The prescription drug problem keeps getting worse and worse. Not only are so many Americans addicted to prescription meds but they now seem to be turning. into a gateway drug for even worse substances.
As a counselor for both in-class and online drug classes I often discuss prescription medications as gateway drugs with my students. Not surprisingly, many of my students know someone who has used heroin as a substitute for drugs like OxyContin. As reported in www.courierpress.com.
Heroin More Deadly Than Oxy
Although a dose of heroin that is smoked, snorted or injected may cost $10 compared to the street cost of $50 and up for OxyContin and similar drugs, it's effects are uncertain, more or less powerful at the whim of how dealers "cut" their product with various fillers.
The results can be deadly. In Longview, Wash., a small batch of "hot heroin" — unusually pure — snuffed out seven lives during one five-day span in April by bringing on almost instant respiratory failure in the users.
In San Diego County, Calif., 721 people under age 25 were admitted to treatment centers for heroin addiction last year, three times the number admitted just five years before.
More Available Than Weed?
Although it follows much the same distribution channels as marijuana, it seems crazy, but heroin has become more available in some areas.
The spread of heroin heralds not only more overdoses, but more people hooked on the drug, which is notoriously difficult to stop.
If you or someone you care about uses heroin, stop now! Go get help. There are California drug classes and counseling services readily available.