New government report suggests a growing heroin epidemic

Over the last decade, heroin use has doubled among women and whites, with a consistent spike in all regions of the country, according to a new government report.

Based on face-to-face surveys of 67,000 Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a 62 percent increase of heroin use in the last 10 years—nearly 300,000 new users.

The increase of heroin use is due to the high cost and sparse availability of opioid painkillers, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Most opioid addicts that are using prescription drugs lose supply, because of price and sheer availability, more times than not they transition to heroin,” said DEA Special Agent Eduardo Chavez.

According to Chavez, heroin is the only drug with an overall upward trend in the United States. Other controlled substances such as methamphetamines have always been a high concern, he said, but there is no evidence to suggest a nationwide trend.

Heroin traffickers understand the transition from painkillers to stronger substances, and they are profiting, Chavez said. Seeing the growing demand, drug gangs are smuggling more heroin from places like Mexico and Columbia. Painkillers start in the hands of trained professionals and pharmacies, usually as monthly prescriptions, and divert to the hands of sellers through smuggling or falsified prescriptions. This process takes time and raises the cost for painkiller addicts. Chavez said drug users are turning to heroin because it’s cheaper and the effects are stronger.

The increased use of heroin is a grave concern, because of its lack of a concentrated region or typical user.

“There is no specific demographic, it’s men and women, it’s old and young, affluent, urban, rural, and everywhere in between,” Chavez said. “And that’s what makes it so dangerous.”

Even with statistics suggesting a heroin epidemic, Chavez said the DEA will continue standard procedures to combat the proliferation of drugs.

“All the drugs obviously ebb and flow,” he said. “We’ve always taken a full-court press attitude to any drug organization… it’s a work in progress.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.