One issue that social workers are faced with today is the ever growing population of Heroin and Methamphetamine users in Indiana. Over the past several years, both heroin and meth usage in Indiana has continued to rise. This surge has affected citizens of Indiana in a multitude of ways, including children being removed from homes. The increased removal rate has put on a strain on emergency shelters to provide for “drug endangered children.”
Heroin is an opiate, much like prescription painkillers. However, heroin is much easier to obtain and less expensive than prescription drugs. Heroin is an extremely dangerous drug for many reasons. First, because it is an illegal drug, it is completely unregulated. Heroin producers often use cutting agents in order to reduce the purity of the drug, and thus make more money. This means that users typically do not know the content or purity of the drug that they are using. Because it is so difficult to determine the dosage and content of heroin, overdose is common. In addition to depressed breathing, which often leads to death by overdose, heroin can also result in “collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, liver disease and pulmonary complications.
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Long-term meth use can result in chemical changes in the brain which may cause, among other things, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, violent behaviors, psychosis, such as paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions. These affects may or may not be permanent, even if meth use is discontinued. Another reason that meth is so dangerous is due to the ease of production. The production of meth does not require sophisticated equipment or ingredients. Most of the ingredients necessary to create meth can be bought relatively inexpensively at local stores. Furthermore, it is now common to make labs in small, clandestine