Like most opiates heroin is a highly addictive drug because it gives off feelings of euphoria and pleasure. Overdoses are common with heroin because as users continue they build up a tolerance. This tolerance requires higher quantity of drugs at one time and more frequent usage. When users increase the amount they use in order to reach the same high as before they risk the chance of overdosing. Addicts need to continually use heroin because withdrawal symptoms are like that of having the flu. Symptoms include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, cold flashes, diarrhea and vomiting, and cravings. (DrugAbuse.Gov)
Overdose rates among heroin users are some of the highest among any abused drug. In 2016 49,000 of 70,000 total overdoses were attributed to opioids. (Center for Disease Control) Opioids are the broader group of substances that heroin falls under. What is causing this high rate of overdose? Much can be attributed to the widespread usage of fentanyl lately. Heroin dealers have been utilizing fentanyl in order to strengthen their supply of heroin cheaply. Below is a photo provided by the New Hampshire State Police that visualizes the amounts of each substance it takes to lethally kill a male.
When users overdose on heroin their last hope is intervention by someone with training and equipped with an overdose reversal drug. One of the most popular reversal drug is narcan. Narcan can be sprayed in the nose and is packaged with two doses in the case of need for repeat dosing. These drugs can save lives but even after a near-death experience addicts continue to use this deadly drug. Why do individuals continue to use heroin even after they almost die, simply because they are addicted. One individual Reese talks in an interview about the need to always have more and more of the drug no matter what. He talks about leaving his house on a stretcher and scaring his mother but even though he wants to quit he simply cant.
All of the factors discussed above explain why heroin has a relapse rate of upwards of 90% in certain studies. One study in Dublin, Ireland found that out of 109 cases of individuals that completed a 6 week inpatient detoxification program 99 relapsed. Of those 99 individuals 54 reported relapsing within a week of leaving the facility. The withdrawal from heroin can be so painful and sickening that users are left with no choice but to start using again in order to make the feelings go away. One user chronicles his issues with withdrawal for the Discovery Channel when he is arrested and forced to become sober and therefore “dope sick”.
As justice studies majors with potentially a more open view of deviant behavior is there a just way to approach heroin addiction and other substance abuse? With confidence I can say our approach of labeling addicts as criminals stigmatizes those caught up in addiction. A Philadelphia cheesesteak shop owner and local celebrity Tony Luke started a campaign to change the conversation about addiction after his son’s heroin overdose. Tony Luke argues that we need to see the people behind addiction first because by stigmatizing addiction and labeling those with substance abuse problems we are keeping them down. The argument claims that those with addiction problems will continue to see themselves removed from society and can not comprehend seeking help when they feel like outsiders in society.
The standard for a just approach to addiction needs to change. Addicts of heroin and other substances should no longer be thrown in jail and forced to deal with their addiction on their own. The same study from Dublin that recorded relapse rates also speculated on why those relapse rates were high. Patients that stay for the full period of an inpatient detox program are more likely to have a delayed relapse and a lower rate of relapse. The researchers speculated that to reduce relapse and overdose rates addicts should be brought into an inpatient rehabilitation center. While in that center the individual should stay for the full time of the course and then find a program to attend after being released. Addiction is not a simple crime and those arrested are not truly receiving rehabilitation by being left alone in jail. Alternative treatment should be sought to reduce stigmatization and relapse rates of heroin users.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20669601
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/06/29/tony-luke-heroin-addiction/
"In The World of Drugs" 
Where I am from, I see a lot of people my age overdosing on heroine and cocaine leading to a lot of my friends wearing shirts that say “Kill your local heroin dealer” or “Kill your local drug dealer”. While I see why they are wearing these shirts, getting rid of drug dealers is only going to help the problem in a small percent. When a person is addicted and has the disease of addiction, they will stop at nothing to find something to alleviate the pain that comes with withdrawal. Just as you said earlier about seeing things in a different perspective because of our background in justice studies, I see addiction as a disease and it is something that needs to be better treated or at least managed better. When addicts are forced into rehabilitation, they do not want to be there at all therefor they will not try to change themselves. They need to change the programs to help them see that there is a better world out there for them if they are willing to try. The programs also need to be made longer due to so many people leaving rehab only to overdose and end up there again. My theories class, I just learned about rehabilitative stigmatizing shaming where you label them what they are (an addict) and you make them do things to change what they are but while you are giving them a label that is stigmatizing, you leave the door open in society for them to come back when they are reading and have completed what we deem necessary. if we are just labeling them an addict and not giving them a reason to come back, there is no reason for them to not use drugs again because they do not have the strong bonds to society that is necessary. We need to continue to strengthen these bonds and keep helping addicts get the proper treatment.
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I wonder if one of the reasons that that not enough people go to rehab is because of the cost or the need for health care in order to go. Did you find this to have any effect during your research? Also I wonder what causes people to start heroin. I know you went over the fact that relapse rates are high but I’m still having trouble understanding, what is the feeling when one does heroin and how long does it usually take people to come down? Is the come down bad, and is that why people relapse so easily? I agree with the fact that the stigmatization shames people and if anyone were going to be called an addict, I understand why they may not want to subject themselves to that kind of scrutiny. Is there anything we the public can do to help those people struggling without seeming judgmental?
-Hannah Reid
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I was not aware that the overdose rates of heroin users were some of the highest among any of the many different drugs out there. It is fascinating to me that so many different chemicals can be put into these drugs, either to achieve a better high or for the drug to be less diluted and cheaper. I completely agree with your statement of how we label the drug users. To simply put them in jail because the drug is illegal, without helping in any other way seems cruel. Like you mentioned with your Dublin case, out of the 109 cases studied 99 people relapsed. That is insane, if people are continuously being thrown in jail for possession charges but not receiving care it seems as if the cycle will just continue. I feel your argument about supporting Tony Luke in his campaign for seeing the person behind the addiction is good in theory. But I wonder if people would be able to look at that person, and say if the family had cut ties with him be able to support them. I think it definitely takes a special kind of individual to be willing to work and support addicts. Especially in horrible instances when those drug addicts become pregnant and end up having babies that are already born with addictions.
-syd bryan
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Overdosing and relapsing are major problems that need to be attended to worldwide. I did not know that dealers were adding more harmful ingredients to heroine to make it more deadly. The government needs to focus on new ways to combat this problem that is occurring to individuals and crack down on those who are selling these drugs to people on the streets. If the source of the heroine can be cut out we could eliminate the entirety. That however is extremely unlikely to happen. Instead there should be a push to making rehab centers more affordable and discrete in order to allow more individuals who are suffering with this problem to get the help that they need. Implementing this could help reduce the amount of overdoses that are seen annually. It could help keep these individuals alive and potentially keep them from having to deal with legal trouble.
-Christian Trayer
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Heroin is an incredibly dangerous drug because of its addictive qualities. I was surprised when I saw in your post just how little it took to kill a person; I honestly thought it would have been a much higher amount. It really put in perspective to me how risky it is to begin using this drug. I also had no idea how many people relapsed after participating in a rehabilitation and recovery program. The current methods we are using to stop heroin use is clearly not working and we as a society need to do better. This begins with understanding it; many people simply do not understand how difficult it is to be addicted to a substance and especially one as harmful as heroin. The stigma surrounding addiction needs to end or at least change because if it doesn’t then addicts will not get the help they need. It’s also important to understand exactly why heroin is so addictive. It changes how the brain cells react to the environment. It makes it so people that take heroin feel no pain or discomfort at all. It is a very pleasurable experience that people want to have again. Many people assume that if one takes a drug it will feel bad but that is simply not true; otherwise why would people take them to begin with. That is why we must change our drug education so people know that even though it might feel good that there will be harmful effects instead of merely focusing on the bad. In this way it will be easier to prevent heroin use.
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The heroin problem in the United States truly has grown to epic proportions. As you stated, Fentanyl is making the dangerous drug even more deadly. Even long-time, experienced users of heroin can find themselves in serious trouble after getting sold a batch of heroin that contains even small amounts of Fentanyl. I know this additive has become extremely prevalent in the state of Pennsylvania. In some ways, the invention of Narcan poses as large of a problem to heroin users as Fentanyl. Since knowledge of the existence of this overdose reversal drug has become more widespread, users feel as if they have less to fear and, therefore, are using heroin with less caution and in larger doses. Narcan has created a sort of “safety net” that is causing users to use recklessly. Some heroin users even have their own supply of Narcan “just in case”. The rise in both Fentanyl and Narcan is making heroin an increasingly dangerous drug of choice.
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With the ever growing stresses that people in general have to go through in 2017, I think it is not surprising that people find solitude in a drug like Heroin. I think that one of the reasons that people fail to seek treatment or help, is the hardest thing to do is admit that there is a problem in the first place. Throwing individuals in jail for addiction is not going to make this fact any easier. If relapse and withdrawal symptoms are a medical problem, why would we not treat these problems with medical attention? Counseling can be a really great tool when attempting to battle addiction. We need to stress this to people who have, or do battle addiction. The addiction is what is the problem, but there are often times external life stressors that can lead to this path. By showing people alternative ways of counteracting these stressors in healthy, and safe ways, battling the epidemic of addiction may become easier.
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