new course
Heroin and fentanyl overdoses and opiate addiction alarmingly have become a reality and a fear for parents, adults, and anyone addicted to prescription pain pills. After prescriptions run out, which is quickly because of the crackdown, counterfeit pills are increasingly sought and found. Many pills are now laced with fentanyl and, recently, xylazine. Some surprising demographics are new, and they are turning counterfeit pills into injectables. Others have begun to use heroin because it is less expensive and easier to find. This course takes a chilling and in-depth look at the source, cultivation, distribution and sales of heroin and the other opiates, including fentanyl (with xylazine) and counterfeit prescription drugs. Also covered in depth are the reasons behind addiction, and how addicts ingest the drugs. How the drugs affect the body and why their use is so widespread and addictive is taught and discussed. Comprehensive information is included on the appearance, packaging, paraphernalia, and signs of influence and withdrawal. New and clear information, this course is very current and updated. An estimated 79,117 Americans died from drug overdoses between January and September 2022, fewer than the 81,155 people who died during the first nine months of 2021, but still 50 percent higher than pre-2020 levels. These are alarming statistics, and probation staff need to know the who, what, when, where, how, and why of this new reality.