Don't Bring Me Down (Song, Electric Light Orchestra, 1979)

Hello Grafted in Readers,

Today is February 7 in my corner of blog land. Winter is here though snow is minimal. I want to do something a bit different this post and be informative perhaps.
Some of you know I write for what is called a content mill. I recently produced a 500-word article on heroin use and treatment in America. Just wanted to share the findings with you that come mostly from NIDA, The National Institute on Drug Abuse. I'll be back afterword to just add some final words.
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According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, heroin use in its addictive form is considered heroin use disorder. Heroin is classified an external opioid. It has a significant effect on brain chemistry also called neurotransmitters. Treatment options found to be most reliable combine a behavioral therapy model with pharmacologic medication. Symptoms of withdrawal may be severe. The symptoms of withdrawal include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Heroin contains the chemical morphine produced from poppy plants. In its pure form, heroin is a white powder. It is grown in South America and southeast Asia.

Two forms of heroin available in North America include black tar heroin, and white powder or gun-powder heroin. Black tar heroin is either a sticky residual like roofing tar, or hard like coal. It is mainly produced in Mexico and sold illegally in the western US. The drug, heroin, may be taken orally, snorted or injected under the skin.

In 2013, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, reported findings concerning overall illicit drug use in the US.
- An estimated 9.4 percent of US citizens over age 12 had once used an illicit drug.
- Alcohol, prescription pain relievers and marijuana are the most common used drugs in the US.
- In 2016, it was estimated that 0.9 percent of reported illicit drug users had sought treatment.

In 2016, the national survey on drug use and health, reported an estimated 948,000 Americans used heroin in the past year. This is a marked increase from 2002, where findings indicate users numbered about 214,000. Moreover. Heroin, formerly an urban illegal drug, now is used across country.
Heroin is an external opioid that when used binds to neurotransmitters causing a reward or rush sensation from the brain. This reward or rush can vary between users and vary by method of inducement.

The signs of heroin use may include dry mouth, drowsiness, arms or legs feel heavy, slowed breathing, lower heart rate and impaired mental function or judgment. Other signs of heroin use, nausea, vomiting and acute or severe itching.

The treatment of drug addiction may occur in a residential treatment program, such as Northbound Treatment, or outpatient by registered certified service providers. Treatment facilities may offers a protocol that helps an individual achieve one full year of recovery or sobriety from illicit drug use.

The result of treatment is measured by increased employability, decrease in criminal or socially challenging behavior and significant lower risk in acquiring disease.

On the medication side of treatment, Methadone and generic forms of suboxone are among the more affordable means and can be given as outpatient treatment measures by qualified providers. There are two behavioral models that are widely used by treatment facilities. Contingency management is a reward system. One builds points by rigorously following an agreed-upon treatment protocol. A second approach utilizes behavioral cognitive therapy. This reorients the drug user's expectations from use and provides strategies for coping with life difficulties outside illicit drug use.

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Let me know your thoughts.. Meantime, God's presence be with us always, Kevod Yeheveh.

Mellow Rock
David Russell

Note: My memoir, Homecoming: A Memoir is available through major online book vendors.
See https://www.dldbooks.com/davidrussell