Heroin is Now Easier to Get Than Painkillers For Those Addicted

According to the Director of Health Recovery Services in Ohio, Dr. Joe Gay, we are seeing heroin addicts infiltrate the suburbs now and even hit the rural areas. Just 20 years ago Gay says half of all heroin addicts undergoing treatment just existed in California and New York.

Prescription painkillers have now become the new gateway drug that leads addicts into heroin abuse, according to NY Daily News. Experts say heroin use with teenagers is rapidly increasing where it used to be only prevalent in the urban areas. Now, it is spreading to the suburbs.

Former Chicago Police Captain John Roberts moved to the suburbs of Chicago where he thought it would be a safer environment for his children. Unfortunately, Roberts’ teenage son overdosed on heroin and died shortly after they moved. Roberts said that the kids that lived inside the city knew not to get involved with heroin but sadly the same message never reached the suburbs.

Throughout suburban American now, parents never could have imagined the dangers heroin is having on their children. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released national data that shows how the numbers have skyrocketed with heroin deaths among teenagers.

In just ten years, from 1999 to 2009, the numbers have more than doubled with overdose deaths of teens from ages 15 to 24. More teenagers are even seeking drug treatment for heroin abuse.

In the same ten year period, the number jumped from 4,414 to over 21,000 for those seeking treatment. There is nearly an 80 percent increase and according to the research, 90 percent of addicts are white.

ABC News recently told that prescription painkillers have now become the link among heroin and suburban teenagers.

Teenagers who are addicted to painkillers like Oxycodone find the same kind of high with heroin and it is cheaper, easier to buy, and more intense.