Heroin abuser or addict?

[LJGsmom]

My daughter used heroin maybe 5-10 times in the summer and maybe twice in the fall and twice this winter.  She had withdrawal symptoms after the summer but not so much anymore.  She has used small amounts of pot a few times a week for 2 years perhaps.  Recently she was arrested.  She says she has quit drugs and is in outpatient relapse treatment now.  She has individual counseling once a week, group therapy twice a week, a psychiatrist visit once about every 2 months, goes to several AA meetings weekly, and will likely have probation with drug testing.  She has been through this routine for alcohol and pot.  It helped with the alcohol but not so much with the pot.  In the past, we have thrown her out of the house just based on that drug use.  The heroin really scares me.  Is it possible that she is an abuser who can quit as she says or is she a heroin addict?   Right now she is in college keeping her grades up and holding down a part time job as well as doing her treatment.  Is she a candidate for medications like naltrexone or does she need to be sicker?  

[GA Guy]

Herion isn't even close to being the "strongest" of all opiates. In fact, in the world of opiates, heroin is only about 2-5 times more potent than morphine. In comparison, Fentanyl is 100 times the potency of morphine. Sufentanil, used in OR settings, is 1000 times as potent as morphine. I'm not downplaying heroin's dangers, just pointing out facts.

[mr.lucky66]

Certain people who have addictive personalities can get addicted to a drug like heroin very quickly. Since you said she had an alcohol problem it makes that possiblity more likely. Heroin is the strongest of all opiates. Most people here are addict to vicodin and  don't know how addictive and strong it is. Pot is rarely a good idea and especially for an addictive person. Naltrexone is used for a prevenitive agent, to cut cravings but more as a deterent. If you take any opiate on it, it won't work. If you take naltrexone and have an opiate habit you will get very ill. I definatly would suggest  suboxone or methadone as they are supposed to be treatments of last resort or "harm reduction therapy" All the best