To Contents To Previous Page To Next Page To Publication Page To NDIC Home Page National Drug Intelligence Center Interagency Domestic Heroin Threat Assessment February 2000 Demand Heroin use in the United States has been increasing steadily since the early 1990s, although the rate of increase is leveling off and use has begun to stabilize at high levels. No longer confined to the urban areas of the country, heroin use occurs in rural and suburban areas as well. Older users, those over 35, continue to be the largest user group. Prevalence is highest among whites followed by Hispanics and African Americans.
Users are predominantly male, but use among females has increased.
New users often begin by smoking, sniffing, or snorting the drug instead of injecting it. Heroin's reasonably low price and high quality enable users to snort or smoke the drug, removing the stigma and risk associated with injection. Many new users and young people mistakenly believe snorting or smoking the drug will not lead to addiction. According to MTF, heroin use among high school students increased in the mid-1990s but has more recently stabilized. By 1996, the prevalence rate for each grade level was more than double the rate of 1991.