Those lower on the totem pole, such as heroin dealers will find that their financial gains do not compare to those in the upper levels of heroin trafficking. This is attributed to the fact that they are more often than not addicts themselves and are frequently in and out of jail. Also, U.S. laws and law enforcement have stepped up their efforts on interrupting the flow of heroin into the United States. They have also increased their efforts in arresting heroin distributors and heroin dependent individuals who commit crimes to maintain their addiction. According to federal government studies, shifts in the international drug market have doubled heroin production since the mid-1980s, leading to lower street prices for the drug. Those same studies conclude there are about eight million heroin abusers worldwide, with approximately a quarter of that group - two million - in the United States. Heroin users who inject the drug expose themselves to additional risks, including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses. Chronic users who inject heroin also risk scarred or collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver and kidney disease. Another one of the risks of heroin use is that all heroin users--not just those who inject the drug-- becoming addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin over time develop a tolerance for the drug, meaning that they must use increasingly larger doses to achieve the same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the drug. Heroin ceases to produce feelings of pleasure in users who develop tolerance; instead, these users must continue taking the drug simply to feel normal. Addicted individuals who stop using the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms, which include heroin craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and vomiting. |
