In the early months of 2014, the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder identified heroin addiction as an...

1. Heroin Addiction: Become Educated - MedMark Treatment
Centers
In the early months of 2014, the U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder identified heroin addiction
as an "urgent public health crisis," advising
heroin addicts and their families to carry
injectable naloxone as an antidote to heroin
overdose. However, Dallas-Fort Worth heroin
addicts don't have that option, as Texas is one
of 43 states that still prohibit naloxone syringes
in the medical kits of first responders. So
what's a person to do?
First, be aware that naloxone cannot guarantee the safety of someone who's abusing heroin. There
are risks associated with naloxone administration, including a resulting acute withdrawal syndrome,
putting the person at risk of dangerous respiratory depression, and the stimulation of catecholamine
release that results in unstable heart rhythms and possible heart attack. So naloxone is not the
panacea touted by many.
When Holder indicates that he's seen a 45 percent increase in heroin addictionover recent years,
Dallas County Health Director Zach Thompson agrees: He says that today's numbers of deaths and
addiction from heroin are reminiscent of those that occurred from cocaine abuse in the 80s. Instead
of reaching for naloxone or becoming engaged in the cross-country growing cultural acceptance of
marijuana, Thompson urges, it's more important to educate the public about heroin addiction and
provide addicts with access to substance abuse treatment clinics, including methadone clinics in
North Texas.
Most people fail to understand basic facts about heroin addiction:
People think they aren't as likely to become addicted to heroin if they just snort it instead of
injecting it. Heroin is addictive no matter how you use it.
People who live in upper-middle-class families and turn to heroin when they can no longer get pain
pills think they will not fall victim to the same health issues as typical addicts. However, 80 percent
of patients who present at methadone clinics are positive for hepatitis C.
A person using heroin risks death for up to three hours after his dose, no matter whether he
injected, snorted, or smoked. Many heroin addicts who overdose end up dead because their friends
fear legal reprisals from calling the police.
There are methadone clinics in North Texas that offer safe options for stopping heroin use by
helping people to stabilize their drug use and avoid recurring patterns of abuse. It's worth your time
to call a heroin addiction clinic and find out what to expect, and how you can save your life.