US Heroin Epidemic: Use Up 500% In Decade, Dependence Tripled

The number of Americans using heroin has increased five-fold in the last decade and dependence has more than tripled, research conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health indicated. The study of 43,000 users published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry found the increases were greatest among males, whites and those with low income and little education.