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Note - This report, last revised in 2000, is currently being updated. The new report will replace this material in the coming weeks. For more current information see InfoFacts - Heroin
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From the Director
Although heroin abuse has trended downward during the past couple of years, its prevalence is still higher than in the early 1990s.
These relatively high rates of abuse, together with the significant heroin abuse we are now seeing among school-age youth, the glamorization of heroin in music and films, changing patterns of drug use, and heroin's increased purity and decreased prices, make it imperative that the public have the latest scientific information on this topic.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has developed this publication to provide an overview of the latest research findings on heroin abuse and addiction.
Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its abuse has repercussions that extend far beyond the individual user. The health and social consequences of drug abuse - HIV/AIDS, violence, tuberculosis, fetal effects, crime, and disruptions in family, workplace, and educational environments - have a devastating impact on society and cost billions of dollars each year.
Fortunately, the availability of treatments to manage opiate addiction and the promise of new treatments from research provide hope for individuals who suffer from addiction and for those around them.
We hope this compilation of scientific information on heroin will help to inform readers about the harmful effects of heroin abuse and addiction and will assist in prevention and treatment efforts.
Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D.
Director
National Institute on Drug Abuse
If you have the Acrobat reader plug-in for Netscape or Internet Explorer click on the document link and you will be able
to view and/or print out the pages. If you have trouble viewing the document in your browser window, download the document (Windows users - right click on the link and Save as...) to your computer and get Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) in order to view it.
This report is also available in PDF format, Heroin Abuse and Addiction, [PDF format, 224 KB]
All materials appearing in the Research Reports Series are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission from NIDA. Citation of the source is appreciated.
To obtain printed copies of this report, please call or write the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20852, 1-800-729-6686. NIDA Research Report - Heroin Abuse and Addiction: NIH Publication No. 00-4165, Printed October 1997, Reprinted September, 2000. 756329times since 10/15/97.
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