Parents are the most powerful anti-drug campaign in their children’s lives, but many don’t know how to talk to them about drugs, especially heroin. Unless they have experimented with it themselves, it is unlikely that they would even know if their child were using. To better equip parents with the information they need to talk to their children about heroin use, Narconon International recently released a booklet titled Fight Back Against Heroin Abuse. It answers the ever-present question, “What do I do?”
The Narconon Heroin Treatment Booklet
Fight Back Against Heroin Abuse, found here http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/heroin/ and here http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/heroin/fighting-heroin-abuse.pdf provide a wealth of information for parents and their children. It answers such questions as:
- What are the signs of heroin use?
- How will heroin affect my child and his future?
- What can I do to prevent my child from experimenting with it?
- Is a little bit okay?
- How do I explain its dangers to my child?
The booklet also lays out how the drug affects a person physically, mentally and emotionally, and it discusses heroin addiction and its treatment methods.
Narconon International President Clark Carr explained the purpose of this new booklet in reducing the number of drug addicts applying for rehabilitation. The book hopes to be a successful conversation starter on the subject of heroin, and to empower parents to do their part in creating a drug-free generation.
From Medication to Heroin
During the past decade, the United States has been drowning in a tsunami of prescription drug addiction. People from all walks of life and all ages, from children to seniors, have found themselves hooked on drugs like Oxycontin and Percocet as it numbs physical and emotional pain and gives them a rush of euphoria. They soon lose all control and go to desperate measures to get more, even feigning illness, stealing from medicine cabinets, and bribing doctors and pharmacists.
Sound familiar? That’s because prescription painkillers happen to be chemically very similar to heroin. In fact, heroin users claim that the euphoria from prescription drugs is the same as a heroin high. Both derive from opium and produce the same effects.
As prescription drug prices rise, addicts have begun to turn to heroin to get their fix. Experts predict a surge in heroin use as the tides shift from prescription drugs to their cousin, heroin.
Heroin Information
People take heroin because it causes euphoria and numbs pain. They may wish to numb painful memories such as an abusive past; perhaps they crave it to get through the loss of a loved one; or maybe they’re just bored. It often begins as the result of peer pressure, and the euphoria soon outweighs all of life’s natural pleasures.
What begins to occur, however, is the quickly-tightening grip of addiction. As the user comes down off the drug, he feels worse than before. This is known as withdrawal and can include such symptoms as muscle aches, spasms, headaches, nausea, respiratory problems and depression. In order to feel better, the user takes more heroin.
With each successive use, however, his withdrawal symptoms worsen. He soon dips so low that he requires the drug just to feel normal. This is when you see the desperation that usually accompanies such addiction. A heroin addict will do anything to get his next fix. He will sell all his belongings, lie, cheat, steal, and end up with nothing and still he will be consumed by his addiction.
To view the full release from Narconon on this new booklet go to: