We have been hearing about heroin all over the United States, but never in one nice big number. Everything reads based on city or state. What we want to take a look at is how bad the heroin use really is across the board.
Here are the numbers on heroin use in the US. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health: In 2012 about 669,000 Americans reported using heroin the past year. Which if I know anything about heroin, means they are probably addicted, or at least the majority are. There are very few individuals who only use heroin once.
This number, 669,000 is rising and has been since 2009. The “trend” appears to be driven by young adults, aged 18-25. There has been the biggest increase in use among those in this age group. Along with that the number of people using heroin for the first time is appallingly high. 156,000 people started using heroin in 2012 and probably still are. That number is double the number of people in 2006 who tried it for the first time.
And while these numbers are rising steadily, the numbers are actually declining for those aged 12-17. In the past year, heroin use among the Nations 8th, 10th and, 12th graders is at its lowest levels in the history of the survey. Less than 1% of those surveyed in all grades had tried heroin in 2013. Which has been a steady decline since 2005.
So what about addiction? Well, the number of people meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria for dependence or abuse of heroin doubled from 214,000 in 2002, to 467,000 in 2012. Data on what these numbers look like now and where these numbers reach hasn’t been released yet.
The impact of heroin use is huge. It is identified as being one of the biggest drug issues across several local regions from coast to coast. The rising harm associated with heroin use at the community level was presented in a report produced by the NIDA Community Epidemiology Work Group. The CEWG is comprised of researchers in areas across the United states and selected foreign countries that provide community level surveillance of drug abuse and its consequences or emerging trends. And heroin is taking the cake right now.
Heroin use is no longer found only urban areas. Heroin use in the US has spread into suburban and rural communities near Chicago and St. Louis. Heroin use is also on the rise among young adults in the areas. Individuals in the young adult age range, 18-25, are seeking treatment for heroin addiction or heroin abuse more now too. The numbers increased from about 11% in 2008 to 26% in the first half of 2012.