Drug injection through hypodermic needles is one of the most dangerous behaviors in which people engage. With most drugs, intravenous injection is far more effectual than smoking, sniffing, or drinking. For instance, the injection of a small amount of alcohol into the blood stream can be fatal for some people, while drinking several servings can result in nothing but nausea and a bad hangover for others.

Because of it is so effective at producing a high, intravenous drug injection also has the potential to cause addictions to develop extremely rapidly. Once users form these addictions, they begin other high-risk behaviors in efforts to obtain drugs, needles, and other tools required for injection. It is critical for drug users, as well as for society at large to understand the dangers of intravenous drug use.

Addicts and casual users alike use hypodermic needles to put opiates and other drugs directly into their bloodstreams. By taking substance in this manner, they bypass their metabolisms and produce dangerously high blood concentrations of these substances. Because of these high concentrations, the active substances make their way to the brain in effective amounts far more rapidly than with other forms of consumption. The end result is a fast, powerful high, one that leads many users to develop addiction at a correspondingly fast rate.

Most needles are meant for single use, but addicts commonly inject multiple times with the same one. The needle dulls each time, resulting in greater skin damage and a larger wound. By regularly injecting with used needles, addicts often riddle their bodies with scars, open sores, and infected wounds. According to a study conducted by the New Zealand Dermatological Society, some of the main reasons for drug users' infections are:

*Injections in veins near or under subcutaneous fat

*Drugs leaking from veins into other parts of the body during injection

*Death of skin cells and other tissue due to toxic contaminants in drugs

*Increased bacteria levels on skin due to frequent needle use

The illegal drugs people usually inject also carry the highest risks. They include heroin, morphine, and other opiates, as well as cocaine. Some users also melt prescription pills, bath salts, and other substances not intended for injection in order to take them intravenously for magnified effects. Whatever the drug, intravenous users put their health at serious risk. Needle sharing, untrained administration and questionable injection techniques are almost always harmful and can even prove fatal.

The use of commonly-injected drugs also involves the stiffest criminal penalties. Many activists and laypeople alike believe there is too great a disparity between the penalties for these substance and others, given that most injecting drug users are minorities. Recent laws have lessened the punishments for these hard drugs and provided for addiction treatments. However, many addicts who are convicted for their drug are still not granted access to rehab programs. This situation creates a cycle of drug use, punishment, and almost-inevitable relapse.

In the next installment of this series, we will talk about the most dire physical consequences of intravenous drug injection. If you or a loved one is currently struggling with drug abuse, however, please follow the links displayed below for a free consultation with one of our specialists. We are standing by night and day, so don't wait.