The United States Heroin Epidemic by Jacob Lightfoot

            Imagine you are walking down a street in your city on a normal day. However, many people are passed out on the ground, sidewalks, and benches. A few others are struggling to walk, and appear to be like zombies. You would think that this type of scene could only be found in a fictional, apocalyptic movie, but scenes like this happen often all around the United States. U.S. heroin addiction has been sweeping across the nation, with around five times as many people using it today as did ten years ago (“Heroin Abuse” 1). Even though this epidemic may be viewed as if it is not in our personal society, it is likely all around us. Heroin is an opioid made from morphine, a drug made to relieve pain (National Institute on Drug Abuse 1). Instead of pain relief, heroin causes a rapid rush or surge of pleasure to the user, which becomes very addicting (1). The rate of heroin use is increasing rapidly across our nation, causing more addictions and deaths than ever before (“Heroin Abuse” 1). This addiction is hard to stop, as withdrawal controls the body of a user. Will we be able to stop or even slow down this rapidly increasing epidemic?

Heroin use and opioid abuse in general has not been around forever. Opioids, which come from the sap of opium poppies, have been harvested dating back all the way to 3400 B.C (National Institute on Drug Abuse 1). First used by the Egyptians, the use of opioids spread to China, India, and Europe (1). Much later in the 18^th century, opioids were being used to treat things like cancer, pain from childbirth, and spasms (1). Morphine was later used to replace opium because of its much stronger effects, but this led to an increase in drug abuse (1). Heroin was first made from morphine in 1874, but was not available to the public until 1898 (1). Users quickly realized that heroin was even more addictive than morphine, and it was eventually categorized as an illegal drug in the United States (1). 

            According to the University of Arizona, there have been two main heroin epidemics over the existence of the highly addictive drug (“Heroin Abuse” 1). The first main epidemic came right after World War II, spanning from the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s (1). The second epidemic span from 1971 to 1977, not much longer after the first epidemic (1). These epidemics were mainly due to the lack of purity in the heroin, and to the increasing price of heroin at the time (1). The Vietnam war and ease of Heroin use was a catalyst in overall heroin usage because it was cheap in Vietnam (1). They were also not allowed to have alcohol, which made the soldiers turn to heroin as an alternative (1). This is a vital part of the timeline of heroin, as it highlights when the addiction became more normalized among people groups.

            Back in the United States over two decades later, opioids are being used to prescription drugs for pain relief (“Opioid Overdose Crisis” 1). As stronger and stronger types of opioids were used in these prescription drugs, people started to get addicted to the heroin, which the pharmaceutical companies assured would not happen (1). Prescription drugs were a gateway to the addiction, normalizing use and building up tolerance and addiction around the nation (1). Before it was ever determined that these opioids being used pharmaceutically were highly addictive, many people nationwide were already abusing and becoming addicted to these types of drugs (1). Much of this recent addiction was due to the lack of knowledge of the power of opioid addictions, and specifically the power of heroin (1). This timeline of the heroin epidemic stops here, today, at a time where heroin and opioid addiction are higher than ever before, and show no signs of stopping.

            Heroin addiction can do much more damage than just to the user. The use of heroin nationwide causes issues in the lives of the users, and it effects much more than just the user. Within the immediate family of the addict, many social, financial, health, and life problems prohibit the ability to do any basic tasks throughout the day (“Social Impact of Heroin” 1). The inner circle and closest relatives to the user will be greatly affected, and their lives will be changed for the worse. Because the use of heroin causes mood swings and the inability to think straight, these users may treat others around them much worse than they would if there were not using heroin (1). Even though their lives may seem the same, small differences in attitude and behavior will start to eat away at even the strongest of relationships, all due to drug usage (1). Heroin usage can also cause the user to have less control over their anger and other emotions, causing them to be more aggressive towards others (1). This can lead to physically hurting people close to the addict. All of these things can lead to ruined relationships within the close inner circles of life.

            When heroin is introduced into a city on a large scale, it becomes available to anyone who wants it. As more and more people use it, it spreads as more people see it in their inner circles of life. This happens often in small towns, because smaller populations are more vulnerable to an epidemic. When an abnormal amount of citizens of a city or town are addicted to an drug, it will be unable to function as it would normally be able to (“Social Impact of Heroin” 1). Since heroin users are unable to act normally, they will be less capable than usual, or not capable at all (1). Productivity is a very important part of a city that wants to support itself, and without productivity the economy can fall apart. This is exactly what a heroin epidemic can cause. Addicts will stop showing up to work, as they are uncapable of focusing and completing tasks (1). This results in the company suffering, and can often times lead to the heroin addict being fired. Because of this one person becoming addicted to heroin, he is now unemployed, and his former company has lost money because of him (1). This can become a trend in cities with a high concentration of heroin users, and it can become a serious detriment to the economy (1).

 Along with financial problems, a heroin epidemic can cause various health issues that can spread through a city (“Social Impact of Heroin” 1). Heroin can be injected directly into the bloodstream using a needle, and needles that are not used correctly are known for their ability to spread many diseases (1). When needles are shared, diseases such as AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, and Tuberculosis can quickly spread from one user to another (1). These diseases can be very harmful to a city or small town, as they can negatively impact the health of the users and spread to people that are not using infected needles (1). These diseases cause more strain in the economy, and more medicine and care are required to support the people with diseases (1). When all of these things are added to an economy, it can cause the city to become inefficient and to decline economically.

Many small towns and cities suffer these types of epidemics often in the United States, and they are only becoming more and more common. CNN accounts for one of these stories in a video made in 2017. Dr. Kent Harshbarger, the coroner of Montgomery County, Ohio accounts for the increasing rates of opioid deaths (“County's Morgue Overflows with Overdose…” 1). He also tells of how the epidemic in his town is tearing apart the community (1). He shows the many bodies in the morgue, and they are often full every night, largely due to the heroin overdoses (1). The epidemic is considered to be one of the deadliest in United States history, and this is clearly evident, as the death rates in their area have almost tripled in three years (1).

            This epidemic can also be seen in St. Louis, Missouri, where record heroin overdoses have been seen in the past few years (Bogan 1). With the purity of the heroin increasing and the prices decreasing, more users than ever have been attracted to the extremely deadly drug (1). Often laced with fentanyl, the strongest opioid currently on the market, the mix can easily be made to kill (1). The drug reaches even to those who do not deal with it, as it is all around the communities outside of St. Louis as well (1). There are countless stories of heroin users who have overdosed too many times to count, and know that it will kill them, but still continue to take it anyway (1). This is the problem with the heroin epidemic in the United States - it simply cannot easily be stopped.

            Even though heroin use has increased drastically in the past decade or so, there are still solutions to this epidemic. There are many different ways to stop this epidemic, but not every way can be reasonable and applicable to everyone. However, some methods will be able to stop heroin use drastically, and make an improvement in many people’s lives. Even though this epidemic may never be completely stopped, reducing heroin use nationwide would be a huge improvement for our country as a whole. These solutions will be discussed in the following paragraphs: stopping abuse of prescription drugs, education, medication and government care, and rehabilitation.

One of the reasons that so many people end up using heroin is because of other opioids (“Community Supporter” 1). These less powerful prescription drugs lead to the user wanting a stronger drug, because they become used to the feeling that is given from a certain opioid (1). It has been reported that 4 out of 5 heroin users first became addicted to prescription opioids (“Opioids and Heroin” 1). Many people are given less powerful, prescription opioids to treat severe pain (1). However, these drugs can be misused very easily, and the numbers show that. Abusing prescription pain killers has become a normal thing in our country, and it is not a healthy state for our nation. By stopping the normalization of misusing prescription pain killers, our nation would be in a healthier state and fewer people would become addicted to harder drugs. However, this is not an easy task to just start doing. In order to actually start to lessen the misuse of prescription drugs, appointments would have to be made more often in order to be sure that the patient needs the drugs for their own well-being (“What is Drug Addiction Treatment”? 1). The drugs given to them should only be the amount that is necessary to make them feel normal, and nothing more (1). If every doctor were to take the initiative of this careful prescribing method, there would be less prescription drug addictions nationwide (1). This would be a great start to keeping the United States heroin epidemic from growing even more.

One of the simplest and most obvious methods to slow down or stop an epidemic is through education and prevention before it ever starts (“Substance Abuse Education Resources” 1). This can be done through education on a national scale, and by not abusing prescription opioids (1). If the public was informed of how dangerous misusing prescription drugs can be, and how an addiction can lead to more serious addictions, there would be less use of heroin and other similar types of drugs (1). Even though drug prevention programs are used in public schools, they seem to have little to no effect on the use of drugs nationwide. Properly educating not just kids in school but also adults on the serious  dangers and effects of drugs can help them realize that drugs are not to be messed with (1). With this knowledge, adults can also spread what they know, and use it to help others close to them (1). This method is applicable for all types of drugs, not just heroin and other opioids. If citizens were to take initiative and actively help others around them with their addictions, the heroin and drug epidemic in the United States would show a dramatic decrease (1).

Another solution to the United States’ current heroin epidemic would be to follow in the path of what France did (“France Had a Big Heroin Epidemic…” 1). In the 1980’s and 1990’s, France had a heroin epidemic that was growing very quickly (1). To stop this epidemic, they made a medicine to stop the addiction available to almost anyone (1). This medicine, called buprenorphine, is used to reduce the user’s craving for addictive opioids (1). A policy was made in 1995 so that any doctor could prescribe buprenorphine, without training (1). Because of their policy, access to the medicine was easier than ever, leading to more and more people receiving it(1). Even though these drugs seem promising, they can become addictive as well. Tom Price, the Secretary of Health and Human Services says, “If we’re just substituting one opioid for another, we’re not moving the dial much. Folks need to be cured so they can be productive members of society and realize their dreams (1).” So, even though these drugs do help with addiction to heroin, other initiatives must be taken in order to become fully recovered.

 Along with the easy access to buprenorphine, France started a needle exchange program (“An Indiana County Just Halted…” 1). This program helps stop the spreading of diseases such as HIV that are transmitted through blood and sharing needles (1). Drugs users are able to bring in their used needles in exchange for new, clean needles (1). By starting a program like this, less diseases are spread, and better hygiene is used overall (1). However, a program like this also seems to promote that injecting illegal drugs is somehow okay. Many places do not have a program like this implemented because of the moral side of it all - it seems to help drug users, while also bringing them to their destruction all at the same time (1). France saw a huge decline in deaths from opioids, as less than half as many people were dying each year (1). These results are huge for an entire country to see. Because of these types of results, medicine is the best way to combat a nationwide epidemic (1).

If France’s heroin epidemic was drastically decreased by medication and needle exchange programs, then why doesn’t the United States do something similar? The United States seems to not care as actively as do other countries when it comes to making medicine distribution easy and realistic (“France Had a Big Heroin Epidemic…” 1). Currently, doctors have to go through specialized training in order to prescribe buprenorphine to their patients, and even places a limit on how many prescriptions they can give (1). Providing these types of medicines for everyone is also currently out of the budget for Congress, but many people agree that the United States needs to be spending much larger amounts of money to fight the current opioid epidemic (1). Citizens of the United States are  slowly dying off due to an epidemic that could be treated very differently (1). The country seems to take a very passive view and standpoint on the issue, which is concerning. This leads to questioning the United States position on their own opioid epidemic, and how they could actively improve the state of the nation (1).

Lastly, individual treatment can be taken in order to stop heroin and other drug use. This method is very effective and can change the life of a drug user (“What is Drug Addiction Treatment”? 1). Treatment usually takes a long period of time, since drug relapses can come and go (1). Drug addiction treatment facilities usually use medications along with therapy in order to change the drug user’s mind and habits too (1). The combination of medication and therapy have proven to be the most effective type of therapy, as they reach both aspects- the body and the mind (1). However, treatment is not a solution to a nationwide epidemic. Treatment and rehabilitation facilities often cost tens of thousands of dollars, which is out of reach for many people (“Cost of Rehab” 1). Rehabilitation does not solve any part of the epidemic, but it can help an individual drastically (1). For this reason, rehabilitation and treatment are not great solutions for the United States heroin epidemic.

It can be said that the epidemics of this world are absurd - we often have a hard time understanding how and why, but they are a part of life regardless. Albert Camus was a writer, journalist, and a philosopher, and often shared his beliefs on absurdity (Aronson 1). He is said to be one of the fathers of absurd philosophy, and we can relate his beliefs and philosophies to the absurd things in our lives (1). Camus often questions whether life is worth living, and how it is up to each individual to determine this themselves (Popova 1). Camus also talked about escaping life, and by using mind and body altering drugs, one may think that they are “escaping life” (1).”This is where Camus’ beliefs tie into something as absurd as an epidemic of thousands of people bringing themselves to their own grave through heroin use (“r/Askphilosophy” 1). Camus believes that as humans we sometimes need an escape from life, and the use of heroin would go along his lines of a way of escaping the reality of life (1). Camus would also most likely be okay with each person choosing their fate, which would include overdoses and gradual death by drug use (1). This is why his views on life, death, and fate are considered to be absurd, and how he still stands out as one of the monumental absurd philosophers.

The opioid epidemic currently in the United States is worse than it has ever been, and we need a better solution as fast as possible. The heroin and opioid use will continue to increase until something drastic is done, and that is up to our nation. Because of the nature of the drug and how it controls the body of the user, will we ever be able to truly stop this epidemic? With a better national plan and approach, we would be able to better care for current drug addicts. With better education in schools and to adults as well, we can better prepare the next generations for what is to come. Therapy will also help current drug addicts with their struggles. When these things are combined, our nation will see improvements in the number of overdoses and deaths, and our nation will overall be healthier.

Works Cited

Aronson, Ronald. “Albert Camus.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 10 Apr. 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/#ParCamAbs.

Bogan, Jesse, and David Carson. “A Mass Killer: St. Louis Heroin Deaths Hit New High.” Stltoday.com, 20 Feb. 2017, www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/a-mass-killer-st-louis-heroin-deaths-hit-new-high/article_2fd6130c-3c35-524a-891e-e51eff2e40b4.html.

“Community Supporter.” SummitCountyAddictionHelp.Org - Provided by the County of Summit ADM Board, www.summitcountyaddictionhelp.org/heroin-epidemic-community-solutions.aspx.

“Cost of Rehab - Paying for Addiction Treatment.” AddictionCenter, www.addictioncenter.com/rehab-questions/cost-of-drug-and-alcohol-treatment/.

“County's Morgue Overflows with Overdose Deaths - CNN Video.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 Aug. 2017, www.cnn.com/videos/health/2017/08/07/heroin-crisis-morgue-orig.cnn.

“Heroin Abuse | See How It Has Grown to Epidemic Levels.” Mental Illness | See Why This Is a Public Health Issue | Online Masters in Public Health, 19 Oct. 2018, mphdegree.usc.edu/blog/a-growing-heroin-epidemic/.

Lopez. “An Indiana County Just Halted a Lifesaving Needle Exchange Program, Citing the Bible.” Vox, Vox, 20 Oct. 2017, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/20/16507902/indiana-lawrence-county-needle-exchange.

Lopez. “France Had a Big Heroin Epidemic in the 1980s and '90s. Here's How the Country Fixed It.” Vox, Vox, 17 Apr. 2018, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/17/17246484/opioid-epidemic-buprenorphine-france.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Heroin.” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioids and Heroin.” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/opioid-facts-teens/opioids-heroin.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” NIDA, 22 Jan. 2019, www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “What Is Drug Addiction Treatment?” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/frequently-asked-questions/what-drug-addiction-treatment.

Popova, Maria. “Albert Camus on the Will to Live and the Most Important Question of Existence.” Brain Pickings, 7 Nov. 2016, www.brainpickings.org/2016/11/07/camus-myth-of-sisyphus-suicide/.

“r/Askphilosophy - How Would Camus Feel about Using Hard Drugs?” Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/3d93fm/how_would_camus_feel_about_using_hard_drugs/.

“Social Impact of Heroin.” Luxury.Rehabs.com, luxury.rehabs.com/heroin-addiction/social-impact/.

“Substance Abuse Education Resources.” Project Know, 19 Nov. 2018, www.projectknow.com/drug-addiction/resources/.