Heroin Is So Easy To Abuse, And Yet Overdoses Could So Easily Be Prevented

Heroin Is So Easy To Abuse, And Yet Overdoses Could So Easily Be Prevented

Everything about Philip Seymour Hoffman's death from an apparent heroin overdose this past weekend is tragic and horrible. But unfortunately, stories like his are increasingly common in America today.

Since the dawn of the Great Recession, the number of domestic heroin users has gone up over 79 percent. And since 2002, the number of heroin addicts in the United States has more than doubled.

HuffPost Live sat down Tuesday with TIME reporter Maia Szalavitz, Atlantic contributor Jeff Deeney and Reason editor to discuss why the drug is so deadly.

Why heroin is so easy to abuse:

How we could save a lot of lives:

A government solution other than the status quo:

Before You Go

Kathryn Johnston

People Killed By The War On Drugs

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