Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today after a couple of weeks of Blog Hops and Giveaways. It’s good to be back chatting with you!
I was at a Writer’s Group meeting last Saturday. Here’s their website. http://grandrapidsregionwritersgroup.blogspot.com/
We meet the second Saturday of every month and during lunch, I chatted with a teacher about my Coming of Age Novel I’m writing. While we talked, the conversation turned to the new drug of choice in schools these days.
I was shocked when I learned it was heroin. I was under the impression the drugs of choice among high school and college students were either alcohol or marijuana.
Of course, my next thought was…why heroin? I don’t know about you, but just hearing the name scares me. I’ve heard it’s highly addictive and the withdrawal symptoms are horrendous. Theories as to why are listed below and I got the information from this article:
: http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/drug-abuse-addiction/heroin-use-back-on-the-rise/
1) Today’s heroin is purer than that of the past, allowing users to easily hide their habit as they can snort or smoke it rather than inject the drug;
2) It delivers much of the same effects as legal painkillers, such as Oxycotin;
3) Is much cheaper – as little as $5 a high
This explains some of it, but when I was a teen (many moons ago) 🙂 heroin was scary. I wouldn’t touch the stuff. Unfortunately, in today’s day and age, heroin has lost its stigma. Teens are taking it even though they know about the addictive properties of the drug. In addition, many who go through the withdrawal symptoms and get clean end up going back on it.
Of course, this didn’t make sense to me. So I did some further research and found this article: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/alphabet-kids/201006/heroin-use-among-suburban-teens-grows-because-its-no-big-deal
According to this article, being a junkie is no big deal. Heroin seems to have made its way up the social hierarchy. It used to be a drug associated with poverty and homelessness. Now teens are seeing its use growing among their peer group.
It’s that old mentality of if my friend thinks it’s okay, then it must be. Couple that with the overwhelming need to fit in and you’ve got a lethal combination. Heroin isn’t scary anymore.
Unfortunately, heroin use is on the rise across the nation. These are not isolated incidents in New York or Chicago. I’ve found articles about it in states like Indiana and Texas as wells as New York and Illinois.
We’ve all heard the teen years are filled with risk taking behaviors. This article certainly supports that claim: http://www.soberliving.com/blog/why-is-teenage-drug-abuse-on-the-rise
It states, teens have a sense of entitlement and invulnerability that makes them take more risks. Couple that with the fact heroin is much easier to get than alcohol and again you’ve got a lethal combination.
So, what can you do if you suspect your teen has an addiction? You can all this number: 1-866-323-5609. They will be able to help you. Here’s their website: http://www.soberliving.com/
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my article. I’d love to read your thoughts on the subject, so please leave a comment.
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