Painkiller Abuse Tied to Skyrocketing Heroin Use in US

[C C]

http://www.livescience.com/51469-opioid-...demic.html

EXCERPT: [...] 40 times more likely than others to abuse heroin, making the abuse of prescription opioid painkillers the strongest risk factor for heroin use, according to a new report.

The findings highlight the strong relationship between heroin and opioid painkillers. Health officials say opioid abuse is one of the main drivers of the rapid increase in heroin use in recent years. Use of the drug in the United States increased more than 60 percent between 2002 and 2013.

"Heroin use is increasing at an alarming rate in many parts of society, driven by both the prescription opioid epidemic and cheaper, more available heroin," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.....

[Magical Realist]

I had a cousin die of a heroin addiction a few years ago . He was a motorcycle racer and participated in many motor cross functions. My inference is that he injured himself and had to go on painkillers, to which he became addicted and then went to the cheaper heroin when he was no longer prescribed them. It's suburban America's dirty little secret---the blight of prescription painkillers as a gateway drug to heroin. Whole communities of young people fall into this overlooked trap. I think I'd rather endure the pain than be exposed to the pleasures of painkillers.