cannabisnews.com: Kids Latest Victims of Heroin Chic! Kids Latest Victims of Heroin Chic! Posted by FoM on March 14, 1999 at 06:24:03 PT Heroin has become the "in" drug for the city's teens, club kids and young professionals. They're attracted by the drug's high purity and the easy, long-lasting high from smoking or inhaling it, say police, drug counselors and medical experts. And because they aren't shooting up, there are no needles involved or telltale track marks on their arms. But the drug, if anything, is more dangerous than ever before because of its incredible potency, the experts said. "If you don't have much tolerance and you're inexperienced, you're in danger," warned Dr. Robert Millman, director of drug- and alcohol-abuse services at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Heroin's growing popularity cuts across all demographic lines, officials said. Those drawn to it include: *Club kids looking for new kicks. *Poor teens who avoid crack because they've seen it destroy older relatives. *Affluent young professionals who are comfortable using a powdered drug that can be snorted or smoked. The heroin they're buying is frequently as much as 50 percent pure. That's far more potent than the 10 percent of the early '90s. The increased purity means a powerful high can be achieved by smoking or snorting - making it unnecessary to shoot up to get a high. It's also relatively cheap - only $10 for a bag that's far more potent and long-lasting than the $10 bags of the early '90s, police say. But heroin as a socially acceptable drug comes at a heavy price. No matter how casual new heroin users claim to be, experts say many of them will become hooked on the drug and start injecting it. With the potency of today's heroin, that's a prescription for death. "That type of purity is more likely to kill you if you inject," Millman said. "But you can even overdose just by snorting it." Interviews with cops, drug counselors and hospital officials revealed: *At fashionable nightclubs, particularly in lower Manhattan, heroin now goes hand in hand with drugs such as Ecstasy and Special K, according to police. *Teens who used to sprinkle cocaine on their marijuana joints are now sprinkling heroin on them, said Dr. David Steinman, clinical director of Odyssey Behavioral Health Care, another drug treatment center. *At New York Presbyterian Hospital, Millman said doctors are "seeing more people looking for treatment and more overdoses - almost-fatal and fatal." *At Saint Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx, half the 60 beds in the drug detox unit are occupied by heroin users. Chief Martin O'Boyle, head of the NYPD's Organized Crime and Control Bureau, noted that it often takes news of an overdose to scare users off the drug. "Some of the newer users believe it's a recreational drug," O'Boyle said. "It's a myth." http://www.nypostonline.com/031499/news/9491.htm Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by evelina on June 05, 2001 at 10:25:16 PT: information about how to help hi! may name is evelina and i need information about ganja.please. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by HEATHER rANDOLPH on November 19, 1999 at 16:47:29 PT: HARM REDUCTION Hi,My name is Heather Randolph and I have just moved to N.Y.C. from San Francisco and I was in a Harm Reduction group through the use of Medicinal Marijuana. I understand that is not an option here in this state but I would like to be involved with something to that nature. Or any Harm reduction groups. I would like to give my time to this cause. Please E-mail me and let me know if I can help change things in this state. I was in and worked at the C.H.A.M.P.S. Medicinal Marijauna club in San Francisco. I'd really like to hear from you. I have alot of information that might be intreresting to you??????!!! :} :} Thank you, Sincerly Heather Maia Randolph E-Mail: heathermaia yahoo.com or : chimera70 earthlink.com [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: