"... We tend to think that those who use drugs that are currently not legal in this country, like heroin, as being "high" when they take them, but you might run into one taking heroin, just like you might run into someone taking vicodin and never know...

Re: Heroin Abuse

151949 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:45:05 GMT

On 4/8/2014 Allegheny said:
I heard on a newscast last night (can't recall if it was local or national news), that 95% of those addicted to heroin got there because they got addicted to prescribed prescription pain medication. This statistic sounds way too high to me.

I am on prescribed a medication for a back condition, only taking it when absolutely necessary. A while back I asked my doctor how he determines if a patient may have an addiction issue, and he says they do a profile on the patient. I didn't explore it any further.

I just worry that so much pressure will be placed on physicians that they will refuse to prescribe needed pain medication all together. So where does that leave the patient? Probably will have to go to specialists and jump thru all sorts of hoops.

This is already happening - PCPs don't want to prescribe pain meds so they send their patients who have pain to pain clinics where they do indeed have to jump through hoops to get any meds at all. A lady moved into our plan a few months ago has spinal cancer and was on oxycontin for her pain - she went to a doctor (PCP) as a new patient explaining she would need pain meds - despite her diagnosis he refused to write for anything - he consulted a pain clinic - she had to wait 4 weeks to go to the pain doctor who then prescribed her methodone instead of the oxycontin for her pain. She phoned her doctor where she had moved from and he said he can't prescribe her anything because it is a different state, and he's not licensed here. So she is in terrible pain and unable to get medication for it. She called the pain doctor back but he will not give her anything else - he told her this is the system he uses - first everyone has to get methodone then he evaluates if they need anything else. I know all this because she called last evening and asked us if we would drive her to the ER because she could not stand the pain any longer. They admitted her and gave her IV Morphine - thank goodness.

Re: Heroin Abuse

151949 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:47:13 GMT

On 4/8/2014 stilltamn8r said:
taking medication doesn't neccesarily make one "high"... We tend to think that those who use drugs that are currently not legal in this country, like heroin, as being "high" when they take them, but you might run into one taking heroin, just like you might run into someone taking vicodin and never know...

Obviously, you are not familiar with people who are using heroine !!! You are answering something you don't know anything about.

Re: Heroin Abuse

stilltamn8r — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:48:41 GMT

On 4/8/2014 happy housewife said:
On 4/8/2014 stilltamn8r said:
taking medication doesn't neccesarily make one "high"... We tend to think that those who use drugs that are currently not legal in this country, like heroin, as being "high" when they take them, but you might run into one taking heroin, just like you might run into someone taking vicodin and never know...

Obviously, you are not familiar with people who are using heroine !!! You are answering something you don't know anything about.

Don't ever assume....

Re: Heroin Abuse

Irshgrl31201 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:50:00 GMT

On 4/8/2014 azterry! said:
On 4/8/2014 happy housewife said:
On 4/8/2014 gazelle77 said:
scary thing is that when someone is hooked on heroin, they can act normal as long as they keep it in their system.... so teachers, doctors, police, etc can work HIGH.

When a person is high on drugs it is pretty obvious to anyone with a brain - they look high and act high.

I would disagree.

People who are addicted pain killers behave "normally" because you never see them without the drugs in their system.

I know people who were hooked on Oxycontin and you couldn't tell they were "high".

I would also totally disagree. I have a good friend who was prescribed pain meds for a while because of a painful medical condition she went through. She worked for the same company for years and years and had an excellent reputation. She was embezzling money from the company for over a year after she had already cleaned our her and her husbands savings. No one had a clue she was addicted to drugs even her brother who was a doctor. It happens everyday in America and I found it disgusting that HH keeps on saying that no one who is truly in pain who is taking the prescribed dose cannot become addicted because that is an absolute lie. The pain management doctor who helped me when I was suffering horrible pain for Crohns told me this and he is head of anesthesiology at Duke.

That is why anyone taking pain medication for chronic pain should be seen by a PM clinic and not a regular GP because often GP's cut off the pain meds immediately and do not allow the patient to be slowly weened off of pain meds.

Please stop telling people that they can't get addicted to pain meds if they are taking them for legitimate pain because it is a lie.