For those abusing prescription drugs, heroin addiction is often not far behind.  It seems that prescription drug abuse often leads to the later abuse of heroin.  According to a study conducted in Delaware, four out of five heroin addicts first abused prescription drugs.  Often time’s, the illegal use of prescription drugs is a starting point for individuals looking for a quick high.  The appeal to those who abuse prescription drugs is three-fold:  1) prescription drug abusers feel that they’re safe; 2) abusers often don’t feel like the stigma of ‘junkie’ is attached to taking a few pills; 3) they’re relatively easy to obtain.

However, the cost associated with prescription drug abuse can be steep.  It’s not unheard of to pay upwards of $40 a pill.  As one female heroine user in her upper 30’s explained, “When I first started doing drugs I started taking the pills, like Xanax, Oxys, Percocets, anything that was prescription.  After that I progressed into heroin and cocaine because….sometimes the prescription drugs are real expensive.  Most pills like any Oxy [Oxycontin] can be $40.  So it was just getting too expensive for me”.

Therefore it’s relatively easy to see that when a prescription drug abuser can no longer afford pills and patches, it’s only natural to want to use a cheaper alternative.  That alternative on the streets is heroin and cocaine.  Prescription drug abuse has become a serious epidemic that has greatly increased since the 1990’s.  In 2006, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there were 5.2 million prescription drug abusers.