Honors and Heroin

Doing drugs is a curiosity every teenager faces, but the difference between those who choose to do them and those who do not, ultimately comes down to the will power of the individual. Of course, peer pressure is a great factor in teenager’s decision for using drugs, but peer pressure can only do so much It all comes down to how the teen chooses to handle the situation. Through increased availability and parents’ oblivion the use of heroin among teens has had an intense rise. Heroin has become much more easily available to young teens, typically being sold at lower prices than less harmful drugs like Marijuana, and most parents are oblivious to the fact that their kids are using heroin. The number of young adults checking into rehab centers has been doubling each year over the past four years and has become an epidemic in Kane County, IL. Thirty-four percent of people checking into rehab nowadays claim heroin as their drug of choice, surpassing the popular cocaine. Heroin is a much more powerful drug that according to Foster, “Attacks the body so drastically that many people have to attend rehab more than once to treat their addiction” (Foster). Heroin use has sprung out of control and lead to teens using it regularly. Teens are a good target for heroin because they are unaware of the effects it has on a person and are less suspected of using such a harmful drug. Many parents have no idea that their children are using heavy drugs like heroin because they do not suspect that such a dangerous drug would be so easily accessible to teens. Teens know they can usually get away with using heavy drugs because their parents would never even question them about it let alone bring up the idea of them using a drug like heroin. Teens who have recovered from Heroin use claim that their parents had no idea. In Naperville, a 17-year-old girl stated, “My mom thought I was smoking a lot of weed and taking diet pills, because who would’ve thought that such a bad drug could be so easily accessible to me?” (Buckley). Parents sometimes ignore the actions of their children because they are blinded by the innocence that comes with a child and are unaware of the harsh and dangerous activities their children are doing because they do not want to believe that their own child is capable of such an act. They are long lasting effects that come with any drug and the longer children use heroin the more susceptible they are to being harmed by these effects. Heroin causes extreme mental and physical damage, which can lead to brain damage and constant confusion or a life of depression. Heroin causes immediate physical danger to any user when used. Heroin also causes long-term mental effects. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “Heroin is a ‘downer’ that affects the brain’s pleasure systems and interferes with the brain’s ability to perceive pain”(DrugFacts). Heroin allows a numbing through a users body that pulls them away from the harm and pain they are putting themselves through. Through injecting people are at risks of getting diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV). These diseases mainly occur when sharing needles and exchanging bodily fluids. Heroin also causes “Slow heart beat and breathing rate, nausea and vomiting, and constipation” (House). Users who smoke, snort, or intake heroin orally are just as vulnerable to the physical effects of heroin as those who inject. Another mental danger of heroin is that heroin alters a person’s perception of reality, causing depression and lack of motivation. Also, heroin causes temporary and permanent brain damage. People who use heroin put themselves in a state of mind where everything seems like a dream, thoughts are never processed the same way when using any heavy drug, specifically heroin. Heroin causes a false sense of reality and allows the person using it to temporarily see their world as perfect from the high it gives them. Heroin is very harmful to