Heroin addiction treatment

Heroin Treatment in Pennsylvania

Abuse and the presence of heroin poses a serious threat second only to cocaine, and heroin soon could become the main drug threat in the state of Pennsylvania. Chemical dependency treatment data indicates that heroin abuse is rising in the state of Pennsylvania, and cocaine abuse is gradually declining, and law enforcement in some areas now rank heroin as a larger problem than cocaine. Highly potent heroin, which can be effectively snorted or smoked instead of injected, has expanded from urban areas to mid size cities and smaller rural towns across PA. The city of Philadelphia is the state’s largest heroin market and the primary distribution center for heroin sold throughout Pennsylvania State. A large percentage of retail heroin sales in Philadelphia take place in the “Badlands,” a 4-square-mile area in northern Philadelphia.

Information regarding drug treatment admissions reported by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs show that heroin abuse in the state of Pennsylvania is high and continues to rise. State funded treatment admissions with heroin as the primary drug of abuse accounted for 31 percent of all non alcohol drug treatments documented in 2000, slightly lower than cocaine admissions (35%) but higher than marijuana admissions, at a still quite high (25%). The amount of heroin treatment admissions rose steadily from 1996 to 2000; there were 7,413 in 1996, 7,817 at the end of 1997, 8,700 in 1998, 9,269 in 1999, and 10,646 reported in 2000. Throughout the same period, cocaine admissions gradually decreased.

Regardless of how users administrate heroin, an increase in the purity of heroin could be one reason for the increase in hospital emergency department visits. According to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the purity of an ounce of heroin purchased on the street increased from 34 percent in 1990 to 66 percent in 1993. The greater purity of heroin could result in more overdoses and, in turn, more hospital visits.