Heroin: what it is
Heroin is a highly addictive, illegal drug. It is used by millions of people around the world who are unable to overcome the urge to keep taking it every day of their lives , knowing that if they stop, they will face the horror of withdrawal.
Heroin, like opium and morphine, is made from the resin of poppy plants. Milky, sap-like opium is removed from the pod of the poppy flower, refined to make morphine, then refined further into different forms of heroin.
Most heroin is injected, which creates additional risks for the user, who faces the danger of infection on top of the pain of addiction.
A vicious circle
Heroin was first manufactured in 1898 by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in Germany, and marketed as a treatment for tuberculosis and as a remedy for morphine addiction.
During the 1850s, opium addiction was a major problem in the United States. The solution offered was to give opium addicts a less potent and supposedly non-addictive substitute , morphine. Morphine addiction soon became a bigger problem than opium addiction.
As with opium, the morphine problem was answered with another supposedly non-addictive substitute , heroin, which proved to be more addictive still. Then came methadone, first developed in 1937, widely used as a treatment for heroin addiction, and also addictive.
Each answer to the last problem became the next one. That history is why we are careful about anything described as a solution.
What the HIPAA laws actually do
This is the part of the story that changed our family, and it is the reason this campaign exists.
When a person turns 18 they become an adult, and their medical information becomes theirs. Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, a doctor, hospital or treatment center generally needs that person’s permission before telling a parent what they know. It does not matter that the parent is paying. It does not matter that the parent is the one who could intervene.
There are exceptions. Federal guidance allows a provider to use professional judgment and share information with family in limited circumstances, such as when a patient cannot make their own decisions, or when there is a serious and imminent threat to their health or safety. In practice those exceptions are narrow, they are applied inconsistently, and a frightened parent standing in a waiting room is rarely told they exist.
Records of substance use disorder treatment carry a second, separate layer of federal protection that is stricter still. So the parent of a young adult in treatment for addiction is often the least informed person in the room.
These protections exist for good reasons. People will not seek treatment for addiction if they believe their private information will be handed around, and we are not asking for that to be undone.
What Justin For Justice asks for is narrow: that a medical professional be permitted to tell the parents of a young adult what they need to know when that disclosure could prevent a death from addiction. The difference between a family that knows and a family that finds out too late is, sometimes, the whole difference.
This page explains federal rules in general terms so that families know what they are dealing with. It is not legal advice, and the law changes. If you need to know your rights in a specific situation, ask the treatment provider directly and, if necessary, a lawyer.
Where to get help
These are national, non-commercial services. Nobody on this list pays to be here, and this site earns nothing from them.
- SAMHSA National Helpline , 1-800-662-4357Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish. Treatment referral and information. You do not need insurance.
- FindTreatment.govThe federal government’s search tool for licensed treatment facilities, by location and by what they treat.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988. For anyone in crisis, and for anyone worried about someone else.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse , heroinThe research body’s plain-language explanation of how heroin works, what treatment exists, and what the evidence says.
- Partnership to End AddictionA non-profit built for families. Has a free, confidential helpline staffed by specialists who talk to parents specifically.
New Jersey-specific services are being verified before they are listed here. We would rather list nothing than send a frightened parent to a number that no longer answers.