Heroin Addiction is Not Just A City Problem
It used to be that heroin addiction was found mostly in inner cities. Maybe there was some use in the high schools but not much to speak of and usually those who indulged didn’t stay in school long. Rather, the typical heroin addict was a white male between the ages of 20 and 35. Though this still describes the average heroin addict who enrolls in heroin rehab (though the age range changes from 25 to 45), it is no longer the average when it comes to who may or may not be struggling with heroin addiction out on the street.
Heroin Addiction is in Farm Country
Even in parts of the country where there are few hardcore addicts, where there is little more than suburbs and small towns and fields and fields of growing crops, there is now heroin addiction. And in these areas, the people most likely to be struggling with the issue are not middle aged white men but teenagers, high school kids who experiment with the drug at parties. From a Mexican cartel to big cities like LA, Chicago and Atlanta, from there the heroin is continually cut and distributed until it makes it out here to the suburbs. Busts of more than $1 million in heroin and $1 million in cash are increasingly common in small towns that previously have not been the focus of anti-drug actions.
Heroin Addiction Prejudice and Stereotypes in the Suburbs
If you think it’s hard to move on after drug addiction in a big city where people don’t necessarily know about your past, imagine how much more difficult it is in a small town. Those who are busted for heroin addiction, even those who enter drug rehab often return home to find themselves with a scarlet letter on their chests. It’s hard to find a job, to find a landlord who will rent to you. It’s hard to get credit to buy a car. There should be hope when you are no longer addicted to heroin, but in these small towns, there often isn’t and the only route left open to the people who have worked so hard to break their addiction to heroin: more of the same.
Heroin Addiction Treatment
Dr. Eugene Somoza is a psychiatry professor at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Cincinnati Addiction Research Center. He says, “Heroin addiction is a chronic disease just like high blood pressure or diabetes. We don’t have a cure, but we do have treatments.”
Tags: Drug Addiction Treatment, drug-rehab, heroin addiction, heroin addiction treatment, heroin rehab
