Heroin use and teens

[gottaloveem]

I ran across this article in the Detroit Free Press. It explains how widespread the use of heroin is in our area. I thought this forum would be a good place to share. The article explains it is no longer an inner-city drug, teens from the suburbs are using.

I know it is a hard fact but I feel it is extremely important that parents understand that this drug is out there, and not just in our area, but everywhere.


"I can't give you hard numbers, but we know it's here, and we're constantly amazed at how young the users are getting," said Detective Sgt. Deron Myers of the Chesterfield Township Police Department. "Years ago, you'd never fathom a 15-, 16-, 17-year-old using heroin. It was considered an inner-city, Cass Corridor drug."



The new heroin addicts likely started off using prescription drugs, authorities said. But as the prescription drugs ran out, they turned to the street, where the drugs cost $80 a pill. Heroin, on the other hand, is cheap -- as little as $5 a pop.

"That's what's driven the epidemic over the last two years," said Rick Isaacson, special agent and public information officer for the Detroit division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"It's almost as if you're not becoming a heroin addict, per se, you're becoming an opiate addict."


http://www.freep.com/article/201203...suburbs?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s


Love,
Lia

 

[Nancy]

Lia thank you for the article. I will take any opportunity to talk about the heroin craze that has hit our communities and how devastating it is. We have talked frequently about heroin here. Our difficult child's that go to substance abuse treatment centers will most likely be surrounded by many heroin addicts. It is more widespread than any other addiction right now and is hitting young people hard. Since difficult child has been in rehab over a year and a half ago, she has had many of her friends from there die of heroin overdose. The treatment center explained that heroin is very difficult to recover from. Tje very first use of heroin gives the user such a high and euphoric feeling that they chase that same feeling every time after that, never really able to achieve the same level, so they begin using more and more. By the time the get into treatment they are using a lot and when the get it out of their system and then relapse, their bodies have seizures and often die.

Just three weeks agoo a very good friend that difficult child was in rehab with, just 21 years old, died the first time she reused heroin after getting clean. A year ago last Christmas another good friend of difficult child's from rehab died on Christmas Day the first time he reused it. It happens day after day after day. In our newspaper every week there is a young person int he detah notices and when we look back at that person's life, it is almost always someone that gdfg either knew in rehab or through the recovery program or through someone else inrecovery. It is a very sad circle of friends.

Several of the communities around here have become aware of the escalated use of heroin by our young people and have pledged to aggressively hunt down the dealers and do what they can to keep it out of our communities.

I belong to a parent support group and we all have devastating stories to tell about what heroin is doing to our young people.

Thank you for helping to bring this out in the open.

Nancy

 

[Calamity Jane]

Thank you for that information.
I have a question...Jeff VanVonderin, from the show Intervention, once said that most users, if deprived of the financial support they get from family members, would have no means of supporting their habit. Do you think that's true overall? Wouldn't they steal, or sell drugs to get the means to buy their drug of choice?

 

[Nancy]

That's a tough question and I wonder what he bases it on. I won't dispute it because I don't have the facts, but I will say lack of family financial support never stopped any of the addicts difficult child knew.

Nancy

 

[DammitJanet]

Well what I take Jeff's message to mean is that if the family backs out from what they are doing in the shows that they air, then the addict will be the one who is left dealing with the problems of their addiction. Its much harder to pay for your drugs if you are also having to pay for your rent, car, car insurance, food, etc. Many times on Intervention, either parents or other family members are in someway supporting the addict so that what money the addict can come up with is going for drugs...in fact, sometimes family members give the addict money outright.

 

[Nancy]

That makes sense Janet.

Nancy

 

[toughlovin]

The whole heroin thing scares me to death. I have been aware of this problem in our area for a while. I asked my difficult child once about it and in an honest moment he admitted he has snorted it.... which is why when he went into detox I was so relieved it was alcohol he had to detox from!!! I really think if he doesnt find a way to become sober that he will end up on heroin and that is just so frightening to me... I have known some parents whose kids overdosed on heroin,

As far as financial support... well I think financial support is one way of continuing to enable their drug use. When you take that way then it is that much harder for them and they are more likely to get into trouble (by stealing like you said) and hopefully hit bottom. I know it was us cutting off all support that got my son into rehab this time... now if it makes a difference in the long run time will tell.

TL

 

[rejectedmom]

Addicts will live on the street and use welfare to buy drugs and cigarettes instead of food and housing. They sell their food stamps,and they work the system for their drug money any way they can and when they can't work the system they either steal or beg. So no, I personally do not believe that just a family stopping their support will stop a drug addict. What it will stop is the family going into finacial crisis as a result of "helping" the drug addict And aas TL said it might help them hit their bottom a little faster.

 

[gottaloveem]

Thank you for that information.
I have a question...Jeff VanVonderin, from the show Intervention, once said that most users, if deprived of the financial support they get from family members, would have no means of supporting their habit. Do you think that's true overall? Wouldn't they steal, or sell drugs to get the means to buy their drug of choice?

Yes, of course they steal or sell drugs when they are addicted to a strong opiate like heroin. They simply just cannot go without it without being sick. A local policeman says that most of the people they pick up nowadays for breaking and entering are supporting an opiate addicton. I think that if it was as easy as family members cutting off money, we would have no addiction problems.

Love,
Lia

 

[Calamity Jane]

Thank you all. I see what you mean now, and what VanVonderin said makes at least some sense.

 

[AmericanGirl]

My 18 year old watched three others about that same age shoot up last week. I was shocked but have since learned from the local paper that we have a fairly big heroin issue despite not being in a city and having high unemployment and low crime. How do they pay for it?!?

 

[gottaloveem]

My 18 year old watched three others about that same age shoot up last week. I was shocked but have since learned from the local paper that we have a fairly big heroin issue despite not being in a city and having high unemployment and low crime. How do they pay for it?!?

It's very cheap. $5-$8 a package. After we cut Alex off, he would occasionlly ask for $8. He would tell me that he and Kaitlyn (his friend) were gonna go out to a local restaraunt for lunch, and he really wanted soup with-his meal today. And like an idiot, I believed him. I even felt sorry we weren't giving him anything so every once in awhile, I would hand over the $8 (this is before I had knowledge of his heroin use) After all, lunch with a friend sounded so normal, so what I wanted him to be doing.

After he died I was told a package of heroin was $8. It dawned on me then that I most likely gave Alex that money so he could get high, much without my knowledge.

Love,
Lia

 

[Nancy]

Awww Lia, what a heartbreak. You had no idea. You did the best you could, you couldn't stop him. You can teach us all a lot.

Hugs,
Nancy

 

[toughlovin]

Thanks for sharing Lia.... you did what we mothers do... you wanted to help him have a meal. I have done the same. He and his addiction took advantage of that love. It is heartbreaking.

TL

 

[pinevalley]

Lia: you are so strong to share the story of your son. Thank you for helping the rest of us with your experience. Sending HUGS to you...

 

[AmericanGirl]

Lia, I am so very sorry. You acted out of love.

 

[exhausted]

Thank you for sharing Lia it is very helpful. How would a mother know? You loved him.

 

[susiestar]

I am so sorry Lia. It would seem like such a normal request to me too. I find it shocking to hear a high from heroin is so cheap. For some reason I thought it cost at least $20 to geet high on anything other than alcohol, at least these days. Ths is shocking to me.

 

[bby31288]

Lia I'm so sorry!

Now quick question. Not to sound ignorant. But how does one take heroin? Is it inject only? Or can you snort it?

It's good to have this information. I'd like to know what to look for. Just in case!

 

[toughlovin]

I am pretty sure you ca snort it and thats how a lot of people start.

TL