NCJ Number
107602
Editor(s)
F Zackon
Date Published
1986
Length
139 pages
Annotation
After reviewing the history of heroin production and use, this book discusses heroin addiction in the modern world, its effects on users, theories of heroin addiction, and treatment for heroin addiction.
Abstract
Among the topics covered in the historical review of heroin use and control are the introduction and growth of opium use, the opium wars, its growth and attitudes toward it in the United States, and attempts to cure and control opiate addiction. A discussion of heroin addiction in the modern world addresses worldwide opium production and consumption, why opium production continues, the black market, heroin and street crime in the United States, multidrug use, and future trends. The description of heroin effects on users encompasses short-term, subjective effects; physiological effects; dependence and addiction; and the impact of chronic heroin use on personality and lifestyle. Three case studies are included. A review of the causes of heroin addiction focuses on conditioning, personality factors, social factors, availability, peer pressure, physiological factors, and setting. Treatment methods considered are detoxification, methadone maintenance, psychotherapy, counseling, therapeutic communities, short-term residential treatment, and self-help fellowships. A list of State agencies for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse, glossary, and subject index.