The New Heroin Addict

Twenty or more years ago, heroin addicts were typically living on the streets and involved in crime and prostitution. After the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman it has become clear that this drug has migrated to the more affluent.

However the introduction of Oxycontin and other similar narcotics has led to a dramatic increase in addiction to pain medications. Unfortunately this has become a lucrative source of revenue for many unscrupulous physicians, resulting in more addictions.

With the street cost of oxycontin going as high as $70, many addicts are migrating to the even more dangerous heroin; where the equivalent high can cost $10.

In a recent study researchers looked at almost 3,000 heroin addicts and compared their demographics with previous statistics from the 60's and 70's.

Of the participants who began using heroin in the 1960s, most were men (<80%) who began heroin use at around age 16; about half were white. Starting in 2010, narcotic use typically began with a prescription opioid at age 23; about half of these addicted individuals were women, and 90% were white. Most of these began with narcotic pain pills and switched for practical reasons.

We need to police the pain clinics better. The recent approval by the FDA of another pain medication containing hydrocodone which can easily be injected was, in my opinion, unnecessary and a step in the wrong direction.