Heroin addiction in California is so popular because of the highly addictive nature of the substance. Heroin is an opioid and, like most opioids, as soon as it is introduced into the body of the person, it attacks the central nervous system and makes it discharge a hormone known as dopamine. Dopamine is the substance that is responsible for the sensation of pleasure in the humans. In fact, that is the reason why a person has a pleasant feeling as soon as this substance is introduced into the body. It is because of a surge in the production of dopamine.

However, this surge does not last. The pleasurable effect that dopamine had created also dwindles. When that happens, the person's brain will ask for more of the substance. The patient will then once again consume the substance and an addiction will be on its way.

The problem is that the brain loses its sensitivity to the opioid soon. Hence, it will continually keep asking for more and more of the substance so that it can discharge the same amount of dopamine as before and create the same pleasurable feeling as before. The person then begins stepping up on the dosage of the substance, which might also lead to overdose. This is how heroin overdose deaths are caused, something that is happening at a dangerously high rate in California.

Thankfully, there is an elaborate heroin treatment program in California. This program is specifically designed keeping the highly addictive nature of heroin in mind. The heroin treatment program in California understands that the treatment for such a vicious substance cannot target only the body or only the mind; it has to target both. The substance has to be removed from the body of the person through a detoxification program as well as the person's tendency to use the substance must be killed by making them go through a careful counseling program. The main highlight of the heroin treatment program in California is that it contains both these aspects.

Heroin Treatment Program in California: Detox

The detox for heroin in California will actually depend on the kind of addiction that the person is in. It might take anywhere between a week and a month for the patient to be completely brought out of the withdrawal symptoms that heroin can cause.

Medications need to be provided during the heroin detox treatment. There are two purposes for these medications. The first is to remove the temptation of the substance from the person's body and mind and the second is to stabilize the person's constitution while the detox is being carried out.

The most popular medications for heroin treatment in California are methadone and now buprenorphine. Methadone is quite an old form of treatment, dating back to three decades, while buprenorphine has been recently introduced. In the form of Subutex and Suboxone, a medication which combines buprenorphine with naloxone, buprenorphine has become quite popular.

Both these substances are opioids like heroin itself, and they are habit forming too. The idea of the treatment is to provide these substances in a regular manner to the person so that he or she does not feel the urge for heroin as long as these substances are being introduced into the body. For that reason these medications are known as maintenance medications. In most cases, the kind of medication that is being used, methadone or buprenorphine, will decide the length of the treatment process and even its cost.

Heroin Treatment Program in California: Counseling

The counseling part of the heroin treatment program in California follows the detoxification program. This is a part of the aftercare program where the main intention is to bring the person completely out of the tendency of using the substance. The person is put on a program of psychiatric counseling if there are some significant emotional issues playing on their minds. In some cases, the families of the patients will be counseled too, in a bid to better train them to help the patient cope with the urges for the substance that might occur after the detoxification treatment is completed.

Counseling in the heroin treatment program in California can go on up to a year even. It all depends on how strongly the patient has been with the addiction and how fast he or she progresses towards a life of normalcy.