The Heroin Epidemic

English 151-15

29 September 2013

Heroin Rising

If one traveled through the small quiet community of Monroe, MI you would probably never think that this town has a drug problem. From the outside it seems like a nice middle class suburb that might be ideal to raise a family. For those that reside here however, they know that there is a growing problem. There aren’t many families that haven’t been affected by heroin addiction in this small town. The drug has literally swept through this county like an angry mob of rioters bringing crime, death, and destruction with it, leaving many people in the community asking, “Why?”

An article posted in the Monroe Evening News on July 2, 2013 stated:

There were 40 drug overdose deaths in Monroe Co. in the year 2012, and at least 15 of them were directly related to heroin according to the health department figures. Monroe County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Carl J. Schmidt said that is a high number for this size of an area. ”I was alarmed,” he said. “It was a lot.” Dr. Schmidt said 15 cases directly involved heroin but there most likely were others. In many instances, a person died of an overdose and several substances were present in his or her system. Dr. Schmidt explained that when there are more than three drugs detected in a deceased person’s system, then the official cause of death is due to multiple intoxication and they are not specified. But Dr. Schmidt said heroin most likely is included in some of those multiple cases. “I am certain there are more than 15 deaths that involved heroin,” he said.

With these statistic’s it’s very clear how out of control the drug problem has become in Monroe.

Heroin is derived from morphine which is a natural substance found in the seedpod of the Asian opium poppy plant. With long term use the user not only gets mentally addicted to the drug, their body’s also become physically dependent on it. According to the website drugfreeworld.org, “New painkillers came on the market with...