Alert in the US Over the Rising Number of Heroin Overdose Deaths [Video]

The recent rise in the number of deaths related to the use of heroin in the United States have raised alarms in health institutions in what many have described as a severe public health problem.

The Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, said on March 10 that the rise in heroin overdoses and the abuse of analgesic medication containing opioids is an "urgent and growing public health crisis", according to the AFP.

In a press release, Holder said that the number of deaths of heroin overdose has shot up to 45 percent from 2006 to 2010.

"Right now, there are few substances more lethal than opiates sold with a prescription and heroin. It's clear that opiate addiction constitutes an urgent and growing public health crisis," said Holder, quoted by the AFP.

According to Reuters, the US Attorney General announced that 17 states and the District of Columbia have joined a campaign which has the objective of modifying its laws to open up access to naloxone, an agent which blocks and modifies the effects of an overdose and helps victims regain respiration.

Holder also described the abuse of opiates which can be gotten with a prescription, such as oxycodone and others, as an epidemic. According to a report by the DEA, quoted by Reuters, during 2010 there were over 16,000 deaths caused by overdoses on these opiates.

The authorities' worry rises as it is known that many people who abuse oxycodone and other opiates can develop a tolerance to its effects, and resort to heroin which, furthermore, can be acquired in the black market at a lower price than prescription opiates.

"When we face the problem of substance abuse, it makes sense to focus on the most dangerous types of drugs. And now, there are few substances more lethal than opiates sold with a prescription and heroin," said Holder in a video published on Monday on the website of the Justice Department as a part of a program to raise awareness on the dangers of heroin.

Video via the AP

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