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US Heroin Consumption at 'Alarming Levels'

© Flickr / James GardnerHeroin was responsible for more deaths than murder in New York City last year.
Heroin was responsible for more deaths than murder in New York City last year. - Sputnik International
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US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that heroin consumption in the United States has risen to dangerous levels over the past decade.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Heroin consumption in the United States has risen to dangerous levels over the past decade, according to a recent report by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

“Heroin use has reached alarming levels throughout our nation and we must work together to overcome this serious public health threat,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde said, commenting on the release of Thursday’s report.

Heroin was responsible for more deaths than murder in New York City last year. - Sputnik International
For NYC, Heroin Deadlier Than Homicide
The report found 681,000 US citizens over the age of 12 used heroin in 2013, with the number of new users rising by 169,000 people.

While the amount of heroin consumers in recent research is consistent with levels measured since 2009, it is significantly higher than in 2002, according to the SAMHSA.

Parallel to the rise in heroin users, there has been an increase in those seeking treatment, from 277,000 people in 2002 to 526,000 heroin addicts in 2013.

Heroin is one of the most highly addictive drugs on the market and each year causes more than 3,000 overdose deaths. Heroin consumption also increases the risk of contracting AIDS and Hepatitis C through shared needles.

Excessive drugs prescription in the United States is one of the main reasons for heroin addiction in the country that has claimed numerous lives, US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart said in March 2015.

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