

Heroin use is also on the rise in many urban areas among young adults aged 18-25.

Louis report increasing amounts of heroin seized by officials as well as increasing numbers of overdose deaths due to heroin use.

Several suburban and rural communities near Chicago and St. Heroin use no longer predominates solely in urban areas. The CEWG is comprised of researchers from major metropolitan areas in the United States and selected foreign countries and provides community-level surveillance of drug use and its consequences to identify emerging trends. The rising harm associated with heroin use at the community level was presented in a report produced by the NIDA Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG). The impact of heroin use is felt all across the United States, with heroin being identified as the most or one of the most important drug use issues affecting several local regions from coast to coast. This is a public health concern because the strength of fentanyl makes overdosing more likely. Recently, traces of fentanyl have been found in many other illegal drugs, including heroin. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
