Heroin. Heroin is a lethal drug that takes many lives. Heroin addicts also spend $150-$200 a day to keep up with their addiction. There are many long-term effects of heroin, some of which you may not think of. Heroin may be inhaled by snorting, injecting, or smoking. All of these go immediately to the brain. This gives the user a feeling of euphoria. Regular use of heroin changes the functioning of the brain. More of the drug is needed each time to reach a rush causing addiction. Heroin does not discriminate, it can kill anyone.

Many people abuse heroin and often times it leads to death. Celebrities are not helping with this because more and more people in the limelight are overdosing on drugs. A recent famous person that overdosed on heroin was Philip Seymour Hoffman. He died from a recent overdose on a mix of drugs, one of them being heroin. That is setting a terrible example for the rest of the world. It is telling everybody else that since he can do drugs, then I can. with celebrities leaving this kind of example, then you should expect others to be doing drugs also. If celebrities were to not abuse their privileges then there would be less drugs including heroin. River Phoenix, Kurt Cobain, and Philip S. Hoffman are all celebrities that abused heroin. They took heroin with other drugs. The deaths of these celebrities who died of a heroin overdose should convince us that heroin is a dangerous drug.

Addicts are most likely not just taking heroin when they reach that rush they need. Most dealers don’t only deal straight heroin. Heroin could be mixed with any other drug. The most thing co-ingested with heroin is alcohol, this is then followed by benzodiazepines, cocaine, and amphetamines.

There is one question that needs to be asked though: How would you feel if a loved one would end up in the hospital because of overdosing? It probably would be a terrible feeling, having to sit in the emergency department knowing that you might never see your loved one again. There is also the chance that they live, the effects of heroin are long-term. Infection of the heart lining and valves, liver disease, lung disease and hepatitis, HIV/AIDS from needle use, collapsed veins, arthritis, and rheumatology problems. Others include shortness of breath, dry mouth, constricted(small) pupils, sudden changes in behavior or actions, disorientation, cycles of hyper alertness followed by suddenly nodding off, and droopy appearance as if extremities are heavy. Most people don’t want to feel that way and it is a terrible feeling. Having to know that your loved one could die or end up with those diseases.

There are different ways to lower the amount of heroin abuse. A way to help would be to have famous people stop taking heroin then the middle-class people would not see them abusing heroin so they will not take it. There is also the fact that if you lower the crime rate then the addicts who pay for heroin by stealing will not be able to afford it. Also, you have to drill it into the minds of younger kids the effects of heroin and how much it will affect those around you. So if you take those three things and use them all at the same time then you will have a chance to lower the amount of heroin abuse. Some signs of heroin use are needles or syringes not used for other medical purposes, burned silver spoons, aluminum foil,gum wrappers and straws with burn marks, missing shoelaces(used as a tie off for injection sites), small plastic bags with white powdery residue, and/or water pipes or other pipes. If there are these signs then someone you know could be on heroin. if you see these signs then you need to find out who it is, stop them, and get help. If you stop them then it can cause a chain reaction and stop others.

If you care about a person with a heroin problem, knowing the facts about addiction can make the difference between life and death.