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Subscribe to RSSDeaths from heroin abuse rose from six in 1999 to thirty in 2011, and this year it is on track to be even worse. NBC's Kate Snow reports.
Yardena Schwartz
NBC News
Chicago Police Capt. John Roberts never thought that moving to the suburbs would mean that his 14-year-old son Billy would immediately be introduced to drugs. And never did he ever imagine that Billy, a high school athlete, would even think of touching heroin.
After 33 years in the Chicago Police Department, Roberts was finally ready to retire. He couldn’t wait to move his family out to the suburbs, where he thought his kids would live in a safer environment, attend better schools and be sheltered from some of the ugly realities of city life.
But after growing addicted to prescription painkillers, Billy and his friends could no longer afford their habit. They soon turned to heroin, which they could buy for a tenth of the price of their favorite pill, Oxycontin. Billy was 19 when he died of a heroin overdose, but he wasn’t the only one of his friends to suffer that fate.
John Roberts, a retired Chicago police captain, started the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization after losing his teenage son to a heroin overdose.
At first, Roberts couldn’t believe what was happening to his family , and that heroin could affect a good kid like Billy. But then he realized he wasn’t alone.
Across the country, heroin use is growing at an alarming rate and is affecting a surprising segment of the population.
“Kids in the city know not to touch it, but the message never got out to the suburbs,” said Roberts, who founded the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization to help other families cope with the shock of teen heroin use. Like most parents in upper-middle class neighborhoods, Roberts said, “We didn’t think it would ever be a problem out here.”
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, initiations to heroin have increased 80 percent among 12- to 17-year-olds since 2002. In 2009, the most recent year for which national data is available, 510 young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 died of a heroin overdose. That figure was just 198 in 1999, meaning that the rate of young adult deaths caused by heroin more than doubled in one decade. Close to 90 percent of teen heroin addicts are white, data show.
Recovered teen heroin addict Alyssa Dedrick and her mother, Mary, discuss their family's struggle with addiction, and how in the suburbs, heroin abuse is "right under our noses."
Crackdown on painkiller abuse fuels new wave of heroin addiction
“Part of the problem is they don’t realize how bad it is,” said Roberts. “After Billy used it a few times, he thought he was OK, because he didn’t seem like a junkie.”
The biggest problem seems to be the connection between prescription painkillers and heroin. The opiate high that teens seek from drugs such as Oxycodone (the actual drug contained in OxyContin brand pills) may also be obtained from heroin, which is much cheaper, easier to buy, and offers users a more intense high.
“It’s hard to talk about the heroin problem without talking about the prescription drug problem,” notes Rafael Lemaitre, of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Given new research on skyrocketing prescription drug abuse, the link between opioid pills and heroin is even more alarming.
The number of teenagers seeking treatment for heroin abuse has skyrocketed, and the number of deaths from heroin among high school and college-age kids more than doubled from 1999 to 2009. NBC's Kate Snow reports.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths from prescription drugs tripled nationwide between 2000 and 2008. In a recent national survey on teen drug abuse conducted by the University of Michigan, one in eight high school seniors admitted to using prescription painkillers they weren’t prescribed. Overall, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug overdose (from both prescription and non-prescription drugs) is now the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States. Officials fear that the over-prescription of powerful painkillers and the lack of awareness about the danger associated with them could continue to fuel the problem.
“Kids are going to believe that this is not a problem, and parents are going to continue to leave their prescription opioids unattended if they don’t know about the risks,” said Westley Clark, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Department of Health and Human Services.
While marijuana has historically been the usual suspect, prescription pain killers are now becoming the latest and most dangerous gateway drugs.
In dozens of interviews with former young heroin addicts, NBC News found that every single heroin user had arrived at shooting up the same way: starting with expensive prescription drugs, which they purchased from friends for $20-$60. When they became too addicted to afford pills, they listened to friends who told them they could get a better, cheaper high if they used heroin instead. For $3-$10 a bag, they said, they started off by snorting the drug, never thinking that they would end up injecting it. Most of them started shooting up within weeks.
Alyssa Dedrick was an honor roll student from a nice Boston suburb, and her high school’s cheerleading captain, until she discovered Oxycontin. When she and her friends could no longer afford the pills, they tried smoking heroin. Dedrick, now 23 and fully recovered, never imagined she would ever try the drug, let alone plan on injecting it. She said she just wanted to see what it was like, but within a week she was putting a needle in her arm.
Chris O’Connor grew up in a loving Catholic family in a wealthy Boston suburb. His father works in commercial real estate, his mother is a homemaker. For a while, O’Connor was able to hide the fact that he was driving to the city on a regular basis to score heroin from dealers on the street. He earned excellent grades in high school, and even went on to study at Georgetown University, where he did pretty well at first.
“I just thought it wouldn’t affect me,” said O’Connor, who is now 27 and still recovering after more than 20 stints in treatment. “People who come from a privileged background are generally shielded from negative outcomes in life,” he said.
With the cost of prescription drugs on the rise and heroin becoming purer and cheaper, the drug that spawns fear in other generations has become more appealing to a younger set.
For teens living near major cities, heroin can also be easier to buy than prescription drugs. Rather than having to find someone who has a prescription, they can just do what Chris O’Connor did and take a quick drive into the city, where they know they can score at any hour of the day.
According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, Mexican heroin production has increased significantly in recent years, from an estimated 7 metric tons in 2002, to 50 metric tons in 2011. That sevenfold increase has made heroin more available in metropolitan areas across the country, including Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
For families like the O’Connors, who once considered themselves immune to heroin, the crucial difference between life and death was early recognition, treatment and constant support.
It’s taken Chris more than a decade, but he can now triumphantly say he’s been clean for at least a year. Many of the friends he once used with have not been as fortunate.
“I think ultimately what saved my life was the love of my family, being there for me unconditionally,” he said. “I had so many psychologists and therapists. The best ones weren’t the smartest ones, they were the ones who cared the most.”
Resources for addiction recovery:
Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization (HERO)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Partnership for a Drug Free America
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Oh, but wait a minute. We all know there's no way drugs are being brought into the schools at any level. With the cameras and the searches and the police and the drug dogs. Remember, zero tolerance works.
Please tell me you are joking. Most kids are exposed to opiates in the hallways of their schools. Many teens find painkillers in their parents medicine cabinet and sell them for $30-$60 a pill from ziplock baggies. Smoking then snorting Heroin is the next step as the cheaper alternative. You cannot begin to know the devastation opiate addiction brings to a family.
You can't keep kids off drugs, when the parents suck pot and drop pills in front of them.
Doctors are drug pushers for the great American cartels.
Druggies are the scum of the earth. They need to be put in large tent jails. Use their welfare checks to cover the costs.
And we could create many more, much needed jobs.
your reasoning sounds rather antique on this subject.
I second that lance...
Now for my two cents on the actual subject. Unfortunately this is a subject I know about all too well due to my own addiction to prescription pain killers. I have been on them for the better part of 15 years now and I intend to stay on them for the rest of my life as long as I can get them. After a major reconstruction on my left leg, two shattered vertebrae, a broken shoulder along with one wrist and the other everyday pains associated with a life long habit of hard work I will not apologize for it. I tried all of the creams, a tense unit and a load of other crap. I even tried God; well either he did not hear me or was simply not listening because it was also to no avail. It is like Keith Richards replied when asked about his problem many years ago; It’s a struggle. By that I mean that I have to watch myself all of the time to not abuse it and stay with in the limits of my prescriptions and not over take them. Sometimes the pain is so bad I want more; sometimes I take more; but overall, I abide by the guidelines of what I am supposed to do. Some people are simply unable to do that and I feel for them, I truly do. I would not wish what is referred to as DOPE-SICK on anybody I don’t think. What these kids need is help with their recovery; the problem with that is that unless they come from a family with a good cash flow or means they are simply not going to get it in this country. Most basic insurance polices will only pay for what amounts to a three day waste of time in some BS hospital program. The only ones that get help are the people that work there; they get paid. Yet we can spend untold amounts of money on things such as giving some shmuck a grant to study the sexual preferences of a fruit fly after being fed a kool-aid mixture for three days! What- the F***! Things have to change in this country; unfortunately I do not have much faith in that happening any time soon or even in what is left of my lifetime. My heart goes out to all of the parents and all I can say is love them and don’t give up on them. However, sometimes you have to let go as far as continuing to support them and give them the place to fall back on when they keep screwing up. It is unfortunate to have to do it but there is something to be said for the practice of tough-love.
I ripped off my right arm 35 years ago.
It was bolted back on. It gives me pain EVERY DAY of my life. I hate pain.
I'm strong enough to NOT suck pot or take drugs.
@Arizona.....so what are you saying? You're better than those that do? Are you special because you have a stronger will that some? I have a suggestion, instead of bragging about what your strong about, think about applying some of that strength to your weaknesses.
very well said Mr. Fricsaid!!!
Druggies can always find an excuse.
And yes: I'm better than a druggie.
Arizona, You mean you never take any kind of over the counter drugs for any ailment, of course you do, so quit blowing smoke up every ones a$$. Many of our over the counter drugs are illegal in other countries. You sound like the pot calling the kettle black. Wake up from your slumber, ole boy!!!
My deepest condolences to Captain Roberts and family. I pray Billy rests in peace. Thank you for your service to Chicago and for establishing HERO. I was born and raised in Chicago. It saddens me to see all the problems that exist with drugs, gangs and crime. My guess is that most of the crime is due to drugs. The police need additional officers to help with this drug epidemic. I have seen what this drug has done to a few people that I care about. Educating youth to stay away from heroin and other drugs, severe punishment for drug dealers and tightening our borders to keep this and other drugs from illegal entry should help. We need government to step up and come to the aid of our cities, NOW!
i never even took an advil until i was well into my twenties... i never recall anyone talking about vicodin, percocet, or any other type of painkiller in high school back in the early 90's... maybe there was just the "weed crowd" and "coke crowd"
Ron Paul says, legalize all drugs, this is the result and would be even worse of all drugs were legalized.
There was a statement made by Bob Beckle a democratic adviser and recovering alcohol and drug addict where he stated that even marijuana is now a gateway drug due to the manipulation of the plants that makes them stronger than the stuff they smoked back int he 60's, some of it is almost as addictive as heroin.
hahahahahahaaha 'almost as addictive as heroin' are you kidding me kid? alcohol is more addictive and detrimental then weed. How are you gonna listen to what a recovering alcoholic says about weed. Go on twitter and see how Snoop Dogg is doing today. He be high on dat piff everyday raising his family making bank.
Pharmaceutical companies sell legal marijuana in the form of Marinol. This is the only reason marijuana remains illegal today, to protect pharmaceutical companies.
duh
It's really all about the choices that one makes in life. Standing up to peer pressure is but one method to stay on the "good ' side of life. A strong belief system such as giving one self to Christ (oops that goes that "Jesus Freak " mentality that attracts non believing leftists,clowns & others that can't be taken seriously ) that gives a strong moral foundation with the strength to overcome life's in moral addictions & evil attractions. Just when u always thought u can "do it all alone" without the help of Christ,is then u will find your "wrong " choices always come with a "payment due " date that could cost u the comfort,safety & even your life of family friends & your self as well. Its never too late to receive christ into your heart & turn your life around.
As a former practicing full-ledged alcoholic ( and other drugs user,) but now recovering through Alcoholics Anonymous (27 yrs clean and sober)I have tried and tried to interest authorities to educate the public starting with children in the 7th grade about the perils of alcohol and other drug abuse..I have been called an "alarmist" and other things, and even told to leave school grounds as we were endangering the children with"propaganda".Again and again, the children we approached told us they knew scores of people including their parents, other adults, and even teachers who were abusing drugs. Sad ! Our nation is in denial, and it seems that we are willing to sacrifice our children to the pitfalls of ignorance and the lure of easy money.Please, if you have a drug (and alcohol is a drug) problem contact AA...they care, and its totally free !
Ladies and Gentlemen, you can thank your pharmaceuticals and the good ol’ FDA for this growing problem. They have taken an illegal, highly addictive narcotic and disguised as a pain killer to introduce into America. I watched what Oxycontin’s did to my mother in her later stages of cancer and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
Had our state recognized the benefits in treating pain with non-addictive marijuana, my Mother would not had suffered the side effects of opiates and lived the last 3 years of her life crying because she was addicted to a drug her doctors put her on.
It’s all about the money my dear people. You’ve got kids switching to heroin because it’s cheaper, yet the “expensive pain killers” are made from the same thing. The difference…..you don’t have your big pharmaceuticals and the FDA making big bucks off heroin (I include the FDA because pharmaceuticals pay astronomical amounts of money to get a drug approved)
So what does that leave you with? The expensive legal form and the cheap illegal form.
I wonder if the feds know that there is this very pretty flower called the Oriental Poppy. And what is so special about this flower? It produces opium, the cornerstone for these drugs mentioned. To my knowledge, it’s legal in all 50 states and can be bought at your local garden center. Yep, they get the bulbs on them and those bulbs produce pure opium when mature. Lol…I can have a legal opiate in my garden, but I can’t have a pot plant.
My opinion? It’s kind of hard to fight something when it is legally introduced into our society. If you want it to go away, start with the pharmaceuticals and the feds.
What elitist bull@!$%#! Your from a upper middle class neiborhood so you think drugs wont find their way there, thats were your wrong gimmie a break. Every one has known the dangers of pain killer and heroin addiction for years, and to say that your sheilded and think your better than people who live in the city,( oh it will never happen to my family), its time to take off the blinders. Its this kind of reporting that is making people that actually need perscription medication feel like every one thinks they are drug addicts, when doctors are drug testing their patients. Wake up america.
How ironic that this is a problem at the same time the bush adm. invades the largest opium producer on the planet. Why are u.s. troops guarding poppy fields? Does anyone get what I'm sayin here?
You can buy heroin for one tenth the price of oxycontin? thanks for the tip....Idiots.
To bad this country and the rest of the world is unwilling and unable to do what it takes to control the drug trade. Along with this people are weak and seem to need to escape from dealing with life. Now we have another lost generation of lost scum filling their bodies with poison. Now they want the rest of us who work to live to save them or worse allow the supply to continue. When all they deserve is what they got and that is too suffer for poor judgement and lack of self control of their lives.
My grandfather taught me it's not wise to speak of the lumps in someone elses potatoes until you get the lumps out of your own. It is the trait of a feeble mind. It's always proven to be sound advice.
By the way, what do you have to say about the doctors who got my mother hooked on opiates? She left this world a retired police officer, addicted to Oxycontin. Nothing weak there George. She raised 5 boy's on her own.
Maybe someday you can stand back and see the ignorance in your words.
Just what I expected it's always someone else's fault.
Hey George....I tell ya what. When you spinal column looks like swiss cheese because of the effects of cancer, then you can get on your pedestal. Looks like you could use a little time in front of the mirror.....point that judgemental finger at the only place it'll do some good.....yourself.
lol . FAKE!!!!. just an fyi I'm a street person have been all my life. this story is FAKE FAKE FAKE. heroin and other narcotics use has droppedto almost nothing in the last 20 years. while it is easy to find the pills like hydacodone lortab exc it is nearing the impossible mark for drugs like cocaine (powder) opium, Mexican tar, heroine, angel dust, PCP, and acid. its even getting hard to find the good drugs aka pot. as for the guy with the story of his son being an addict lol your either a government official supporting the story or your an idiot. the signs of heroin abuse are obvious long b4 addiction even to a complete drug moron. same with crystal meth and ice. its alright they will say enough people believed this nonsense and tighten they grip on us some more. i say if its that easy to get the stuff where is it cause im a cronic pain sufferer and cant afford the dr. nor the prescript.
vern.... 164 your full of it im a huge pot head and i can promise you that i will never nor have i done meth heroin cocaine that crap is disgusting. im tired of people calling weed a "gateway drug" its not its a dam herb people
the only reason why weak minded people try harder drugs is because they choose to surround themselfs with people that influence them in trying something new.
high school is 80% peer pressure hmmm
Weed is a plant, Cocaine is a plant,Heroin Poppy is a plant...they are not herbs, They do not make your salad or food taste better
Actually LostInThePineBarrens, weed is an herb and can be used in cooking and food prep.
The difference between weed and the plants you mentioned is that a mature weed plant is in its finished state and ready for use/consumption while the plants have to be somewhat manufactured to then turn it into a 'drug' for American consumption.
The leaves of the Coca plant can be chewed and need no manufacturing and the opium poppy can also be chewed and needs no manufacturing, While to get the desired affect they do have to go thru a process to increase their potency they do in fact produce a resultant high without any processing, Weed/Marijuana goes thru a drying process so that it can be smoked and certain marijuana plants have their flowers pinched off to increase their potency.
The fun never ends in hypocritical c-noid society. To all the scuzzbag coaches who introduce the kids to full injectable steroids to win pathetic football games to the pack of lies surrounding the whole debacle in the "Stans"
for control of the opioid market. Parents who have to work constantly to pay for the american nightmare of credit and taxes who have zilch time to spend with the kids. Guess what? Humanity is seperating into a strata of the highly intelligent and the addicted violent dullards.. Thank c-noid and other brainwashing tactics to stump and decieve. As long as the dumbasses bible babble themselves in a circle they will never get or attain anything. Guess what the truly rich have you all fu**** and there isnt anything you can do about it except EVLOLVE! Or just crawl back down the cave hole of escapeist fantasy.. yep religious fantasy or the real opium of the masses....brown tar heroin.. which by the mostly comes from golden triangle. stupids!!
It's obvious that Mr. Roberts never saw "Traffic", a movie that had a story line on drug use in the suburbs. That movie says it all.
Man what a sense of pain and sorrow of understanding and a crock of s$#@. None of the things I read in this story or the things I've read o this board are the things that i've heard about other people who are caught up in the drug culture. Why aren't you calling for a stop and frisk law, whynot start battering doors down and putting people in jail I'll tell you why because you guys are a bunch of hyppocrits, you condemn everyone else but place your own above them, all of a sudden it's not the sameand you have that sense of compassion that you never had before.Ask the cop what he did to all the other drug addicts he came accross. Talk about karma and poetic justice.
But why were they trying to get high from a prescription painkiller in the first place? Where did they get the idea that they were supposed to get high using _any— drug?
Good ol USA/Amexico!
In a society that offers few opportunities for genuinely meaningful work, has increasingly reduced opportunities for social or financial advancement, relies upon an "economy" based upon the destruction of the ecological basis of the productivity of the planet while driving huge numbers of non-human species into extinction, suppresses the most creative members of society, co-opts forward-thinking social movements into the service of commercialism, and where "hope" and "change" are implemented as rapid advances in applying high technology to military application of precisely targeted murder....
what do you expect?
we are generation Rx
And once again, our VERY STUPID, CROOKED, CORRUPT SO CALLED CONGRESSIONAL REPS are not representing the american people on this.
These idiots just failed to pass a more strict bill for the control of prescription drugs, yeah, thanks once again you worthless piece of crap congress.
Not a single representative in our CORRUPT congress has done their stinking frackin job for the past 3 years, we need to get rid of as many of these non-representative idiotic morons and actually elect people who represent us, the people of the usa and not their crooked corrupt cronies.
YOU FRACKIN STINCK CONGRESS.