Is heroin still a problem in this country?

Brian Marwood

Brian Marwood

Well-known member
I barely see it mentioned in the news as an excuse for crime or hear it mentioned among friends anymore about people being afflicted.

Back in the early 1990’s a few people I know died from an overdose and one of my best friends went from having a high powered job in advertising, plenty of money in his pocket and swanning around in an XR3i convertible to addicted, jobless and homeless within a year.

Has the heroin problem largely gone away?
 
It's "around" when it suits the media to attack football fans, the homeless, unemployed, the poor, or the working class!
Same with cocaine. (n)
 
Druggies are the only group the government hasn't attacked. Maybe they are keeping it in their back pocket to cover for next week's tory scandal.
 
Isn't cocaine the trendy drug now?
It's used so routinely and blazenly.
Some youths don't even go into a cubicle at away games to imbibe.
 
It certainly seemed a bigger issue in the mid to late 90’s. I know of a few good lads who become addicted and unfortunately died either directly, or because of health issues associated with it. It’s a truly awful drug.
 
I can assure you coke and crack are the biggest problem currently. Coke was never really a big problem in the past as it wasn't available enough and people used it more for 'occasions' rather than daily use. Nowadays daily use is common and people using it don't see the difficulties it causes. They turn up to services wanting help when they're on a come down and deny its got anything to do with how they feel. The other risk is people use it to enable them to drink more which creates Coca ethylene which puts you at massive risk of a heart attack or stroke (way more than on their own).

I've known of people using heroin and maintaining good jobs such as teaching and living very normal lives. It's always led me to think that those who use it and have to steal to feed their habit should just be provided with it so they don't leave the house and have to bother others.
 
I was in Boots on the Market Place in Durham last week for my covid booster and had to wait near the hatch where they dispensed methadone. I was quite shocked at the number of people who turned up in the short time I was waiting.
 
Spice was really bad round here in the run up to Covid but the police cracked down and all the heads moved on
Cocaine is now a “football lads” drug, pint of Madri and a bag.
All sorts out there now - Ketamine, cannabis, weed - being done openly.
 
I often post under the influence of Ritalin, just so we’re being open. Heroin hasn’t gone anywhere but according to my friend who works as a drug counsellor, it’s usually used by older people. Abhor the word ‘druggie’ hypocritical in the sense of those who label people in such a way quite often prop the bar up and drink most days.
Addiction is an illness
 
Johngannonsunderpants said:
I've known of people using heroin and maintaining good jobs such as teaching and living very normal lives. It's always led me to think that those who use it and have to steal to feed their habit should just be provided with it so they don't leave the house and have to bother others.
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Spot on. For decades our prisons have been clogged up with people who would never have passed through were it not for the need to steal to feed an addiction. There is no need to criminalise drug users, whose crime hurts no one save themselves. Far better to tax them - as we tax other drugs like nicotine and alcohol - and regulate the purity and the dose of the drug (to mitigate against further complications from adulteration) feeding the revenue into treatment programmes. Heroin overdoses invariably happen when a strong batch hits the local market and people fix the same amount. The number of young lives cut short from avoidable overdose, the number wasted through turning decent people into jailbirds, is a moral outrage.
Another reason to legalise heroin is that treatment is so expensive, and often doesn't work. Illegality sustains a sub-culture and users drift back into their old associations. If they were given heroin, they might stop of their own accord while they were waiting for treatment as they wouldn't be encouraged by the culture. If they didn't stop, at least they wouldn't die of overdose.
 
equaliser said:
Spot on. For decades our prisons have been clogged up with people who would never have passed through were it not for the need to steal to feed an addiction. There is no need to criminalise drug users, whose crime hurts no one save themselves. Far better to tax them - as we tax other drugs like nicotine and alcohol - and regulate the purity and the dose of the drug (to mitigate against further complications from adulteration) feeding the revenue into treatment programmes. Heroin overdoses invariably happen when a strong batch hits the local market and people fix the same amount. The number of young lives cut short from avoidable overdose, the number wasted through turning decent people into jailbirds, is a moral outrage.
Another reason to legalise heroin is that treatment is so expensive, and often doesn't work. Illegality sustains a sub-culture and users drift back into their old associations. If they were given heroin, they might stop of their own accord while they were waiting for treatment as they wouldn't be encouraged by the culture. If they didn't stop, at least they wouldn't die of overdose.
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Whilst I agree with pretty much all you are saying but addicts end up in prison due to shop lifting, burgulary, dealing etc. Legalising drugs isn't going to help them as they will still have to find a way to pay for their now legal drugs. Unless we give them drugs free which I don't think many people would agree with.
 
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