ability to perceive pain, and it is very addictive. Heroin is a fast-acting drug that quickly gives the user a "high," sometimes in a matter of seconds (if injected). Even a small amount can lead to an overdose and death (Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 2000).
The drug reached the height of its popularity in the U.S. during the early 1970s, then experienced a dramatic decline after it came to be viewed as a hardcore drug for junkies. The lack of purity (one to ten percent) meant that the drug could only be taken via hypodermic needle, a significant bar to use by many people. In the 1980s, fear of contracting AIDS became a further disincentive for heroin use (Powell, 2000).
That began to change in the late 1990s as heroin became more pure. Recent seizures by law enforcement indicate that heroin has reached purity levels as high as 98 percent. Such purity allows users to snort, smoke or ingest the drug, making the drug much more popular. Heroin comes in powder form, so a little goes a long way, and that makes it easier to smuggle the drug into America (U.S. Department of Justice, 2000).
Consequently, many illicit drug producers switched, which lowering heroin's street price. All these factors contributed to heroin's renewed popularity, and if that trend continues, usage levels could rival those of the 1970s (U.S. Department of Justice, 2000). Indeed, in 1999, the federal government reported that, for the first time, the number of people checking into treatment centers for heroin addiction exceeded the number being treated for cocaine dependency (Meckler).
Heroin's increasing availability and ease of use attracted a new kind of drug user: upper-class and middle-class youths. Overall, drug use has sharply declined among young people, from 25 million in 1979 to 13.6 million in 1998. During the 1990s, however, several suburban communities seemed to be suffering heroin epidemics among teenagers and young adults. ...