Heroin Addiction Quick Facts

February 7, 2011

Heroin, a highly addictive opiate drug, has been sweeping the United States for decades. It’s been around for centuries and continues to infect communities around the world. Though researchers across the years have searched for a cure for this blight on the community, there is little that is effective to stem the tide of heroin trafficking out of South America and the Middle East. The best way to fight heroin addiction is to educate young people and help them avoid the substance altogether and provide those living with heroin addiction with access to the heroin rehab they need to stop using the drug completely.

Heroin Addiction Quick Facts

  • Heroin is the fastest acting of the opiate drugs. It has the propensity to change the chemical structure of your brain in just one use.
  • Heroin is sold in a number forms. The drug is available as a white powder, a light brown powder or “black tar,’ a dark, sticky substance. It all depends on the country of manufacture.
  • Heroin is deadly and addictive -even after only one use.
  • Heroin bought on the street is almost never just heroin. Rarely do users know the strength or purity of the heroin they are purchasing. While pure heroin is what most addicts strive to buy, most often it is cut with other additives that include everything from powdered milk and starch to poisons such as quinine or strychnine, to name only a few.
  • Heroin overdose is always a risk, whether it’s your first time or your 1000th time. Since most users do not know the strength of the heroin they are using, it puts them in even greater danger of overdosing.
  • Heroin abuse through injection subjects the user to even more problems. The issue of abscesses, infections, and the transmission of disease like HIV or Hepatitis C are endemic among those who inject heroin with needles.
  • Heroin has a number of aliases. These include “brown sugar,” “bindle” (a small packet of heroin), “smak,” and other names referring to the region it is from such as “Mexican black tar.”
  • Heroin addiction detox is only the first step. Those who take advantage of opiate detox drugs like methadone and buprenorphine to assist them with the withdrawal symptoms associated with heroin detox must follow up with extensive and ongoing heroin addiction treatment to avoid relapse.

Finding Heroin Addiction Treatment

For those struggling with heroin addiction, there is hope. A number of heroin addiction treatment options are available and accessible to those with the will to get clean and sober. The life of a heroin addict is a hard one. Though addiction treatment won’t be easy, it is no more difficult than living through daily withdrawal symptoms, constantly searching to find more drugs and the ever present threat of overdose. The path to a more balanced life characterized by good health and emotional balance starts with heroin rehab that offers heroin detox as well as psychotherapeutic care. Call us now to find out more about how we can help you get the treatment you need.

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