They are more likely to get involved in theft, burglary, and shoplifting because the income is more reliable. Another major source of income is selling drugs to others, thus perpetuating the problem (Rorvik, 1979). .
Programs Available for the Heroin Abuser.
There are programs to help with heroin addiction but unfortunately, not enough. Besides incarceration, where a person is expected to quit cold turkey, there are also detoxification programs. Both of these programs get the drug out of the patient's system, but do not have any follow up care or counseling programs, so the rate of relapse is very high. The approach of treatment is good if followed through and not stopped at the detoxification stage. The general idea of treatment is that addicts are suffering from an illness and should be treated rather than punished. In this view, abusers are victims of compulsive, self-destructive cravings and are in need of medical and psychological treatments (Burger, 2011). Right now, there are several types of treatment for someone addicted to heroin. There are inpatient programs that offer detox with a beginning of counseling to be continued on an outpatient basis. There are also outpatient clinics that provides support and therapy. Because the recidivism rate remains high even with these types of treatment, there is also the option of methadone maintenance. Methadone maintenance has been one of the most common approaches used to treat heroin addiction. .
Methadone is a synthetic narcotic chemically similar to morphine that is itself highly addictive (Burger, 2011). The drug is used to satisfy or reduce the craving for heroin. Methadone does not produce the stupor associated with heroin, nor does it require larger doses to be effective. It frees the addict of the necessity of raising money for heroin and opens the door to normal job and social routines (Burger, 2011). Unfortunately, most addicts cannot be tapered off to the point where they can go drug-free.