Ask a former IV heroin addict

[AceBoogie]

Not a question, just a statement.

Kudos to all of you who have the strength not only to give up your addictions, but who also have the strength to talk openly about it.

thanks buddy

It really is important to be open about it. I don't normally bring it up to people but I'm always honest and open if someone asks me.

There's a family around here (they live in the city next to mine) that's pretty involved in the community and their son, who I went to high school with, died unexpectedly at 22. He was a known heroin addict and had no major health issues as far as everyone knows, yet the family claims he died of natural causes. The general consensus is that they're lying about the cause of his death to save face, which is sad if that's really what they're doing.

If that is the case, I find it to be pretty ridiculous, even if it is understandable to an extent. As far as addicts in general... rather than sweeping this problem under the rug and acting like it doesn't exist, it needs to be addressed and talked about publicly without shame or remorse. That's society's only hope in ever truly doing something about the issue. The more we ignore it, the longer it will continue.

edit: I don't really have sympathy for addicts who die of an overdose. You play, you pay. That's just the name of the game. I wouldn't have expected anyone to feel sorry for me if I died in some dope house in the inner city with a needle in my arm. I knew what I was getting myself into by that point.

The reason I bring the family up though is that even if people don't have sympathy for the addicts themselves, it should still be treated as a mental health issue and people should understand that drug use is not always a victimless crime. This family, if their son did die of an overdose, now has to deal with this for the rest of their time on this earth. And if people were more open about the way addiction affects us all, people may learn to have more sympathy for at least the families involved, which in turn would probably prompt more families to be open about this.

Cynical prick that I am, I assume they lied about his death to save face... but their openness about the situation could save lives, potentially, had they chose to be honest about things and start a dialogue with the community that they're so actively involved in.