Heroin addiction too often conjures images of nasty, back-alley shooting dens. During the last decade, the combination of new, powerful prescription pain medications diverted for street use and cheaper, stronger heroin has exploded into a public health epidemic.
It reaches into every community in Massachusetts. Abuse of prescription opiates and heroin addiction kills nearly 2 people every day in Massachusetts. It does not discriminate by race, class or age. An important step in addressing this problem is to recognize its scope. More information on some of our efforts to curb this problem is available at www.norfolkda.com, but today, I invite you to meet the face of heroin addiction in 2012:
If you know someone who needs treatment, there are several ways to get help.
…and more dual diagnosis facilities. Due to the almost medieval stigma remaining against mental illness, far too many people self medicate with street drugs and alcohol when what they really need is treatment for organic mental illness and stabilized brain chemistry. Mental illness is not a moral issue – it is a medical issue.
With prescription drugs like Oxycontin acting as gateway drugs, the heroin problem now reaches through all classes of people.
Abuse of prescription drugs is a very serious issue. I echo Deb and Mark’s comments. Thank you for posting.