Brad Lamm, CIP
Double the deaths. Heroin continues to kill.
Just how bad is it? Beyond bad, and more terrible than you have heard.
The numbers should scare the shoes off of you.
A new study tells us that from 2010 to 2012 heroin deaths doubled, according to a report Thursday by the feds. A massive spike, in a short amount of time. What was already a heroin overdose epidemic now becomes a what? We need a new name for the scale of death and destruction this opioid addiction tidal wave has wrought.
The report tags the reason for this all: “This big increase in heroin-related deaths is directly tied to the epidemic of narcotic painkiller abuse.â€
Our kids, our brothers, our wives and parents started with a pill. Many of them got hooked and then when it got too tough to get the pill, they opted for the cheaper, easier to get, dope on the streets. That’s not all. In 2012 alone, more than twice as many people died from prescription narcotic overdoses as died from heroin.
What’s the word when epidemic doesn’t do it? Were this a virus rushing through white America, more would be done. The notion of addiction makes the epidemic less attractive – not unlike when crack wrecked whole urban populations and AIDS mowed down the gays in the early days of HIV before a truly national response occurred to help.
“About three out of four new heroin users began by using narcotic painkillers,†the report tells. Other research has shown a 74% rise in people using heroin older than the age of 12. Also known, at this moment from the same report:
- Heroin deaths have climbed 120% among those 45 to 54
- Heroin deaths have climbed about 10% among those 25 to 34
As I’ve written before, many doctors continue to recklessly prescribe prescription narcotics around the country, creating widespread dependency.  Just because a doctor prescribes you a prescription narcotic doesn’t mean you have to accept it. There are non-narcotics for treating pain and anxiety, all you have to do is ask. If you are a person prone to dependency, it is essential that you ask – not insist – for the non-narcotic alternative.
Please remember that treatment for heroin addiction is available.
I am a recovered addict almost 12 years removed from alcohol and crystal meth dependence. Nicotine and bulimia used to drive me too, and yet today I stand, well and recovered from all of these. I devote my life and career to helping others who struggle down that similar path. If you or someone you love is suffering from the disease of addiction, call Breathe Life Healing Centers’ Admission lines today and let us help you recover. We treat all substance addictions including painkillers.
