BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Heroin use has nearly quadrupled in the U.S. and the growing group of users has not been who you'd normally expect, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control.
Read the study here.
At the Addiction Campuses call center in Brentwood, the number of calls from people addicted to heroin and prescription pain killers has been on the rise for a decade.
Many of the users according to the CDC have been women and working professionals.
At this point, call takers have said about 80 percent of their calls have been from people struggling with either heroin or prescription drug addiction.
The CDC study ranked Tennessee in the top five states for opioid abuse.
"Prescription drugs have been prescribed more freely," said Eric Mitchell, the chief marketing officer with Addiction Campuses. "There's been a lot of drug diversion so they're available on the street. And of course people become addicted to prescription opiates, and when that becomes unavailable they go to heroin."
For more information about Addiction Campuses visit their website. The company has staffed a 24-hour addiction hotline at 1-888-614-2251.
