Heroin Becoming a Larger Problem in the Suburbs
Heroin is not just an inner city problem.
Few parents understand what a widespread problem drugs are among adolescents or just how deadly and dangerous the drugs they can get are. Living in the suburbs doesn’t exclude these teens from trying and becoming addicted to heavier drugs like heroin. In the fact the high stress, highly competitive environment may encourage substance abuse which can escalate into serious addiction very quickly. Among teenagers in the region of Nassau County in the state of New York 25 overdosed on heroine in the first 6 months of 2009, in 2008 46 overdosed on the same drug and 2007 27 perished from overdose. Where once drug raids netted hundreds of bags of heroine now they retrieve thousands.
These kids aren’t from impoverished homes or seemingly at risk for developing addiction, many are in their teens and twenties (often hone roll students) and the rate of those who abuse the drug are rising over time. The age of use is dripping as the rate of young users rises and the cost of buying heroine lowers. Currently a bag of the drug that provides a 6-8 hour high can be bought for roughly $5-$25 which is a vast difference for the same amount of cocaine which costs $40-$60 for just a 30 minute high. Even prescription medications like OxyContin are much more expensive and cost roughly $40 per pill on the street. It’s actually cheaper and easier to get than alcohol. The worry of this kind of use only grows worse when you consider the much stronger dose of today’s heroin over that of the 1970s and the fact that these kids see the thrill of barely escaping death part of the high.
Overdose numbers have already prompted education programs about the dangers of heroin for 8th graders but the level of abuse remains high. The only real way these numbers are going to drop is if parents stop looking away from their children’s problems and instead make steps to help resolve them.
