Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, July 10, 2015
(UNDATED) - The Centers for Disease Control says there has been a 109 percent increase in heroin use among 18 to 25-year-olds.
According to the report, in just more than a decade the heroin-related overdose death rate has soared to 286 percent.
CDC Director Tom Frieden says cheaper, more available heroin and prescription drug abuse are fueling the increase of heroin use.
Several parts of Indiana have been witness to an increasing number of heroin-related overdoses in recent months, which prompted lawmakers to pass legislation expanding access to the opioid overdose intervention drug, Narcan.
According to the report, some of the groups most likely to abuse the drug include white men, people with an annual household income less than $20,000 and the uninsured. The number of women who use heroin has increased by 100 percent.
Widespread use of opiate painkillers has primed people for heroin addiction. These drugs and heroin have essentially the same active ingredient. Heroin is also easy to obtain and far cheaper than prescription painkillers.
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