Another heroin overdose was reported in Murfreesboro. The most recent case unfolded on West Main Street.

The husband of the victim told police that his wife fell from the bed and to the floor where she started shaking and foaming at the mouth. When emergency workers arrived, he told them she likely overdosed on heroin.

When Murfreesboro Police followed up with the victim at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, she admitted to officers that she injected about a half gram of heroin.

While the 38 year old woman survived, the story could have turned out much differently, according to statistics.

Too much heroin is known on the streets as a "Hot Shot." Furthermore, when users buy heroin on the street, they have no way of knowing if the heroin was cut with other drugs or substances. In other words, there is no telling how pure or un-pure street heroin is when purchased from a drug dealer, thus making the dangerous drug even more dangerous. According to AddictionBlog.org, "The average purity of street heroin varies between 11% and 72% depending on the demographic region."

Heroin addiction is growing in Tennessee as painkillers become more expensive on the street. In Knoxville, Tennessee for example, The Treatment Center reported, "Knoxville's police department recognizes a 1600% increase in heroin-related incidents over the past five years."

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Health Department reports that while alcohol use is leveling out, opioid use continues to climb. Another report from the state shows that heroin overdose cases that resulted in death have increased by 44%.

Source:

MPD Incident 17-23757
Other sources named in story