Heroin “ Why Use this hard drug?

January 31,2013

here is only one way to guarantee you will never use heroin, and that's to not try it. It's kind of like Lay's Potato Chips “ they had a slogan “ œBet you can't eat just one! So DON'T!

I've heard it before”Just one time, that's it. I just want to do it one time.

One time is never one time; it's more like the first time, and not the last.

These are words spoken by addicts in recovery. They have walked the road that most avoid, thinking they could just cross the line once and it would all be fine. But it wasn't, it won't be, it can't be. Once the path to using heroin is taken, it's as if the road behind you vanishes. You don't want to turn back, what you want is that first high, so you keep chasing it. Walking away from heroin is more than difficult”it can be years before the cravings stop. The battle is ongoing, and recovery is never a promise for tomorrow, just a prayer that you can make it through today.

Learning to live and deal with the problems of daily living is something heroin addicts are rarely able to do. Heroin destroys self-esteem, stops emotional growth, and inhibits normal development of the brain, especially areas that affect decision-making. The consequence is that these kids never have a chance at a normal life. Into this recipe of disaster, add legal entanglement, emotional and societal problems¦then, stir in predisposition towards addiction, clouds of felony convictions and overwhelming fines, and you can start understanding why many addicts find it easier to use than recover. Once they start into the system, there's rarely a way out. They are now presumed guilty until proven innocent. And they are drawn into using the drugs as a quick and easy escape.

Often, surviving an overdose is a bad thing, and not merely just a miracle. Many addicts believe that since they survived once, they will survive again and again. And until they don't, they're right, which continues to reinforce their belief that they are indestructible, and perpetuate their use of drugs. The irony is that most non-addicts are fearful that the heroin their loved one will use might be cut with something that can kill them, when what happens too often is that the drug is uncut, meaning it's very pure, and therefore more potent. Shooting up a œnormal dose of heroin that is extra pure is like multiplying the dose, and that is what kills many of the addicts who die.

Purity of product isn't just a problem in Alabama. It's a problem in New Jersey, New York, and the Connecticut. It's a problem in Pennsylvania. The closer you are to the center of the distribution point, the greater the purity. And that means that when someone from Harrisburg goes to New York City to pick up some heroin, what they get is very different than what is œserved back home. And what happens is that brain functions become depressed, breathing stops, and the carbon dioxide levels rise. Consequently, acids levels in the bloodstream rise, cardiac arrest follows. Death is imminent.

Nobody, especially not the addicts, can make sense out of how or why the drug does what it does. Well, those who haven't learned about the biological changes to the brain caused by the drug don't get it. Those who understand the relationship between the use of heroin and the brain might. It changes you at the core level, your biological base, your thinking and your rationalizing abilities are no longer developing with appropriate filters. When you can't think straight, nothing makes sense. I correct that “ nothing makes sense except that you want to get more heroin, and if you can't, you'll take whatever will get you to the high you desire so badly.

The victims aren't just the addict; family, friends, co-workers, religious community, teachers, doctors, in fact, even people who didn't know them may become a victim to the addiction do. Addiction is an illness that cuts deep and wide, taking along all who stand in its path like a tornado.

There is only one way to guarantee you will never use heroin, and that's to not try it. It's kind of like Lay's Potato Chips “ they had a slogan that said it well “ œBet you can't eat just one! So¦ DON'T!

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When a person suffers from a severe case of drug or alcohol addiction, the best method of treatment is seeking professional help at an addiction treatment facility. Licensed therapists and counselors are trained to conduct effective treatment for various kinds of addictions, as well as mental health issues and those suffering from psychological distress. For more information on addiction treatment services and available programs, please don't hesitate to reach us at:

Center for Addiction Recovery “ Addiction Treatment Center: 1-800-570-4562

Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Recovery

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A Center for Addiction Recovery

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MARK KILLAR

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