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NEWS: The Age - 8/11/2005 'Study junks view of heroin as a one-hit addiction'

hoptis

hoptis

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Study junks view of heroin as a one-hit addiction
By Liz Gooch, Social Affairs Reporter
November 8, 2005

IT TAKES more than a year to become addicted to heroin on average.

A British study of 72 heroin users has found that becoming physically dependent on heroin does not occur instantly or quickly.

Interviews with the users revealed some became physically dependent on the drug more quickly than others, according to researcher Dr Ross Coomber from the University of Plymouth.

"Some people took five years, some people took six months," he said. "Regardless of the length of time that any of these people took, none of them were instantly addicted."

Dr Coomber said there were problems in perpetuating the myth that one hit of heroin would result in addiction.

"An awful lot of lay people and people in authority, many police officers for example, they do still subscribe to this position," he said.

While this myth was used to exploit people's fears about heroin, Dr Coomber said: "The reality is that addiction is a very complex interaction of social circumstances, personality and context in which people are using as well as the drug," he said.

The study showed that for those using heroin "regularly" (up to three times a week), it took nine months on average before they began using daily.

Dr Coomber said different social factors, including whether the user lived with other users, could hasten the time it took for someone to become dependent on the drug.

Dr Coomber, who presented his research at the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs conference in Melbourne yesterday, said all the participants in the study had become physically dependent on heroin.

But Paul Dillon, spokesman for the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said dependency or addiction was not the only negative consequence of heroin use. "You've got to remember that close to 400 people die each year as a result of a heroin overdose."

LINKS: www.turningpoint.org.au
Click to expand...

From The Age
 
Thats quite interesting, as I am(was) definitely one of the "lay people" he spoke of, it was always drummed into me that any herion use leads to addiction.
Are there any other studies that support these findings?
 
Theres the fact that unless you ping it first time, your probably going to feel quite ill, possibly very ill and a lot of people don't even enjoy the experience (while others do very much)
 
The seminal work on this topic is "Drug, Set and Setting" Norman Zinberg 84 I think... You can find a few chapters online at www.drugtext.org .
 
^ Inject.

I agree that one hit generally doesn't lead to addiction - most people I know who've tried H didn't like it and never bothered trying again - but for a proportion, that first time is good enough to encourage repeat use. I also think this article's a bit deceptive, because with regular use (daily), it takes a *lot* less than a year to get addicted. Hopefully that's just common sense though.
 
Former Heroin addict here...happily clean over 3 years now :) Anyway I agree that one hit does not an addict make; however, I believe that one shot does break down some sort of mental taboo that instinctively has people going woah Heroin, nah that's really hardcore better not touch that stuff. After my first shot (I IV'd first time) I felt sick as a dog, threw up a lot and basically lay on the ground feeling kinda floaty in an I can't move or I'll puke kinda way, but it wasn't like the first E...not like OMG this is amazing wow can't wait to do it again, it was more like ok so this is Heroin yeah wow big deal...and that's the danger because it's not a really big holy shit this stuff has changed my life kinda drug. So after that first shot, next time if you're in a situation and it get's offered again it's easier to say ahh fuck it I've had it once no big deal and have it again and again and again and hello addiction :p
 
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