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Jun 19, 2007 6:06 am US/Eastern
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Heroin Becoming More Accessible To Younger Kids
BOSTON (CBS) ―
There is some shocking news for the parents of students in middle school. Heroin is showing up in schools across the Commonwealth, and because the drug is very inexpensive these days, kids younger and younger are doing it.
"You see heroin -- not me exactly -- but some of the eighth graders may. It is like the little packets."
It was easy finding eighth graders who could talk about heroin.
This kind of heroin is 90 percent pure and comes in small packets -- known as knockout, mo money and sunshine. It can be snorted, and one packet costs about $5.
"We see heroin abuse and prescription opiate abuse in younger and young populations," said Michael Botticelli, a drug expert at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. "We have seen some increases in the use of opiates prescription drug and heroin over recent years… In the middle schools… and that's shocking."
How shocking? Consider this: heroin causes more drug related deaths than any other drug and the Department of Public Health says 16 percent of eighth graders say heroin is easy to get -- and costs less than a pack of cigarettes.
"We're looking at not only being the brink of epidemic, but kids younger and younger are using heroin oxycotnin and other opiates," said Gerard Leone of the Middlesex District Attorney.
Leone says heroin drug education programs are now targeted specifically at middle school students in Middlesex County.
So why are such young kids doing this? One possible motivation is to lose weight. Heroin is a powerful appetite suppressant, and some young girls are told it will make them thinner.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)