Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Heroin revival, continued

Heroin epidemic: New York becomes first big city to make cops carry antidote 

The Christian Science Monitor has another report here on the increase in heroin in America.   Part of the reason for its increase in popularity appears to be tougher control of prescription painkillers:

No longer the stereotype of a shivering urban junkie, heroin users are now found among the working and professional classes, including suburban abusers of opiate-based painkillers like oxycodone. Faced with higher prices and shortages in the illegal market for pills, these now seek out what street users often refer to as “smack.”

Indeed, as the illicit use of painkillers has become more difficult with stricter regulations and law enforcement – which has led to a corresponding low supply and higher price, officials say – users have turned to heroin for a cheaper and more readily available high. And Mexican cartels, funneling heroin from Colombia, have been flooding the market with a purer and cheaper product.

And with its higher purity, users can now snort the drug, officials say, rather than cook and shoot it with needles – a well-known pop-cultural image that has scared away many
first-time users in the past.

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