Is Heroin Making A Comeback?

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 100 Americans die everyday from drug overdoses. Heroin is one of the most dangerous narcotics of them all, and its making a deadly comeback.

You’ve seen it in Hollywood, Glee actor Corey Monteith died from a heroin overdose. But it’s not just celebrities who are abusing the drug, heroin use is on the rise; even in North Mississippi.

“I treat people everyday with heroin addictions. A lot of people who are heroin users mix the drugs with other drugs and once you mix those drugs, these a lot of times become lethal combinations,” said Patricia Thornton, Clinical Coordinator at Pines and Cady Hills.

Which is what actor Corey Monteith did when he mixed heroin and alcohol. Heroine is a depressant. It severely slows down a persons breathing. It’s also highly addictive.

“Some of the first signs of addiction would be things like problems at work, problems at home, more fighting, more irritability, someone being confused,” added Thornton.

Sergeant Tom Roberson knows that people deep in their heroin addiction will do anything to get their fix. Each dose could be lethal.

“I do believe it’s making some what of a come back. Some of our celebrities that have died from using them, heroin and things of that nature were doing things like speed balling which is a mixture of cocaine and heroin together. The most important thing that they need to know about it, that it can kill you at any moment,” said Sergeant Tom Roberson.

Experts say by the time someone comes into treatment they’ve created a life of isolation. Heroin can lead users to become jobless, then homeless. Addicts often alienate their relatives and end up on the wrong side of the law.

“Asking for help is a really hard thing to do and so it’s a sign of someone who is really strong. So just ask for help,” added Thornton.

And asking for help is the first step.

For more information on rehabilitation options you can visit Pines and Cady Hills website at http://www.ccsms.org