Heroin: Dangerously Hip?

Heroin use has spiked among teens as the dangerous drug becomes trendy again.

The saying “what goes around comes around.” It’s true for fashion and other trends. Sadly, it’s also true when it comes to drug use. Heroin got a big boost in the early ‘90s as a staple in Seattle’s grunge scene. Most famous among the drug’s users was Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who lost his battle with heroin addiction after checking himself out of a California rehab facility and returning home to commit suicide.

A New Generation of Heroin Users

Despite that cautionary tale, a new generation of young people, many of them still in their teens, are turning to heroin to get high. This dangerously addictive drug was typically injected (that method provides the fastest results), but now purer product has made snorting or smoking the drug more popular, opening up a whole new group of users who don’t want the stigma of intravenous drug use.

The staff at The Oaks at La Paloma Treatment Center, confirms this troubling trend, citing a rise in teen heroin users seeking treatment for addiction. They’ve witnessed firsthand heroin’s spike in popularity among young people.

Even among young, healthy users, long-term effects include liver and kidney disease, infection of the heart and other pulmonary problems. While quitting is key, heroin withdrawal is difficult and painful. That’s why it’s important that it’s done in a professional detox environment like The Oaks at La Paloma’s state-of-the-art facility.