LaCalameto1

Megan LaCalameto

Dr. McLaughlin

English 1001

4 December 2015

Heroin Hits Home

Think about your mom. Think about her personality, the way she looks, the best qualities

about her. Now imagine one day a women comes into your house, she looks like your mom,

sounds like your mom and at one point she was your mom that is until she started using heroin.

Her life used to be all about your family and now all it consists of is constantly lying and being

neglectful towards you and your siblings. You may be asking why, what caused this drastic

personality change? The answer is heroin. Heroin is a drug that completely alters a person’s

personality turning them into the complete opposite of who they are. Heroin addiction should be

considered a health crisis because people don’t realize how much it affects the addict’s

personality, behavior and the entire community.

Heroin turns people into a shell of their former selves. All they care about is getting high.

The only motivation they have in life is due to heroin. They are only focused on figuring out

their next move to find money to buy more heroin. One try and you’re hooked. That is why the

drug is so dangerous. It takes over every aspect of your life. You’re affected emotionally,

financially and your health decreases tremendously. Heroin is becoming a health crisis that is not

just affecting the addict. Families are being torn apart in the process. That’s what happened to a

local Cincinnati family. Ava Holland posted a photo to Facebook to help gain awareness for

heroin addiction, “The photo shows Eva Holland standing with her two children next to the

LaCalameto2

casket holding their father's body,” (Fox19). This may be a graphic image but it is one all too

common among heroin addict’s families. Loved ones are lost to the drug and the family is left

picking up the pieces. Ava left the photo with a caption that encompassed her pain and wish for

awareness, “I’m sure this photo makes a lot of people uncomfortable it may even piss a few

people off but the main reason I took it was to show the reality of addiction. If you don't choose

recovery every single day this will be your only way out. No parent should have to bury their

child and no child as young as ours should have to bury their parent. This was preventable it

didn't have to happen but one wrong choice destroyed his family. I know a lot of people may be

upset I'm putting it out in the open like This but hiding the facts is only going to keep this

epidemic going,”(Fox19). This caption may shock some people just as much as the photo but it

speaks nothing but the truth. Heroin is a growing health crisis and spreading awareness about the

changes it makes to the addict’s personality and behavior can help society be able to identify the

addiction starting in someone. Being able to identify the effects of heroin early can lead to a

better chance of the addict choosing recovery.

Most people picture heroin addicts as older people, similar to looking like they are

homeless with a dirty appearance. Shows like “The New Face of Heroin Addiction” are proving

that stereotype wrong. “Since 2007, the number of heroin users in the U.S. has nearly doubled,

and half of all first-time users are younger than 26 years old, according to the Substance Abuse

and Mental Health Services Administration,” (20/20 ABC News). This show was all about how

the heroin epidemic is growing and so is the variety of people using it. Younger kids are trying it

because it’s cheap and they don’t realize the impact it will have on their family, life and overall

health. People don’t expect their loved ones to get into the hardcore drugs and this causes

denial. This denial stems from the stereotypes in society. According to Libby Harrison, the

LaCalameto3

program director for The Cincinnati Exchange Program, “A lot of them drive in from the

suburbs,” says Harrison. “People get this idea of what a drug addict is from Hollywood.” Just as

there are functional alcoholics, she says, there are plenty of functional drug addicts,”

(UCMagazine). This quote truly encompasses what fuels the denial in society. Society doesn’t

want to believe that there are drug addicts outside of the perceived stereotype. But the reality is

there is not an exact example of what a heroin addict looks like, they could be anyone. It could

be any member of your family. Even the ones you would least expect. A local woman Ava

Holland was faced with the cold hard truth as her husband started to become an addict. Ava

explains what it was like to watch her loved one change so drastically, “I was there before it all

started. I knew what he wanted out of this life, all his hopes and dreams. He never would’ve

imagined his life would turn out this way,” (FOX19). Once there is a suspicion of heroin use

with a loved one people’s first reaction is denial. This denial is the reason people can’t catch

their own children before the addiction takes complete control. The family either doesn’t

recognize the signs of heroin or they don’t want to admit that their loved one could ever be using

it. It’s truly sad because if people were able to become a little more educated on heroin I feel that

a lot more addicts would be getting the help they need rather than continuing to lose their lives.

Teenagers starting to become addicted to heroin is shocking to most people. Most people

choose to not believe it because they can’t face the truth. Heroin is becoming more popular

among teens, according to a study done by The University of Michigan in 2014, 10 th and 11th

graders had a 90% prevalence with heroin, and 12 th graders had a 100% prevalence. This is

extremely dangerous because they risk ending their lives early and losing everything they once

loved in the process. Teenagers are already extremely impressionable, they are all trying to find

LaCalameto4

themselves and when they aren’t happy with themselves they can turn to drugs to help numb the

pain. Once they get into drugs they can easily find heroin. It might not always be their choice,

they might get drugged at a party, or become peer pressured into trying heroin. A story straight

from Cincinnati has a connection with impressionableness being a factor in teens trying heroin.

Former UC student Cory Murphy became a heroin addict in high school. In his own words Cory

explains how it started, “Snorting heroin was still infrequent enough that I felt there was no

danger of it becoming a problem,” says Murphy. “And many of the popular kids were doing it,

so I finally found a way to really fit in. But the addiction eventually snuck up on me,” (Murphy).

The fact that teens are so young and impressionable leaves them vulnerable and willing to try

heroin. But what they don’t understand is that one use of heroin can kill you and if it doesn’t

right away it will begin to slowly.

Teens are becoming addicted and their entire personality changes. They start stealing

from their parents, using the money to buy heroin which leads them to a short life of this same

old cycle. Just that one try has them addicted and they lose everything, their health, reputation,

friends and family. They stop caring about school, getting good grades, having a job or social

life. Former UC student Cory Murphy faced this as well, “Though some of his friends landed in

jail when they were busted for stealing to support their habit, Murphy stayed out of trouble until

he was accused of selling pot at school. The honor student, starting football player and Eagle

Scout found himself expelled from school at the end of his junior year,”(Murphy). Cory was

already doing heroin and that addiction made people perceive him as a drug dealer. Teens don’t

understand how doing heroin one time can ruin their entire future. Their dreams of college,

holding down a steady job, staying out of danger and living a long and happy life can all be gone

in an instant.  Teens are too naïve to understand the consequences so it is extremely important for

LaCalameto5

parents and the community to know the signs of heroin addiction. It’s important for parents to

watch for signs of heroin use in their children. If they can spot the symptoms early they can get

their child into counseling or rehab before it is too late and their former self is lost forever. Early

detection is the key to the most beneficial help option.

It’s not just teens that lose themselves to heroin. Adults face this too. When adults are

addicted to heroin it can get extremely dangerous especially if they have families. Once addicted

to the drug their personality flips and they are no longer attentive to their children. The once

attentive mother that took pride in caring for her children feels nothing towards them because of

the drug. They aren’t aware of the pain they are causing their children. Heroin causes selfless

mothers to become completely selfish. They will do anything to get heroin. Even the

unthinkable. A story featured on WLWT gives a true look at what living with a heroin addict is

like, “According to authorities, April Corcoran, 30, of Pleasant Plain, Ohio, was charged with

trafficking her 11-year-old to her drug dealer, Shandell Willingham, 41, of Cincinnati, in

exchange for heroin. She is also accused of injecting her daughter with heroin,” (WLWT). This

is just horrifying to hear about. It begs the question where did her morals go? How could she do

something so evil to her own daughter? The addiction seems to be the only thing she’s thinking

about. All her maternal instincts were gone. This poor child was subject to insanity due to the

addiction and loss of personality. If heroin was never introduced to this woman her child would

have never been subjected to this devastating tragedy that took place. Her mother would have not

lost all her judgment and morals and that would’ve saved her daughter from having to endure

this traumatizing event that will now affect her personality in negative ways for the rest of her

life.

LaCalameto6

Personality changes can have some differences between genders, but mostly it has the

same outcomes with everyone. Most people become more aggressive, they lose interest in their

former goals, and they become distant and lose their sense of responsibility to anything or

anyone. These new traits leave them unable to function in society, “The dimensional studies

described abusers as immature, unable to take care of themselves (Khantzian,

1985 and Khantzian, 1997) and unable to maintain self-esteem (Fieldman et al.,

1995, O’Mahony and Smith, 1984 and Treece and Khantzian, 1986), with an unstable identity

and instability in personal relations (Fassino et al., 1992 and Pacini and Maremmani, 2001).”

With these new personality traits it’s basically impossible to be a fully functioning individual in

society. They have lost everything good about themselves and replaced it with traits that lead to

self-destruction.

Traumatic events are a huge factor in the reasoning behind drug abuse. According to The

Drug and Alcohol Dependence An International Journal on Biomedical and Psychosocial

Approaches, “Biological, psychological, family, and social issues are involved in the

pathogenesis of heroin abuse (Franques et al., 2000) and all these elements interact with

personality,” (Fassino,Daga,Desedime,Rogna,Bogio 73-80). Former issues an addict has faced

led them to heroin which ultimately causes them even more distress but they can’t see this. The

addiction makes them blind to the truth that heroin is changing them and its effects are far worse

than any issue they went through before. They used heroin as an escape when ironically it is

ultimately imprisoning their true selves and personalities. Then the drug takes complete control.

Heroin contributes to people choosing to lead a life of crime. People who are addicted to

heroin have started living in this new reality with a new personality that sends them into doing

things they never would have done if sober. People are committing more crimes and going

LaCalameto7

against their own values, they begin stealing from people, even friends and family to gain items

to sell for money to buy heroin with. This issue affected my family. My grandparent’s live in a

suburb in the greater Cincinnati area. They’ve been friends with their neighbors across the street

for years. They trust them and nothings ever given them reason not to, until heroin came into the

picture. The neighbor’s daughter saw my Grandpa outside and walked over to talk to him.

Shortly after she asked to use the restroom. My grandpa didn’t think anything of it and told her

to go ahead. Later that day my grandmother noticed some of her jewelry missing and realized it

had been stolen. They quickly called the cops and realized that their neighbor had taken it. One

of the items stolen was my great grandmother’s ring before she died. An irreplaceable

sentimental piece of jewelry gone because of a selfish thief who pawned it to buy heroin. When

confronted we found out the mother who was really good friends with my grandmother also

played a role in the crime. Unfortunately majority of the jewelry was pawned the other pieces

she still has hidden or she got rid of the evidence. Unfortunately crimes like these are all too

common amongst communities with heroin users. Heroin addicts lose their ability to see the pain

they are causing others by stealing from them. It’s just unimaginable to think someone could be

so addicted that they lose that much control over their actions. It’s like their being possessed and

there is no way to help them. All they care about is getting their next score. It’s scary to think a

drug can cause someone to change into the worst possible versions of themselves.

Heroin addicts face other problems with their personalities. A few of these include

gaining anxiety, depression and mood disorders. According to Dualdiagnosis.org, “Heroin is a

powerful opiate that alters the user’s brain chemistry, causing mood changes, suicidal behavior,

psychological dependence and addiction.” They also begin to isolate themselves from society

because of the depression. This is the sad reality that some people have to live with because they

LaCalameto8

used heroin. According to Drugabuse.gov, “The number of people meeting Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria for dependence or abuse of

heroin doubled from 214,000 in 2002 to 467,000 in 2012”. These addicts once lived a life free of

anxiety or mental disorders but this drug changed all that. Every day they are paranoid or

depressed as a result of this drug. The only way they can hope to find relief is through therapy.

It’s hard for addicts to choose therapy on their own so it needs to be more readily available to

them. This is what the Cincinnati Exchange Program does, “113 clients have referred to mental

health services,” (Cincyep.org). The Cincinnati Exchange Program is making a positive impact

on the community by helping deal with all forms of illness. Heroin doesn’t just affect your

mental health, but it leaves you with other negative side effects.

Heroin should be considered a health crisis because it continues to spread disease

mentally and physically. Heroin is done by snorting, smoking or injecting it into the body with a

needle. Injecting it with a needle has become the cheapest route but also leads to a rapid spread

of disease. Cory Murphy a former UC student started using heroin by snorting it but then was

tempted by a friend to try injecting it. His reasoning for choosing to inject heroin versus snorting

it is what many face. Many addicts are in the same state of mind, they want the fastest high they

can get, “What a rush,” says Murphy. “Shooting up was a lot cheaper and a much better high, an

immediate blast from sobriety to euphoria. It suddenly made much more sense to use a needle,”

(UC Magazine). All heroin addicts care about is the fastest way they can get high, they aren’t

thinking long term about their actions. By injecting heroin with needles this runs the risk of

spreading HIV, viral hepatitis and other infectious agents due to dirty needles being exchanged

among diseased users, (Drug abuse.gov).This proves that heroin should not viewed as only

affecting one person. Exchanging needles and spreading disease is affecting many people,

LaCalameto9

“Injection drug users (IDUs) are the highest-risk group for acquiring hepatitis C (HCV) infection

and continue to drive the escalating HCV epidemic: Each IDU infected with HCV is likely to

infect 20 other people,” (Drugabuse.gov). That statistic is so alarming, 20 people can be infected

just from one user and the cycle would just keep continuing if that user keeps sharing with

others. Heroin has enough negative effects on someone’s health without adding the spread of

disease into the mix. But simply using a needle from someone else can put your health in serious

danger. The spread of hepatitis C is also horrific because as of right now there is not a cure

available, (Drugeabuse.gov). Heroin is effecting the entire community’s health by spreading

diseases.

Here in Cincinnati heroin has become a health crisis. According to Cincyep.org, “Nearly

2 persons die every other day from an opiate overdose in Hamilton County”. That is a pretty

shocking statistic. Two people in a local community dying every day is an awful effect of heroin.

Actions are being taken to help stop more diseases from being spread. Diseases such as HIV and

hepatitis C are spreading amongst heroin users, “From 2009 to 2013, Hamilton County’s

hepatitis C cases increased from 721 to 1,136, a 58 percent increase in four years,”

(UCMagazine). The spread of disease is all too common in the communities where heroin

addicts live. The Cincinnati Exchange Project is a growing fight against the spread of disease by

providing clean needles to the community to stop the exchange of dirty ones, “We have

exchanged more than 30,000 syringes,” (Cincyep.org). This is a huge improvement in the fight

for disease prevention among drug users. For every needle given to the program they give the

person back a clean needle (Cincnyep.org). This program is essential to maintaining people’s

health as well as promoting awareness, “Participants will also receive education on safer sex,

safer injection use, and where to get drug treatment and medical care. If you have questions on

LaCalameto10

safer injection, vein care, hepatitis C or other random subjects we have a YouTube page,”

(Cincyep.org). By offering more opportunities to gain awareness about the dangers associated

with heroin this organization is making a huge positive impact on the community. The Cincinnati

Exchange Program is also providing valuable resources to help the addicts have the opportunity

to save what’s left of their health as well as give them resources to treat their addiction.

This program is truly beneficial to everyone. It is helping the addicts as well as bringing

awareness to the issues associated with heroin. That is what Dr. Judith Feinberg’s goal is, to raise

awareness to this issue as well as offering as much treatment and disease prevention as possible.

The beginning steps to spreading awareness left Dr. Feinberg irritated due to lack of concern

amongst health departments and government officials, “It should not have taken nine damn years

to tell people, ‘Look, we’ve got a public health problem here,’” the former New Yorker says in

her direct style,”(UCMagazine). Waiting nine years to even begin to get enough awareness to

start her organization must have taken a lot of patience and hard work. To Dr.Feinberg the

growing heroin epidemic was becoming more obvious by the day according to the alarming

statistics, “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heroin-related deaths

tripled from 2010 to 2013, and the bodies are piling up at the highest rate in Midwestern and

Appalachian areas,” (UCMagazine). As the epidemic began growing, so did Dr. Feinberg’s

passion for spreading awareness through The Cincinnati Exchange Program. By spreading more

awareness about heroin addiction, the community as a whole can work together to help prevent

this addiction from spreading and affecting more people than it already has.

Overall heroin should definitely be considered a health crisis. Heroin causes severe

changes in people’s personalities and this leads them down a road of self-destruction. They lose

their jobs, support from friends and family and ultimately they lose their lives. If awareness is

LaCalameto11

not brought to this issue then a lot more lives are going to be lost. Heroin kills by creating

physical and mental diseases that end up affecting the entire community. The moment society

starts to become more aware of all the negative effects heroin has not just on the addict, but the

entire community is when more of an effort to prevent this health crisis will be made.

Below the images are from “In Focus: The Women of Heroin

By Jessica Noll

On WCPO.com

LaCalameto12

LaCalameto13

Works Cited

Ashley Harrington, Digital Content Producer, and Michael Baldwin, Anchor/ Reporter. "Mom

Posts Photo of Family by Father's Coffin to Show Reality of Heroin Addiction." Mom Posts

Photo of Family by Father's Coffin to Show Reality of. Fox 19, 14 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Nov.

2015. <http://www.fox19.com/story/30029693/cincinnati-family-shares-smiling-photo-taken-

next-to-fathers-casket-to-make-point-about-heroin-use>.

Bach, John. "UC Doctor Takes on Heroin Epidemic with Needle Exchange Program." University

of Cincinnati. University Relations, Sept. 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

<http://magazine.uc.edu/issues/0915/needle-exchange.html>.

Fassino, S., G. Abbate Daga, N. Delsedime, L. Rogna, and S. Boggio. Drug and Alcohol

Dependence An International Journal on Biomedical and Psychosocial

Approaches.Http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu. Elsevier, 5 Oct. 2004. Web. 2

Oct. 2015.

"Heroin Abuse and Depression | Dual Diagnosis." Dual Diagnosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov.

2015. <http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/heroin-abuse-depression/>.

"How CEP Works." Cincinnati Exchange Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

<http://cincyep.org/how-does-it-work/>.

London, John, and Adrianne Kelly. "Woman Accused of Trafficking 11-year-old Daughter for

Heroin." Www.wlwt.com. Wlwt, 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Maremmani, I., M.D., Stefania, C., M.D., Pacini, M., M.D., Maremmani, A. G. I., M.D., Carlini,

M., M.D., Golia, F., M.D., . . . Dell'Osso, L., MD. (2010). DIFFERENTIAL SUBSTANCE

LaCalameto14

ABUSE PATTERNS DISTRIBUTE ACCORDING TO GENDER IN HEROIN

ADDICTS. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 42(1), 89-95. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/250885016?accountid=2909

"Opioids: Prescription Painkillers And Heroin." Prescription Drugs or Heroin Addiction Signs.

The Phonenix House, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.phoenixhouse.org/drug-addiction-

info/opioids-prescription-painkillers-and-

Schefft, Melanie. "UC Helps Alumnus Cory Murphy, a Former Heroin Addict, Develop Global

Leadership Skills and Find Himself." University of Cincinnati. University Relations, n.d. Web.

30 Nov. 2015. <http://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/murphy.html>.

"The New Face of Heroin Addiction." The New Face of Heroin Addiction | 20/20 | ABC News.

ABC News. 30 Oct. 2010. Television.