Page 19 - Heroin Users News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The center's medical director said heroin is a national crisis. >> this is the first time in my career, which is over 25 years of working in addiction that i've seen this kind of death rate. >> the latest government figures are startling. between 2002 and 2012, the number of heroin users in the united states more than doubled. at the hazleton center, the belief is the heroin epidemic is directly related to people using drugs like oxycontin and vicodin which are in the same drug family, but cost more than heroin. >> they're seeking a better high at a cheaper price. >> that's driving this whole ...

>> in fact, in 2000, nearly 400 people were treated for heroin abuse in vermont. by 2012, that number shot up to almost 3,500. not just the northeast. it's a problem nationwide. according to 2012 substance abuse and mental health services administration survey, between 2007 and 2012, the number of heroin users ages 12 and up doubled. joining me, mr. hart. author of the book "high price." challenges everything you know about drugs in society. the governor mentioned something i have read in a number of places that basically there's a big prescription painkiller problem in this country that then ...

>> he was immediately hopelessly addicted, spending up to $1300 a week. eventually dealing heroin so he could get his fix for free. >> did you realize how crazy and dangerous this was getting? >> deep inside i knew, i really did know. >> it didn't mat summer. >> i didn't kash. >> did you think you were going to die? >> it got to a point. i told myself i'd rather die high than sober. >> he ended up in 13 different treatment centers, in st. paul, minnesota he met success. the center's medical director said heroin is a national crisis. >> this is the first time in my career, which is over 25 year...

Telling sign? >> 80% of the heroin users are using other drug and 19 million used marijuana last month so it is all connected to different drug use. if you are a parent you have to look for detachment and look for someone who is not performing as well at school as you were expecting them. it is a sudden detachment from social function. >> you say it isn't for problem with the junky in the alley. but we are leading lower, upper and middle income and all classes now. and that is different? >> that is absolutely true. the reason for that is supply and demand. it is something like that like 80-100...

20 used syringes. according to a 2012 survey, from 2007 to 2012 the number of heroin users nearly doubled in the u.s. from 373,000 to 669,000 in 2012. the supply of heroin on the streets is also on the rise. the amount of heroin seized at the southwest border has increased to 232% since 2008. a bad batch of heroin tainted with a narcotic up to 100 times stronger than morphine has been responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people across the mid atlantic and the northeast. it's taken the lives of 22 in pennsylvania since january 19th.