Joint Study Shows Dangerous Heroin Use Trends in Colombia and U.S.

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on March 22, 2016 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse | Comments are off for this article

In order to help reduce the opioid epidemic in the United States and elsewhere, many officials believe that the supply must be addressed. This means that our nation must work with other countries that are the highest producers of heroin. Collaboration between the United States and countries like Colombia are intended to prevent the creation of heroin and simultaneously stifle the demand for the dangerous drug.

Addicts in the United States have increased the overall demand for heroin, and manufacturers in South America have continued to answer with millions of dollars of the drug being smuggled into the country daily. Researchers in the U.S. and Columbia were recently commissioned from the Colombian Ministry of Health and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to analyze information on addicts in both countries. The researchers discovered that an ongoing dangerous trend is the sharing of dirty needles.

Pedro Mateo-Gelabert was the lead researcher on the study that revealed that a high percentage of addicts in both countries were participating in needle-sharing, cross contamination of heroin cookers, sharing filters and water used to mix with the drug. These behaviors likely answer the question that both countries had regarding the increase of patients showing signs of HIV and hepatitis, since both diseases are easily spread through shared needles.

The researchers not only discovered that these types of behaviors were occurring, but they also were able to find out why many users feel that it is ok to share needles. In fact, 43% of those that were polled admitted to sharing needles because they could not obtain enough clean ones and had to resort to using someone else’s. However, a whopping 33% of users believed that it was safe to share needles, as long as they were selective with who they were sharing with.

One reason why needle-sharing may be gaining in popularity is the fact that many heroin users are young, and have not been educated enough on the dangers of sharing needles. “Both countries deal with a new generation of young injectors, in Colombia, driven by heroin production, in the US, driven by the recent epidemic of prescription opioid misuse in you which has evolved into widespread injection drug use,” explained Pedro Mateu-Gelabert.

One of the goals of reducing the harm associated with heroin addiction is to provide clean needles to stop or slow the spread of such diseases while also diverting more people into treatment programs to help them recover from addiction.

A Need For Needle Exchanges?

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on June 9, 2015 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article

Needle exchanges are the controversial program set up to allow intravenous drug users a safe place to acquire new, clean needles. These facilities are intended to help prevent the spread of diseases that are associated with IV drug use and dirty needles. This type of program is often regarded as one of the more drastic forms of harm reduction.

Many people are cautious of needle exchange facilities for fear that it will normalize drug use and encourage others to experiment with drugs like heroin and prescription painkillers. However, studies show that such programs don’t impact the situation negatively by attracting new users, and some reports show that they help get more people into treatment by having referral centers available for detox and treatment.

The state of Indiana is currently facing an outbreak of HIV infections due to needle-using substance abusers. In the rural section of the state there have been 149 reported cases of HIV. In other parts of the country, residents are facing a Hepatitis C crisis. The amount of people that have contracted the liver disease have more than tripled in some parts of the country. One of the reasons for this incredible spread is that many people who are carrying the Hepatitis C virus are unaware that they are infected. Unfortunately the most common way to contract Hepatitis C is by blood to blood contact, and for drug addicts this comes in the form of a needle.

The Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, ordered an emergency needle exchange to stop the rapidly spreading HIV virus throughout the population, and other states are wondering if they should follow suite. “It is critically important that needle exchange programs like the temporary one in Indiana be replicated across the country, and be permanent. Studies have repeatedly proven that needle exchange programs reduce HIV, hepatitis and other infections among people who use intravenous drugs without increasing intravenous drug use,” explained Paul Samuels, president of the Legal Action Center.

Whether you are an advocate of harm reduction strategies such as needle exchange programs or not, it is hard to argue with the notion that we should be using every tool available that helps mitigate the damage caused by addiction.