Alexandrya Garza
English 1302
Professor Hammett
Spring 2017
Epidemics: Heroin
We all question why would someone
ever take a drug that could potentially kill them? All kinds of different
people ranging from upper class celebrities to lower class junkies take this
addicting drug, heroin, in hope of “having a good time.” This opiate has the
same effects of morphine and produces euphoric feelings on the individual.
Eventually the body begins to drastically adapt to the over consumption and
stimulation of opioid receptors to a point where the abusers must take a deadly
amount of heroin to reach the same “high” they once got through the initial
usage. In the end, users of heroin will then go into a state of physical
independence where their bodies fully depend on heroin, and if not used or
abruptly stopped taken, the addict could become ill or worse, death.
Unfortunately, heroin is now the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United
States (U.S.) and one of the most powerful opiate drugs that exist (Forbes
Magazine). As the years go on, users of this drug are getting younger, the
price is getting higher, and the amount of deaths are going up (Heroin History
and Statistics).
Heroin wasn’t just created out of
nowhere. There were previous narcotic drugs that were used to treat injuries,
illness’, and unfortunately, abused to the individual’s satisfaction. Opium was
the “mother” creator of all drugs. In the early 1800’s, opium was brought to
the U.S. by the Chinese who came to build railroads in the west. From there,
San Francisco and Denver became the top 2 cities abusing this drug. In the year
of 1853, needles were invented to inject morphine (a narcotic) into an
individual to ease pain, usually for injured soldiers during the Civil War
(Heroin History). Thousands of soldiers became addicted to the drug and used it
even if they weren’t injured for their own satisfaction. This later became
known as the “Soldier’s Disease.”
After the war, a pharmaceutical
company by the name of Bayer Company began to promote the production of Heroin.
While morphine had the image of becoming very addicting, not many people wanted
to buy heroin (Heroin History). After all, heroin was morphine, just boiled for
many hours. The pharmaceutical company pronounced that this drug was not
addicting whatsoever and was actually a drug that would help with morphine
addictions (Heroin Addiction Information). Just like morphine, heroin was used
to treat cough and tuberculosis.
Finally, in 1906, the American
Medical Association recommended that heroin be used in place of morphine. As a
result, more than 300,000 people became addicted thus creating the Harrison
Narcotics Act in 1914 (Heroin History). This act made it illegal to own or use
the drug, but just like any rule or law, it was ignored and people began to try
even harder to obtain and use this drug. Although the drug was illegal to be
obtained or used, crime rates went up along with people in prisons. It was
reported that 94% of crimes were committed by heroin addicts in 1924 (Heroin
History and Statistics). It was quite odd to realize that crime rates went up
after the law was passed, but that just proves that these heroin addicts were
so addicted to the drug they would do anything to get ahold of it. As a result,
more laws, restrictions, and regulations were passed in hope to improve the
rate at which people were taking the drug.
The people who abused this analgesic
began to feel no effect on their body, like any other drug, the body begins to
build tolerance. Building tolerance can be good in some cases, but in this case
it became very bad, it resulted in heroin addiction. As an individual continued
to take heroin, they would increase their dose each injection to where they
would finally feel something (Heroin Addiction Information). This developed
physical dependence on the drug to a point where if the individual did not take
it, they thought they would die. This was called withdrawal.
The process of withdrawal is very
extensive and harsh. The symptoms of withdrawal would appear a 48 to 72 hours
after the last administration of heroin. Symptoms such as restlessness, joint
pain, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, agitation, heroin cravings, convulsions,
increased heart rate, stroke, depression, increase in blood pressure, and
suicidal behavior (Heroin Addiction Information). Reading all of these
symptoms, we question, why take the drug if this is what an individual must go
through to get off of it? It’s simple, just don’t take it.
The main focus too is the symptom of
depression. Although an individual may completely overcome his or her
addiction, depression is something they may have to face for a few weeks or
worse, the rest of their life (Heroin Addiction Information). There have been
multiple cases where attempts to abort the drug usage by an individual has
failed because the individual can no longer take the depression or symptoms of
withdrawal. As a result, the individual begins to take even higher dosage of
heroin than used before in order to disguise his symptoms of withdrawal (1).
This not only worsens the individual, but his cravings make them capable of
doing anything to get a hold onto heroin. As you can see, heroin empowers an
individual but for all the wrong reasons.
Taking heroin primarily affected
women, children, and men in lower class communities. The price of heroin was at
an ultimate low in the 1800’s vs now, where it sits at $995 per 0.1 gm
(Forbes). In the 1800’s, it was easy for the lower class communities to abuse
this drug because, unfortunately, they had nothing going for them. Statistics
show that within the 10 years of heroin being present in the U.S., researchers
noticed the dramatic growth of this epidemic and could not find an explanation
or solution to treat the widespread epidemic (Heroin History and Statistics).
As people began to manufacture
heroin, companies came up with the bright idea of creating drug kits. The
packets contained needles, opiates, and other drugs packed nice and neatly to
look attractive. Many people bought this kit and used it for their own benefit,
creating new drugs and elixirs. As a result, the alcoholic drink laudanum was created.
Laudanum was an alcoholic elixir
that was used for a variety of illnesses, it was passed around to ease pain
just like morphine and heroin was, which would eventually lead to addiction.
Since laudanum was made out of morphine and other opiates and heroin was made
out of morphine, the alcoholic mixer became so addictive to thousands of people
and created the same feeling of either taking morphine or heroin (Heroin
History). Men began to abuse the alcoholic beverage and became alcoholics who
would beat their children and wives. The women would also use the laudanum to
“hush” their baby and if too much was used, the baby could possible die of an
overdose. As you can see, everyone was affected, the men abused the women, and
the women used it to calm their baby. This brought the nation, communities, and
families futures of prosperity to an all time low as the working class began to
become addicted to drugs.
Over the
years, society has been trying to find a solution to this heroin epidemic.
Government intervenes by opening rehab centers, withdrawal centers, and even
approving a $700 million dollar bill that is to fund a combat against the
heroin epidemic (Weller). In the latest update of statistical data, over 2
million Americans live with an opioid addiction. In an interview, a professor
from New York University (NYU) named Dr. Marc Galanter claims that the $700
million dollars could help put the epidemic to an end by involving the
following:
1. Suboxone
2. Naloxone
3. Vivitrol
4. Methadone
5. Education
6. Rehab
(Weller).
Reading the list, one may think that
the first four of the list are just more drugs and might ask, why incorporate
more drugs and opioids on top of an heroin epidemic crisis?
Suboxone is in fact one of few
opioid antagonist that helps with the withdrawal of an opioid such as heroin.
Galanter suggests that the 700 million dollar bill be put towards clinics
allowing suboxone to be offered (Weller). Suboxone is a mixture of both
buprenorphine and naloxone (1). When on suboxone, both drugs play a role on the
individual’s body. If someone were to take an opioid drug, such as heroin, then
the buprenorphine would block any “high feelings” the individual would usually
feel when normally taking heroin. Studies have shown that the use of suboxone
has had a success rate of 60% (2).
Although most of the options above
are for long term use, the drug naloxone is for on the spot, life saving
purposes. If someone was pulled into the hospital because of an opioid
overdose, naloxone would be the first thing doctors turn to. Naloxone reverses
the effects of an opioid on the individual’s brain. Government has recognized
that the importance of naloxone is high and have the intentions of making it
more available to society with the 700 million dollar bill (Weller).
Next on the list is Vivitrol.
Vivitrol is another drug similar to suboxone. Like suboxone, vivitrol is a long
term drug used to ease the withdrawal of an opioid such as heroin. Vivitrol,
also known as naltrexone, blocks all opioid receptors in the brain (Weller).
While on this drug, patients do not feel any “high feelings” because the target
of an opioid is blocked and never reached. Dr. Galanter believes that the 700
million dollar bill should also be used to enhance studies of vivitrol and its
long term effects on a patient (1). Some studies have been ran, but none are
quite accurate. It all depends on the patient as a whole and whether or not
they really care to eliminate their addiction.
Methadone has been one of the most
reliable medications to ease off of opioid addiction. Like heroin, methadone
does cause the euphoric feeling but does not have the withdrawal feeling heroin
causes. Using the 700 million dollar bill, the government wants to open public
clinics in local communities that off methadone. Unfortunately, survey shows
that 58% of people do not want the clinic in their community because of the
presence of former and current addicts that will seek this clinic (Weller).
One of the most important topics on
the list above is education. If people were or became more educated on the
effects of heroin and other opioids, then the numbers of opioid addicts would
dramatically decrease. Dr. Galanter believes that the government should put
some money into the efforts of educating the public rather than keeping the
addiction of heroin and other opioids a secret (Weller). Dr. Galanter also
believes that doctors themselves should study alternate therapeutic treatment
options for those who need an opioid to decrease pain (1). This option is one
of the best ones which is allowing the government is consider it to be top
priority (2).
Finally, one of the last options of
solutions to solving the heroin epidemic problem is rehab itself. Most addicts
see rehab as a brutal camp or prison because of all the pain most addicts will
go through because of the opioid withdrawal. Many physiological research has
showed that an individual who becomes addicted is influenced by their
surroundings, but research has also proven that the individual is also
influenced by their surroundings when it comes to making the decision about
rehab (Weller). Dr. Galanter believes that money should also be put towards the
promotion and building of rehab centers . Communities such as the Phoenix House
and the Samaritan Village both accumulate positive emotions in group
discussions with addicts. These homes have success rates up to 70% and relapses
of about 15% (1). If homes like these were across America, studies show that
the number of addicts would quickly diminish.
The epidemic of heroin relates to
Camus’ beliefs because the outlook on life for the two types of people is,
‘what is the point of life?’ For Camus, he believed life had no meaning and
that there was no point in trying to find it (Camus and Absurdity). This is
similar to heroin addicts because of what heroin does to the mind and body.
Heroin makes an individual feel like there is no point in living. After
creating the euphoric feeling, the addict becomes so addicted to the drug that
all they do is crave the opioid to a point where they could potentially
overdose and cause death.
Camus’ thoughts or feelings of this
epidemic are unclear. But if one were to come up with his thoughts on this
epidemic, he would not care as much as society does today. Camus’ beliefs on
individualism and absurdism proves that he would not care about what one
decides to do to their own mind and body. Camus’ thoughts on the outcome also
would not be too much different than his thoughts on the epidemic as a whole.
Camus’ meaning of existence was “...a little depressing. He thought that life
had no meaning, that nothing exists that could ever be a source of meaning, and
hence there is something deeply absurd about the human quest to find meaning”
(Camus and Absurdity). His thoughts on life itself supports the idea of him not
caring about the outcome of the epidemic continuing; death.
The epidemic of heroin is important
because it’s one of the leading causes of death in the world. Rather than
pushing it aside people and the government should face it head on to try to
find a solution to decreasing the number of addicts. In all, government should
increase the amount of clinics open that are available with suboxone, naloxone,
and methadone. Government should put more effort in making rehab more available
to those in need.
Works Cited
"Camus and Absurdity." Philosophy Talk. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Heroin Addiction Information." Narconon International.
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Heroin History and Statistics." DrugAbuse.com.
N.p., 17 May 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"Heroin History - 1900s." Narconon International.
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Sandino, Jake Sandino Jake. "Jake Sandino."
Addiction Blog Drug RSS. Addiction Blog, n.d.
Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Watch Truth About Drugs Documentary Video & Learn
About Substance Addiction. Get The
Facts About Painkillers, Marijuana,
Cocaine, Meth & Other Illegal Drugs." Foundation
for a Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
Weller, Chris. "6 Ways to Stop America's Heroin
Epidemic." Business Insider. Business Insider,
09 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
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