Gay and Lesbian Heroin Addiction
As one of the strongest opiates in circulation, heroin has earned a reputation as one of the hardest drugs to kick. With an intense euphoric “rush,” rapidly building tolerance, harrowing withdrawal symptoms and severe cravings marking use of the drug, heroin addiction develops quickly – sometimes even from a single, experimental use. As with other sectors, those within the gay and lesbian community have encountered friends, loved ones and family members who have developed long-standing addictions to heroin. In fact, across the country, heroin use has been on the rise, with a 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health finding that more than 200,000 Americans – of every sexual orientation – had used heroin within the last 30 days.
Reasons for Heroin Addiction Among Gay and Lesbian Individuals
Much speculation has been made – by addiction specialists, psychologists, and gay and lesbian advocates themselves – as to why drug use has entered into the gay and lesbian communities. In some cases, the social pressures involved with identification with alternative sexual orientations leads to drug experimentation, while other cases involve self-medication of Dual Diagnosis disorders such as anxiety and depression. Prejudice, fears of violence and reprisal, and ostracization by society also have been identified as possible factors for heroin use within the gay community.
However, on a basic level, heroin addiction also arises simply due to the way the opiate interacts with the human body. Heroin takes primary action on two of the body’s neurotransmitters – dopamine and serotonin – leading to feelings of euphoria and relaxation when the drug is ingested. Heroin also acts on the Central Nervous System (CNS), affecting opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord to block physical pain, and activates the brain’s reward centers. Intravenous injection tends to heighten these effects, as heroin becomes able to cross the body’s blood-brain barrier quickly, leading to intense, fairly immediate effects (known as the heroin “rush”). Over time, tolerance to heroin builds, creating the need for users to inject or smoke more of the drug as they pursue the elusive initial level of heroin high. In combination with the clouded cognitive processes that heroin use creates, withdrawal symptoms and intense cravings lead users back to compulsive and repeated use.
Finding Gay and Lesbian Heroin Addiction Treatment
For many individuals in the gay and lesbian communities, the prospect of undergoing mainstream heroin addiction treatment can be intimidating at best. Fortunately, gay and lesbian heroin addiction treatment solutions exist that provide knowledgeable heroin detoxification and rehabilitation services in tolerant, open atmospheres. If you self-identify as gay or lesbian, we invite you to connect with one of our caring addiction treatment specialists. We count it a privilege to take your call at any hour of day or night in order to locate a drug addiction treatment program that can help you embark on the road to sobriety.
