[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by RogueMom

I watched a special program about Heroin and it's spread across the US.

The question is, WHY are so many people self-medicating themselves in the first place? What triggers that first episode/desire to try Heroin? It's not as if it is being forced on the users - not initially. I think it says a lot about our society that so many wish to "escape" everyday life.

Never answered question on any documentaries I have watched. We know how addictive, both Heroin and Meth are, and how destructive it is to the user. Why the compulsion to use it in the first place?????

+3 here. There's days when 2 red bulls and 5 cups of coffee just don't cut it, but the idea of say, buying some crack to get that "pep" I need, is beyond outrageous to me. It's so grimy and at such a scumbag level I would never even consider it for social reasons alone. Knowing how addicting it is and how much it destroys your body is icing on the cake. How someone goes from "life is boring" or "I'm depressed" to "Im going to snort and/or shoot up heroin" perplexes me. I assume there's a lot of job security for social workers and psychologists until that gets figured out.

It does surprise me that this is an issue in CT. Street drug use is not exactly what comes to mind when I think of the state.

[basehead617]

Are you guys serious? You don't know why people start using heroin?

I guess the whole prescription painkiller issue taking over Congress recently has escaped your attention.

It's almost always used by someone who has a prescription opiate addiction (yes, as in prescribed by a doctor) and can no longer get or afford the prescription drugs.

Obviously there are also recreational users, but that's not driving the current epidemic.

[Blargrifth]

Originally Posted by RogueMom

I watched a special program about Heroin and it's spread across the US.

The question is, WHY are so many people self-medicating themselves in the first place? What triggers that first episode/desire to try Heroin? It's not as if it is being forced on the users - not initially. I think it says a lot about our society that so many wish to "escape" everyday life.

Never answered question on any documentaries I have watched. We know how addictive, both Heroin and Meth are, and how destructive it is to the user. Why the compulsion to use it in the first place?????

Marijuana truly is a gateway drug, and I think that this is one of the most underused reasons to justify its legalization. We grow up thinking of marijuana the same way we think of heroin, cocaine, etc., which is ridiculous when you compared the risks of these drugs. Marijuana clearly doesn't belong here, especially on Schedule I, making it more illegal than cocaine. So for high school kids, who often think pretty hard about making that great jump from doing nothing to doing marijuana, and discovering that it is not as bad as everyone says it is, it is a much lesser jump to go from marijuana to heroin.

And then of course it is a gateway drug because you often buy it from the same people. If weed was something that you could buy legally there would be fewer reasons for kids to seek out their local drug dealer, which means that fewer kids would ever consider heroin as an option.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by Blargrifth

Marijuana truly is a gateway drug, and I think that this is one of the most underused reasons to justify its legalization. We grow up thinking of marijuana the same way we think of heroin, cocaine, etc., which is ridiculous when you compared the risks of these drugs. Marijuana clearly doesn't belong here, especially on Schedule I, making it more illegal than cocaine. So for high school kids, who often think pretty hard about making that great jump from doing nothing to doing marijuana, and discovering that it is not as bad as everyone says it is, it is a much lesser jump to go from marijuana to heroin.

And then of course it is a gateway drug because you often buy it from the same people. If weed was something that you could buy legally there would be fewer reasons for kids to seek out their local drug dealer, which means that fewer kids would ever consider heroin as an option.

Most kids aren't stupid. Very few people think "hey MJ isn't that bad like I was told, so everything is fair game!" Heroin is, was, and will continue to be the self medication of very depressed people. The issue now it is just way too cheap compared to almost anything (including tobacco and alcohol).

[Blargrifth]

Originally Posted by Beeker2211

Most kids aren't stupid. Very few people think "hey MJ isn't that bad like I was told, so everything is fair game!" Heroin is, was, and will continue to be the self medication of very depressed people. The issue now it is just way too cheap compared to almost anything (including tobacco and alcohol).

Yes that is probably something that was never said, I didn't mean to give the impression that it wasn't a gradual transition. They don't have to go directly to heroin from marijuana. There are plenty of routes that can be taken. And then there are some kids who think that they are invincible and can try anything once. As others here pointed out, previous use of narcotics is another gateway to heroin. So if marijuana is a gateway to lighter narcotics, it is still a gateway to heroin.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

Why is heroin addiction particularly acute in New England? I'll admit that it's been years since I've lived there (grew up in Rhode Island), but what's in the water there that has turned heroin addiction into a regional epidemic? Is a direct result of the long-term depressed economic conditions?

I guess you haven't heard of the disgusting drug, crystal meth, which is prevalent in low income areas of New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, California, etc.

Hasn't been common in the coastal northeast, yet.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by Blargrifth

Yes that is probably something that was never said, I didn't mean to give the impression that it wasn't a gradual transition. They don't have to go directly to heroin from marijuana. There are plenty of routes that can be taken. And then there are some kids who think that they are invincible and can try anything once. As others here pointed out, previous use of narcotics is another gateway to heroin. So if marijuana is a gateway to lighter narcotics, it is still a gateway to heroin.

Haha I'm just not comfortable with "gateway" terminology personally. From my experience I really think we should be separating "use" with "abuse" of all substances. Even with abhorrent drug education in the US it's pretty safe to say people using the hard drugs are pretty clear on the consequences, and therein lies the problem. I mean I've talked to a lot addicts in my life, and few abused when life was going OK even if they used; but the immediate sadness/depression or physical pain and the need/desire to just make it stop short circuits future thinking and proper risk/reward thinking. I do think that doctors way over prescribed Oxy and Vics like candy needlessly for pain management with no end-of-treatment weening regimen, but still if someone was using up the Rx past what was allocated something wasn't quite firing right to begin with.

We as a world really should treat substance abuse for what it really is, mental or physical self medication, and not as some moral shortcoming.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I guess you haven't heard of the disgusting drug, crystal meth, which is prevalent in low income areas of New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, California, etc.

Hasn't been common in the coastal northeast, yet.

I've always wondered why that is. The meth epidemic has been going on for years, longer than the heroin epidemic. Yet we see little meth use in the northern parts of the country relative to the southern parts. Is drug use partially influenced by climate? Do colder temperatures make heroin more attractive? Or is it just correlation? Interesting to say the least.

[JayCT]

This thread has gone off topic again so I am just closing it down. If you wish to discuss this topic further I suggest trying one of the other forums on this website. Thank you all, JayCT, Moderator