Drug abuse is something everyone will be faced with at some point in their lives, whether that be in the form of their own addiction, casual use, or the addiction of somebody around them. As drugs are beginning to be seen in a different light due to the legalization of marijuana, thousands of new users are having their first experiences with a wide range of drug.
Xanax, an anxiety medication that seems to be given out like candy, is making the rounds throughout the drug market. At the moment Xanax is the chic drug, and thousands of Xanax addicts have to wage war with the pill on a daily basis. Some, however, go against the popular opinion that Xanax is just a fun party drug and instead attempt to convey the message that it is much worse. Chance The Rapper said in March last year via twitter that "Xanax the new heroin, don't let em fool you." While I agree with the sentiment from Chance concerning the drug, I disagree with how he is framing it. Simply put, Xanax is not the new heroin. However, it is extremely scary, and Xanax is definitely something to look out for if used incorrectly.
The reason I would say that Xanax is definitely not the new heroin is that it is a very different animal drug-wise. Obviously, the feeling that one will get when using heroin is very different from Xanax, and vice versa. The big difference in the way the Xanax high works is that people who take it have a penchant for blacking out over extended periods. Bars, another name for the pill, can cause someone to have no recollection of their actions for days at a time. This is clearly extremely dangerous, and I personally know three different people who came out of this period with new tattoos, brands, and arrest records. It is not pretty. Heroin, on the other hand, is more detrimental to a person long term rather than if they're just getting high once or twice. I'm not trying to say that heroin is safe to use once or twice, but rather that the long-term effects are more dangerous than the shorter ones. Over time heroin use can lead to liver damage and potential disease from sharing needles. Heroin users also develop a tolerance that forces them to use more and more heroin each use. Heroin and Xanax, while both awful, are not similar enough in the way they hurt lives for them to be linked to each other.
It is impossible to call Xanax the new heroin, because of their wide array of differences, but that does not mean anyone should take Xanax lightly. It only means that Xanax should not be coupled with other drugs, and instead, should be watched very carefully by doctors to prevent the abuse of the drug from becoming more and more widespread.
