Skip to main content

Heroin Use Surges Among Whites Who Abuse Prescription Painkillers

Efforts to curb illicit drug use should target this population, researchers say THURSDAY, April 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Heroin use rose among people who abuse prescription narcotic painkillers such as Oxycontin or Vicodin, a new study found. The most significant increase was a 75 percent jump in the number of white people using heroin in 2008 to 2011, researchers from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health revealed. "The noteworthy increase in the annual rate of heroin abuse or dependence among . . . whites parallels the significant increase in nonmedical opioid [narcotic] use during the last decade and the growing number of heroin overdose deaths described for this race and ethnic group in recent years," study leader Dr. Silvia Martins said in a university news release. Martins is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. Heroin use also spiked among Hispanics, according to the study. The study included information from 67,500 people who answered questions about their heroin use. These findings could help public health officials develop programs to prevent heroin use, the authors suggested. The investigators found that the use or abuse of heroin, dependence on the drug, and the risk of past use of the drug increased along with the frequency of narcotic painkiller use between 2008 and 2011. "Individuals tend to use prescription opioids as a substitute for heroin when heroin is unavailable, to augment a heroin-induced 'high,' to 'treat' withdrawal symptoms, and to curb heroin use," Martins explained in the news release. The researchers also found more frequent heroin use for Hispanics who used prescription painkillers between one and 29 days in the past year. Significant increases in heroin use were also identified among blacks and whites who used prescription painkillers between 100 and 365 days in the past year. With the exception of Hispanics, the study found that anyone who frequently used prescription narcotics was at greater risk for ever injecting heroin, as well as for heroin abuse or dependence in the past year. "This is alarming and raises concern since injection drug use among prescription opioid users can contribute to the spread of HIV . . . as well as of hepatitis C," Martins concluded. The study was published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. More information The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about substance abuse. SOURCE: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, news release, April 27, 2015

Popular posts from this blog

New Oxycodone Formula Gets Backing of FDA

The FDA recently voted in favor of pushing a new formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride for approval. The new OxyContin formula is more difficult to crush or dissolve which will hopefully make it harder to be used as a drug of abuse . The FDA recommended that Purdue Pharma's application for a new, resin-coated formulation should replace the original version, which has been on the market since 1996. Randall Flick, MD, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic who voted to recommend approval of the drug said, "Clearly the old formulation is worse than the new, although I think the difference is relatively small," Flick concluded, "Hardcore abusers are likely to devise new ways to break down the harder tablet or figure out which solvents will dissolve it fastest, within 'day or weeks' of the product's release on the market."
Read more

Utah Debates Drug Testing for Public Assistance

Utah has begun to follow the path that so many other states have traveled earlier this year. The path leads to drug testing for public assistance. Utah Senator Dennis Stowell had asked that the issue be studied carefully and Rep. Christopher Herrod said "If someone's on drugs, we shouldn't be giving them money," he said. "There's nowhere in the Constitution that says, 'You have a right to get welfare." At the center of the debate is cost and legality. An analyst for Community Action Partnership of Utah stated that "The cost to test all Utah’s families that receive 'Temporary Assistance for Needy Families' would be high." The analyst added, "That testing all welfare recipients just once would cost about $255,000 and a lawsuit against the state would likely cost more than $1 million." Further discussion and analysis is planned in the upcoming months to decide whether to study the issue further, table the issue or wait un...
Read more

CHEATERS DON'T WIN! NC Man's Tricks Backfire During Drug Test

Jeffrey Selph has found himself in the jailhouse for trying to cheat and beat his drug test. Selph was caught by his probation officer with a "yellow like tube with urine" in his possession right before his test. Selph was booked on a charge of defraud drug/alcohol screening tests under a $3,000 bond. Other Drug Test Cheating Stories on MMC's Drug Free Blog... U.S. Airways Express Pilot Doubled As Drug Testing Cheat Entrepreneur Pittsburgh Court Sentences Maker of "Whizzinator" Drug Testing Cheat Device If You Are Going to Cheat On Your Drug Test... Be Prepared to Face The Consequences! Lawrence Taylor's Drug Riddled Past Re-Examined by New Charges Synthetic Human Urine Employed To Pass Drug Tests Illinois Man Caught Cheating on Urine Drug Test Mobile Medical Corporation ( MMC ), a Pittsburgh Drug Testing firm continually monitors the news outlets for incidents of drug test cheating in order to provide further information on the topic. Mobile Medical Corp...
Read more