Heroin Facts & Figures
Overview
Contents | |
Overview |
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Extent
of Use |
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Health
Effects |
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Treatment |
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Arrests & Sentencing |
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Production & Trafficking |
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Legislation |
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Street
Terms |
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Other
Links |
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Sources |
Heroin is a highly addictive drug and is the most widely abused and most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants.1
Pure heroin, which is a white powder with a bitter taste, is rarely sold on the streets. Most illicit heroin is a powder varying in color from white to dark brown. The differences in color are due to impurities left from the manufacturing process or the presence of additives. Another form of heroin, "black tar" heroin, is primarily available in the western and southwestern U.S. This heroin, which is produced in Mexico, may be sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal, with its color varying from dark brown to black.2
Heroin can be injected, smoked, or sniffed/snorted. Injection is the most efficient way to administer low-purity heroin. The availability of high-purity heroin, however, and the fear of infection by sharing needles has made snorting and smoking the drug more common. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) researchers have confirmed that all forms of heroin administration are addictive.3
Extent of Use
According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 3.8 million Americans aged 12 or older reported trying heroin at least once during their lifetimes, representing 1.5% of the population aged 12 or older. Approximately 366,000 (0.1%) reported past year heroin use and 153,000 (0.1%) reported past month heroin use.4
In 2007, there were 106,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used heroin for the first time within the past 12 months. The average age at first use among recent initiates aged 12 to 49 was 21.8 years in 2007. There were no significant changes in the number of initiates or in the average age at first use from 2006 to 2007.5
Among students surveyed as part of the 2008 Monitoring the Future study, 1.4% of eighth graders, 1.2% of tenth graders, and 1.3% of twelfth graders reported lifetime use of heroin.6
Percent of Students Reporting Heroin Use, 2008
8th
Grade |
10th
Grade |
12th
Grade |
|
---|---|---|---|
Past month use |
0.4% |
0.4% |
0.4% |
Past year use |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
Lifetime use |
1.4 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
Approximately 75.5% of eighth graders, 83.1% of tenth graders, and 73.2% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2008 reported that using heroin occasionally without a needle was a “great risk.” Additionally, approximately 86.4% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2008 reported that using heroin regularly was a “great risk.” 7
Percent of Students Reporting Risk of Using Heroin, 2008
Percent
Saying “Great Risk” |
8th
Grade |
10th
Grade |
12th
Grade |
---|---|---|---|
Try once/twice w/o needle |
60.8% |
70.8% |
60.8% |
Use occasionally w/o needle |
75.5 |
83.1 |
73.2 |
Regarding the ease by which one can obtain heroin, 13.3% of eighth graders, 17.2% of tenth graders, and 25.4% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2008 reported that heroin was "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain. 8
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also conducts a survey of high school students throughout the United States called the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Among students surveyed for the 2007 YRBSS, 2.3% reported using heroin at least one time during their lifetimes.9
Percent of Students Reporting Lifetime Heroin Use, 2003-2007
2003 |
2005 |
2007 |
|
---|---|---|---|
9th grade | 3.5% |
2.8% |
2.6% |
10th grade | 2.9 |
2.5 |
1.8 |
11th grade | 3.0 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
12th grade | 2.9 |
2.0 |
2.6 |
Total | 3.3 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
Approximately 0.5% of college students and 1.6% of young adults (ages 19-28) surveyed in 2007 reported lifetime use of heroin. 10
Percent of College Students/Young Adults Reporting Heroin Use, 2006–2007
College
Students |
Young
Adults |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 |
2007 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
Past month | 0.2% |
0.1% | 0.2% |
0.1% |
Past year | 0.3 |
0.2 | 0.4 |
0.3 |
Lifetime | 0.7 |
0.5 | 1.9 |
1.6 |
According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 23.4% of State prisoners and 17.9% of Federal prisoners surveyed in 2004 indicated that they used heroin/opiate at some point in their lives.11
Percent of Prisoners Reporting Heroin/Opiate Use, 1997 and 2004
State
Prisoners |
Federal
Prisoners |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | 2004 |
1997 | 2004 |
|
At time of offense | 5.6% | 4.4% |
3.0 | 3.2 |
In month before offense | 9.2 | 8.2 |
5.4 | 5.8 |
Regularly* | 15.0 | 13.1 |
8.9 | 9.2 |
Ever in lifetime | 24.5 | 23.4 |
16.1 | 17.9 |
* Used drugs at least once a week for at least a month. |
Health Effects
The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after taking the drug. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of the initial rush that users experience. Intravenous users typically experience the rush within 7 to 8 seconds after injection, while intramuscular injection produces a slower onset of this euphoric feeling, taking 5 to 8 minutes. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, the peak effects of the drug are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes.12
In addition to the initial feeling of euphoria, the short-term effects of heroin include a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and heavy extremities. After the initial euphoric feeling, the user experiences an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Due to the depression of the central nervous system, mental functioning becomes clouded.13 Additionally, breathing may be slowed to the point of respiratory failure.14
After repeatedly using heroin for a period of time, the long-term effects of the substance begin to appear in the user. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, and liver disease. Additionally, pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may also result in the user.15
One of the most significant effects of heroin use is addiction. With regular heroin use, tolerance to the drug develops. Once this happens, the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect that they are seeking. As higher doses of the drug are used over time, physical dependence and addiction to the drug develop.16
Within a few hours after the last administration of heroin, withdrawal may occur. This withdrawal can produce effects such as drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and vomiting. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week.17
In addition to the effects of the drug itself, users who inject heroin also put themselves at risk for contracting HIV, hepatitis C (HCV), and other infectious diseases. Approximately 70–80% of the new HCV infections in the U.S. each year are among injection drug users.18
Street heroin is often mixed with various substances, including sugar, starch, quinine, and sometimes, strychnine or other poisons, causing an added danger to using heroin. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at a great risk of overdose or death.19
Of an estimated 113 million emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. during 2006, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 1,742,887 were drug-related. DAWN data indicate that heroin was involved in 189,780 ED visits.20
Treatment
A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin addiction. For example, methadone, a synthetic opiate that blocks the effects of heroin and eliminates withdrawal symptoms, has proven successful for heroin addiction. Additionally, buprenorphine and many behavioral therapies are also used to treat heroin addiction.21
From 1997 to 2007, the number of admissions to treatment in which heroin was the primary drug of abuse increased from 235,143 in 1997 to 246,871 in 2007. Heroin admissions represented 14.6% of the total drug/alcohol admissions to treatment during 1997 and 13.6% of the treatment admissions in 2007. The average age of those admitted to treatment for heroin during 2007 was 36 years. 22
Arrests & Sentencing
During FY 2004, there were 32,980 Federal arrests for drug law violations, 1,881 of which were for heroin. Additionally, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported 2,273 arrests for opiates in FY 2004.23
During FY 2007, there were 1,382 Federal offenders sentenced for heroin-related charges in U.S. Courts. Approximately 96.2% of these cases involved trafficking and 1.7% of cases involved simple possession.24
Production & Trafficking
The U.S. heroin market is supplied entirely from foreign sources of opium. Heroin available in the U.S. is produced in four distinct geographical areas: South America (Colombia), Southeast Asia (primarily Burma), Mexico, and Southwest Asia (principally Afghanistan).25
Much of the heroin used in the United States comes from poppies grown in Colombia and Mexico, though opium gum production in these countries accounts for less than 4% of the world’s total production and Colombian production has been cut by 60% since 2001. Mexico supplies most of the heroin found in the western United States while Colombia supplies most of the heroin east of the Mississippi. Colombian law enforcement eradicated 375 hectares of opium poppy in 2007, while the Government of Mexico (GOM) reported eradicating 7,784 hectares of opium poppy.26
According to 2006 Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) data, Federal agencies seized 1,774 kilograms of heroin.27 FDSS contains information about drug seizures made within the jurisdiction of the United States by the DEA, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Coast Guard.28
Legislation
Heroin was first synthesized from morphine in 1874 and became widely used in medicine in the early 1900s. At that time, physicians were unaware of heroin's potential for addiction. The first comprehensive control of heroin in the U.S. occurred with the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914. Heroin currently falls into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act based on its potential for abuse and its lack of accepted medical use.29
Street Terms30
Common Terms Associated with Heroin
Term | Definition | Term |
Definition |
---|---|---|---|
A-bomb | Marijuana mixed w/heroin | Hell
dust |
Heroin |
Big H | Heroin | Nose
drops |
Liquefied
heroin |
Dragon rock | Heroin mixed w/cocaine | Smack |
Heroin |
Other Links
A Collection
of Articles That Address Research on Heroin
This resource presents links to and full text of National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA) research articles concerning heroin.
Breaking
Heroin Sources of Supply
This fact sheet provides an overview of efforts to reduce domestic
heroin availability.”
Buprenorphine
Physician Locator
This on-line resource assists individuals in locating physicians who
can prescribe buprenorphine (Suboxone® and Subutex®) for treatment
of opioid addiction.
Heroin
Movement Worldwide
This Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Web site provides information
about heroin production, consumption, and trafficking.
Heroin
Publications
This site presents a listing of heroin-related publications from various
sources.
Methadone
Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides an overview of issues dealing with methadone
treatment.
Price
and Purity of Illicit Drugs: 1981 Through the Second Quarter of 2003
This report extends, improves, and augments previous estimates of trends
in the price and purity of five major illicit drugs, including heroin.
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility
Locator
This on-line resource can be used to locate drug/alcohol treatment
programs throughout the United States.
Sources
1 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heroin Abuse and Addiction Research Report, May 2005
2 Drug Enforcement Administration, Drugs of Abuse, 2005
3 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heroin Abuse and Addiction Research Report, May 2005
4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, September 2008
5 Ibid.
6 National Institute on Drug Abuse and University of Michigan, 2008 Monitoring the Future Study Drug Data Tables, December 2008
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: Youth Online: Comprehensive Results
10 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975–2007. Volume II: College Students & Adults Ages 19–45 (PDF), 2008
11 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004, October 2006
12 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heroin Abuse and Addiction Research Report, May 2005
13 National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Heroin, June 2007
14 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heroin Abuse and Addiction Research Report, May 2005
15 National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Heroin, June 2007
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heroin Abuse and Addiction Research Report, May 2005
19 Ibid.
20 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2006: National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits (PDF), August 2008
21 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heroin Abuse and Addiction Research Report, May 2005
22 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Highlights—2007, February 2009
23 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 2004, December 2006
24 United States Sentencing Commission, 2007 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics, 2008
25 Drug Enforcement Administration, Drugs of Abuse, 2005
26 U.S. Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 2008, March 2008
27 National Drug Intelligence Center, National Drug Threat Assessment 2008, October 2007
28 Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal-wide Drug Seizure System, as reported in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
29 Drug Enforcement Administration, Drugs of Abuse, 2005
30 Office of National Drug Control Policy, Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug Trade