Introduction
There is a high possibility that the Syrian refugee crises in
Europe could deepen the heroin crisis on the continent. Drug
abuse is a human behavior, and just as changes to the human
environment are constant, so is the drug problem. The flow of
Syrian refugees from the war into Europe might be an impetus
toward a rise in heroin abuse. In the current Syrian refugee
crisis, five factors impact the conditions for increasing the her-
oin crisis: 1) Many Syrians lost faith in having normal lives as a
result of the war in their homeland. Particularly destabilizing is
the loss of legal employment, which brings a sustainable income
to refugee families. 2) Refugees are dealing with severe emotion-
al, and even physical trauma. 3) Native Europeans are rejecting
the refugees. 4) Heroin is already flowing through or near Syria.
5) Heroin problems already exist within Europe, most notably
Western Europe.
Background
refugees fled to Europe. This situation provides an enriched
environment for a deepened heroin problem in Europe, as the
five factors will further illustrate.
The Five Factors
Heroin is a highly addictive drug abused mostly across the
northern continents of Asia, Europe, and North America. The
illegal use of opiates doubled in popularity from 1980-1997 to
the 2009-2014 period, with the majority of the drug seizures
taking place in South-West Asia, followed by Europe (United
Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2016, p. xii-xiii). Current-
ly, heroin use accounts for around 80% of new opioid-related
treatment demands in Europe. While a decline in heroin relat-
ed treatment was observed since 2007, this is no longer evident.
Drug overdose deaths rose over the past three years, with heroin
implicated in many of these deaths (European Monitoring Cen-
tre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2017, p. 14).
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), the war in Syria caused millions of people
to flee their homes into neighboring countries and Europe
(2016, pp 89-99). Many of these refugees live along or near
the Balkan Route, a major heroin artery from Afghanistan to
Europe, which primarily goes through Iran, Iraq, parts of Syria,
and merges in Turkey before crossing into Europe. Turkey alone
hosts 2.9 million Syrian refugees, while others are living in Iraq,
Lebanon, and Jordan. In 2015 alone over a half million of those
The First Factor
The first factor in a deepening heroin crisis is the effects of the
emotional trauma upon the refugees. Syria was not a top tier
nation before the war in terms of standard of living, but one
could at least live a stable and sustainable life in Syria, obtain a
basic education, and support one’s family. Corruption existed,
as did poverty, and being a dissident could certainly get one
into trouble, but for the most part people could live their lives,
have families, watch children grow, and feel a sense of normal-
cy. Refugee life, however, is anything but normal and can be
quite daunting. First, the life-changes alone are surreal, such as
being an engineering student one day, and the next day you are
fleeing your home or being forced to become a soldier. Anoth-
er example might be a seven months pregnant woman excited
about starting a new family, and suddenly you are crossing the
sea in a small boat not knowing if you or your unborn child will
survive. Or perhaps you have a stable job, provide for your fam-
ily, watch your kids grow, and suddenly you are trying to find
them their next meal to keep them alive, while so many around
them are dying. Assuming you escape the war zone, your living
28