With the use of heroin on the rise among New York City teenagers and young adults, Dr. Joseph Cannavo, Medical Director at Flushing Hospital’s Chemical Dependency Unit, recently sat down with New York 1 News Reporter Lily Jamili to discuss his observations of this disturbing and devastating trend.
According to Dr. Cannavo, Flushing Hospital’s CDU has seen the number of teens being treated for heroin quadruple in the past five years. The pattern he observes typically begins with addiction to prescription pills, which ultimately leads to heroin usage.
“What you always hear from the patient is someday, some said to me, look, you’re spending all this money on pills. ‘Why don’t you just try heroin? It’s cheaper and it’s more potent. You don’t have to shoot it. All you have to do is sniff it’,” explained Dr. Cannavo.
Unfortunately, young heroin users eventually begin to shoot it intravenously. At this point, users require dedicated medical assistance and counseling that is offered at Flushing Hospital's Chemical Dependency Unit.
To see the full NY1 interview, please visit
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/100810/heroin-making-dangerous-comeback-among-city-s-youth/Default.aspx
