Fighting drug addiction is one of the most important causes that any American could be involved in today. Millions of Americans are addicted to a staggering variety of drugs, and not enough is being done to effectively end the scourge of drug addiction all around the United States. One factor that contributes to the continued existence of addiction is ignorance. If we don’t have the right education and up-to-date information on drugs and the rates at which they are abused, we can’t do anything effective to lower usage rates
One reason that this ignorance and lack of accurate information can continue is due to the methods in which drug use injuries and deaths are reported and tracked. Throughout the state of Michigan, for example, different counties and cities have different methods and standards for how they report drug-related injuries and deaths to the state. Sometimes heroin is listed as just one of the drugs that were found in the system of someone that overdosed, but other times it is listed as the actual cause of death.
This has led to the state and individual counties having different counts when it comes to how many people actually die from using this powerful and dangerous drug. Due to this, no one really knows how many people are actually dying due to heroin use. The number could be lower than thought, but it could also be much higher.
Having a Consistent System
In order to resolve this confusion, county and state governments should come to an agreement on a standard system for reporting and tracking heroin overdoses, injuries and deaths. When we all are working off of the same system, we can get a real sense of what drug use trends look like across the country.
While some might not feel like this is an important project to undertake, it’s really of vital importance. Heroin use rates are currently increasing across the United States. Part of the problem is due to the massive spread of prescription drug abuse. Addicts that got started on their drug addiction by abusing pain pills are moving away from expensive doctor-prescribed drugs and are starting to use cheaper, illegal heroin. They can find it in most cities, and it sometimes costs a fifth of the price of prescription pills.
When states and counties start to accurately track where people are using heroin and getting injured by it, law enforcement and drug rehab professionals can start to target the areas that need the most help. Law enforcement will be able to work even harder to put drug producers and sellers behind bars, while rehab centers will be able to start getting addicts the treatment that they so desperately need.
How to Handle Heroin Addiction
There are some types of addiction that could arguably be handled on your own. If someone is drinking too much alcohol, for example, he might be able to start cutting back on his own before it becomes full-blown alcoholism.
Heroin is a different matter. It is incredibly addictive, and it is also incredibly easy to overdose on. Making a miscalculation about how much you’re injecting could lead to causing yourself to pass out and die before you knew what hit you. If you suspect that a family member or friend is abusing heroin, it’s not enough to just talk to them about it and express your disapproval. You need to actively help your loved one to get into drug rehab. With such a powerful drug, a professional rehab center like Narconon Arrowhead is really your only hope for long-lasting, effective rehabilitation.
Reference:
Heritage.com: http://heritage.com/articles/2014/05/18/saline_reporter/news/doc5377da8b325f2571169055.txt?viewmode=fullstory