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Is there an epidemic?

Discussion in 'Heroin' started by Rosyrain, Jan 29, 2016.

  1. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Community Champion

    It seems like the heroin problems are getting worse and worse these days and they are not just confined to big cities anymore. Is there a big heroin problem in your city?
  2. kgord

    kgord Community Champion

    I don't know that heroin is a major problem in this area, but I have heard that it is a major problem in New England. I don't actually pay a lot of attention to the immediate area, but I am pretty close to Richmond Virginia and they never mention that in any regard in the news.. and any overdoses don't get news attention.
  3. tomservo

    tomservo Member

    I have many – former – friends who have become addicted to opiates and heroin over the past decade. Is it an epidemic? I'm not totally sure about that, but the problem does seem to be rather ubiquitous. I just moved out of a really bad neighborhood – 3000 miles away from any of my friends that got hooked on H – and something I saw going on in this neighborhood on a regular basis was people shooting up. Saw the same thing last year in another city nowhere near these other places. It does seem to be a nationwide problem.
  4. JonnyMacdonald

    JonnyMacdonald Community Champion

    Yes. We used to get a junkie come into my churches outreach program once a month.
    Over the past 5 years it has grown and now it's 2 or 3 a week.
    A very common story is they got hooked on prescription pain killers, mostly Oxycontin. Then those pills got harder to get and harder to abuse and one way or another they got pulled into heroin.
  5. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Community Champion

    It is crazy, I walk around the city and see needles everywhere on the ground and this is a huge health issue, but it is not just in the cities anymore. It is everywhere, even in small towns across America. I wonder if other countries are seeing a rise in this drug as well?
  6. Shenwil

    Shenwil Senior Contributor

    Well there is no heroin problem where I'm from or that I know of at least but I do know it is a growing problem worldwide for sure.
  7. malavicious

    malavicious Member

    I would like to say that no, there isn't. I'm sure it's bad in some cities, but it's nowhere near as bad as the crack epidemic all those years back. Given that we're being drilled on how bad drugs and such are for us practically from the cradle, I don't really see an environment for an epidemic to flourish the way that crack did among the black community back in the 80s.
  8. Nancy D.

    Nancy D. Senior Contributor

    I live in a rural area and mostly the drug of choice is popping pills or sipping syrup..I guess that is what you call it. Not sure but there is another drug called molly that is popular as well.
  9. Rainman

    Rainman Community Champion

    The small town I live in doesn't have heroine issues because most of the people who live here are senior citizens [younger people who grow up here often head out because they'll get better jobs in the bigger towns and cities]. I don't know if the few young people here use heroine but I doubt it. I hope it's use doesn't spread here.
  10. danjon

    danjon Senior Contributor

    Heroin use has kind of plateaued where I live, but it's still at a fairly high level. It isn't so obvious from a public nuisance standpoint, however, as there are many needle exchange centers around and lots of medical support for people who are addicted. Still, one addict is too many, so there's always work to be done getting people off this drug.
  11. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Community Champion

    One of the interesting things to realize to is that heroin is kind of a hush-hush drug still even though it is spreading around the globe. People still do not want to talk about it when there is a friend or relative who is a known user. People need to start talking about it and getting the message out there.
  12. rz3300@

    rz3300@ Senior Contributor

    I think that this might have been a question to be asked a couple of years ago, and I am actually scared that I say that because I hope that it does not mean that it is has just gotten so common now that we do not hear about it as much. I feel like we heard a lot more about heroin in the early 2000's and late '90's, but I could be wrong and I am sure that the issues are still there.
  13. Mayoress

    Mayoress Active Contributor

    The place you live and whatever condition you are can affect your way of thinking. People who use drugs in some places in the world do it because of what they find themselves in. No one should look down on people who are addicted, we should encourage them to get rid of their addiction, and soon, the world will be a better place.