Heroin abuse and addiction has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Nationwide, heroin abuse and dependence increased nearly 150 percent between 2007 and 2013.
Overdose Deaths
Between just 2013 and 2014, Indiana saw a 9.6 percent increase in drug overdose deaths. Ohio saw an 18.3 percent increase.
Heroin and opioid overdoses make up the vast majority of drug overdose deaths.
HIV
Intravenous drug use is linked to an unprecedented outbreak of HIV in Scott County, Indiana. The lifetime cost of treatment for the outbreak could reach $58 million.
Shifting Demographics
Over the last 50 years, heroin abuse and addiction has experienced a migration to a new type of user; the epidemic has grown most significantly among affluent white young people in suburban and rural areas.
Since 2004, there has been a 77 percent increase of heroin abuse among people who make between $20,000-$49,999, and a 60 percent increase among people who make $50,000 or more.