There are millions of people addicted to prescription and illegal opiates in the United States. As the laws against prescription opiates increase, so do the incidents of heroin use. Heroin is sometimes considered a low cost, easy to obtain alternative to expensive, difficult to get prescriptions. Unfortunately, the low cost heroin quickly turns extremely expensive depending on your perspective.
The first thing that you have to look at is financial aspect of continuing a heroin addiction. As you take heroin, your body builds up a tolerance to the drug. This simply means that you have to use more and more heroin to achieve the same effect. You might begin by using heroin once a week but this quickly becomes a daily habit. Soon you are spending 15 to 20 dollars a day on the drug. Then that isn’t enough, so you begin to use more each time you use it and use it more times per day. Soon the 15 to 20 dollars a day, turns into an over 1,000 dollar a week habit.
If you do the math, you will realize that that tiny habit you have can end up costing you over your yearly salary. Once you deplete you financial resources you may turn to stealing in order to obtain your heroin. You might resort to lying and stealing from friends and relatives at first but they probably will find out and distance themselves from you. When this happens you might start stealing from strangers or even prostituting yourself to obtain heroin or the money for heroin.
This can cost you arrest and incarceration. Fines relating to a heroin conviction can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This does not include the cost of a defense, court mandated heroin detox, or any other treatment that the court might require.
Probably the worst thing that heroin can cost you is your health and ultimately your life. Heroin is very easy to overdose on, particularly if your habit forces you to take large amounts of it at once. Thousands of people die from heroin overdose due to taking too much or taking it with drugs or alcohol every year. Hospital visits alone can cost anywhere from 3,500 dollars up to 10,000 depending on the treatment that you need.
The long term health effects of heroin are also extremely expensive. While you are on heroin, you might develop:
- Respiratory problems
- Kidney problems
- Heart problems
- Bowel problems
- Mental health issues
- Issues with anxiety
- STDs including HIV and AIDS
- PTSD
- Depression
- Malnutrition
- Hormone imbalances
- Sexual dysfunction
- Impaired memory
- Bipolar disorder
- Asthma
- Cancers
These are only a few of the health problems that may develop with long term use of heroin.
One cost you should not worry about is the cost of heroin detox or addiction treatment. You can receive addiction treatment at little to know cost. Detox.com can help you find the programs that you need in order to receive the treatment that you deserve.
