A Brief History of Heroin

In the past, most people have regarded heroin as the ultimate taboo “hard drug.” Casual drug users, who were willing to experiment with marijuana or cocaine, would draw the line at trying heroin. Even some heroin users would draw yet another line at mainlining, or injecting, the drug directly into the bloodstream, especially after the onset of the AIDS epidemic, which was often spread through the use of shared needles.

However, during the 1990s, heroin began to attract new users: teenagers who did not share the older generation's aversion to heroin. Part of the reason for this was changing attitudes about drugs, both legal and illegal. Unlike previous generations, young people coming of age today take it for granted that practically any medical condition can be fixed with a prescription, whether it's depression, high cholesterol, or an injury. Acceptance of illegal drug use is a possible extension of this attitude.

The falling price and increasing purity of heroin also accounts for its increased popularity. In 1980, the average purity, or amount of heroin in the mixture, was less than 5 percent. At this low concentration, heroin must be injected in order to have an effect. Today, however, the average purity is over 35 percent, and depending on the batch, it might be much higher. Since the drug isso much stronger, it has a potent effect when smoked or snorted. To many teenagers, these methods of heroin use seem safer and easier than injection. Heroin became easier to obtain as well. Suburban high schoolers could buy it from friends or try it out at parties.

Heroin trends vary among different regions and demographic groups. In some parts of the West Coast of the United States, for example, rates of heroin addiction are particularly high due to the easy availability of a form of the drug called black tar heroin, which is imported from Mexico. Since it comes in a dark mass, this form must be dissolved and injected, increasing the risk of addiction as well as overdose.