Heroin Addiction

Most people are familiar with the long-term negative effects of heroin use. The heroin “junkie” has long been a staple of TV crime shows and Hollywood movies. Heroin addiction was, for a long time, the most prevalent type of drug abuse and is still a major problem today despite the long-running war on drugs and the explosion of other drugs now being abused on a widespread basis.

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Heroin has a terrible effect on the human body. It acts upon the central nervous system, inducing an initial euphoric “rush” followed by a general letdown and depression of metabolism that results in lethargy and reduced mental and physical reactions. To attain the rush, over time the abuser must attain higher and higher doses. Addiction is inevitable through prolonged use, and as the drug builds up in the addict’s body, systemic damage occurs, including infection, blood vessel collapse, recurrence of pneumonia or other illnesses, and buildup of residue from other substances used to dilute pure heroin for street use. Sudden stoppage of the drug for a long-term user can be fatal without proper supervision throughout the withdrawal and detoxification process. Drug treatment for heroin addiction is well understood and widely available, but, as with any drug treatment program, it must be tailored to the individual.

A heroin treatment program must address the difficult process of weaning the person off the drug without doing further damage. Typically, drug detox consists of using substitute drugs to mimic heroin’s effects, soothing the bodily craving for heroin while the heroin residue is removed from the addict’s system. A cold turkey withdrawal could induce a lethal shock to the system; treatment for heroin abuse should always be done under a doctor’s care, preferably through a drug treatment program specifically geared toward heroin.

The emotional need for heroin is part and parcel of heroin addiction; its hold on the addict’s mind is fully as hard to break, perhaps more so, than heroin’s hold on the addict’s body. Heroin treatment needs to include counseling along with detox, behavioral modification along with removal from the environment that enables the drug abuse. Heroin abusers, like other drug addicts, tend to surround themselves with people who will not judge their substance abuse, typically other abusers, leaving friends, family, and co-workers to cope with their absence. Reintegrating the recovered heroin abuser into the social structure he or she left behind is crucial to the success of a heroin treatment program.

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Heroin, the byproduct of opium, which produces also the beneficial drug morphine, is one of the most destructive and deadly of all illicit drugs. Crime rates associated with it are high, as are the death rates for users. It is not impossible to break free of heroin’s grip, however; thousands of people have done it and gone on to productive, drug-free lives. Find a heroin treatment program that aggressively seeks to understand and treat each patient’s individual needs. Research drug treatment centers to find one that follows through on patient care. Above all, don’t give up. Heroin addiction can be beaten.