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rfmcdonaldCBC's Meagan Fitzpatrick wrote last month about Vermont's escalating problem with opiate drugs, including heroin. Rolling Stone April 2013 article "The New Face of Heroin", by David Amsden, also provides more context.
One thing that worries me about this are the extensive similarities between rural areas in northern New England and eastern Canada. Is this what will happen in Canada?
One thing that worries me about this are the extensive similarities between rural areas in northern New England and eastern Canada. Is this what will happen in Canada?
Vermont is known for its quaint towns, picturesque landscapes and maple syrup, but it’s now getting national attention for far different reasons — a high rate of drug abuse and how the state is handling it.
Gov. Peter Shumlin declared in January that what began as a problem with addiction to opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin has grown into "a full-blown heroin crisis." The number of people seeking treatment for heroin addiction has shot up 250 per cent since 2000. Last year there were 4,000 people in state-funded treatment facilities for opioid addiction — and more sought help but were put on waiting lists. Overdoses are rising.
"In every corner of our state, heroin and opiate drug addiction threatens us," Shumlin said in his annual State of the State speech, which was entirely devoted to the drug issue.
Vermont's population is little more than 626,000 and it has the second-highest per capita rate in the U.S. for treatment admissions for opioid addictions.
Bordering on Quebec, Vermont is a microcosm of what is happening across the United States. Prescription drug abuse is considered the country’s fastest growing drug problem and heroin use has been rising, especially among young people.
People usually start off with a dependence on painkillers, then some advance to heroin because it’s cheaper and easier to get than the pills.
Drug overdose deaths have more than tripled since 1990 and have never been higher, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency estimates 100 people die from an overdose every day in the United States.
