Suburban White Drug Users Behind Bump In Heroin Use
- 9 years ago
Heroin use is on the rise again, and the bump in numbers is due largely to the drug’s increasing popularity in white suburban neighborhoods.
Heroin use is on the rise again, and the bump in numbers is due largely to the drug’s increasing popularity in white suburban neighborhoods.
The narcotic’s first boom happened throughout the 1960s and 70s, and at the time the average user was male, black, urban and lived in a poverty-ridden neighborhood.
In the decades following, the popularity of heroin decreased.
That downward trend has turned around in the past 6 years, only this time the user profile is markedly different.
Nowadays, 90 percent of all heroin users are white and live in middle-class areas just outside city perimeters.
Another significant trait of many is that their previous drugs of choice were prescription painkillers, like the powerful opioid OxyContin.
Even though the pills were often acquired through legitimate channels, evidence of their abuse emerged and regulations on its dispersal were tightened.
The black market trade of it increased, as did the prices. Eventually, however, even illicit acquisition became difficult.
That’s when people began to turn to heroin, which is relatively cheaper and easier to get.
Producers leaped at the opportunity to increase supplies.
They’ve also made changes in their product to appeal to their new clientele, producing more heroin that can be smoked rather than injected.
Heroin use is on the rise again, and the bump in numbers is due largely to the drug’s increasing popularity in white suburban neighborhoods.
The narcotic’s first boom happened throughout the 1960s and 70s, and at the time the average user was male, black, urban and lived in a poverty-ridden neighborhood.
In the decades following, the popularity of heroin decreased.
That downward trend has turned around in the past 6 years, only this time the user profile is markedly different.
Nowadays, 90 percent of all heroin users are white and live in middle-class areas just outside city perimeters.
Another significant trait of many is that their previous drugs of choice were prescription painkillers, like the powerful opioid OxyContin.
Even though the pills were often acquired through legitimate channels, evidence of their abuse emerged and regulations on its dispersal were tightened.
The black market trade of it increased, as did the prices. Eventually, however, even illicit acquisition became difficult.
That’s when people began to turn to heroin, which is relatively cheaper and easier to get.
Producers leaped at the opportunity to increase supplies.
They’ve also made changes in their product to appeal to their new clientele, producing more heroin that can be smoked rather than injected.