Last updated : December 23, 2024
A recent press release from the GBI highlights some alarming heroin statistics. In the three year period from 2011 to the present, the GBI crime lab has experienced a 300% increase in heroin submissions. In 2011, 276 samples were submitted to the lab. That number has increased each year, with the submissions so far in 2014 reaching 863 and counting.
With such a dramatic rise, it’s easy to infer that heroin use is on the rise in Georgia. Actually, that holds true across the nation as many government entities are citing statistics similar to those from the GBI.
The reasons for the spike in heroin use are many. It’s a cheap, readily available substance that provides a high that is akin to that given by prescription drugs. Heroin is also highly addictive, and high profile users have helped to shine a spotlight on the drug.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a department of the federal government, has published findings from a 2012 study that uncovered use of heroin by nearly 700,000 people in that year alone. That number is still significantly lower than people who reported using other types of drugs like hashish or marijuana. Nonetheless, the number of heroin users is growing, and so is the death toll.
Many users turn to heroin as a substitute for more expensive, and more difficult to obtain, prescription drugs. Often, a dependence that begins with a painkiller like OxyContin moves on to a heroin addiction when the prescription medication habit becomes too expensive. As government entities have begun cracking down on the illegal prescription drug market, those pills have become harder to obtain. Conversely, heroin can be found on a multitude of urban street corners. Users cite its wide availability and cheapness as the main reasons to use the drug.
In addition to inexpensiveness and ease of procurement, heroin numbers are on the rise thanks to Mexican drug manufacturers that are making more of the substance than ever before. Add to that a growth in traffickers bringing heroin into the U.S., and it starts to become clear why submissions of heroin to the GBI have risen so significantly.
Heroin abuse may not have reached epidemic proportions yet, but some researchers believe it might get there. Considering the strong grip of heroin addiction, and how cheap the drug is, it seems that this problem is likely to get worse.
