After recently blogging about the risks of black tar heroin, I decided to look a little deeper into what is mixed with heroin these days. The result was a new article on what is in heroin. Once in a while, researching an article leads to a change in perspective, and this was one of those times.
I've known for decades that heroin in its pure form, if carefully dosed, is a relatively safe illicit drug. I've also known for a long time that heroin is almost always cut with ingredients that make it more dangerous. I remember listening to a group of ex-addicts who were giving a presentation on the dangers of drug in the 1980s, and being surprised that heroin is sometimes cut with substances such as rat poison and powdered glass.
But there was something particularly sickening about my recent discovery that the probable reason for the recent outbreaks of botulism in black tar heroin users is the use of soil as a cutting agent. Soil that contains spores that can germinate in the injection wounds of addicts, causing paralysis and death.
I'm not sure what horrifies me more -- that a drug dealer could have so little respect for human life that they mix dirt with drugs they know are going to be injected, or that a drug addict could have so little repect for their own existence that they go ahead and inject it into themselves.
The illicit drug market is out of control. Immediate action is needed to end this current situation. We know that prohibition doesn't work. We know that the line between medication and self medication is disappearing. But legalizing drugs carries an unfortunate message that could lead to an even greater increase in drug use among our youth in particular.
So what's the answer? Post your comments, if you have any ideas.
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