Addiction is a horrible reality that many people suffer and deal with on a daily basis.

Not many
people understand the dynamic dysfunction that addiction to a drug like heroin, can be in someone's
life. The public image of what a heroin addict looks like and who they are has changed. No longer
can they be described as ragged and homeless. Now the heroin addict is our neighbor, that friend
from school, the girl that works at Walmart. How do we, as a society, address such a powerful and
prevalent social issue?

I think one of the best ways that we can hope to address this increase in heroin addiction is to start
with education for those who have not as yet been exposed to this deadly drug. I make note for
example the AIDS epidemic, many thought that you could catch HIV by sitting in the same spot or
drinking from the same cup. After over a decade of education in schools and other public outreach
programs the vast majority of people have accepted the fact that transmission is through bodily fluids
like blood, semen and breast milk, are a means of infection. And the best form of safety is
abstinence and when in doubt, always use a condom, and addicts are advised to use clean
needles.. In much the same way I would argue that the same level of intense attention given by the
mainstream media, as it is instrumental in raising awareness. In regards to those already addicted, I
would propose that first of all we should work on passing legislation to recognize people that are
found using these illegal drugs to not be treated as criminals. Addiction is a sickness and few
understand its underlying mechanisms. As such, I would propose we treat it as a national health
epidemic and not a criminal one. And for those at higher risk for overdose, it would be great if easier
access to Naloxone to help prevent death via overdose. At the heart of many addictions is a
dysfunction in the family unit, or the trappings of poverty. In any case it is the societal environs that
allow for addictions to rob our people of their own lives. It should be labeled as societal and health
related, not criminal.

Addiction is like a dark passenger in someone's soul, another person hiding just below the surface.
Someone that you have no control over. When that craving hits them, they're no longer the same
person. The dark passenger has taken over. These powerful drugs can permanently alter a person's
brain chemistry. That's why many recovering addicts that have been clean for decades admit that
you're never cured. You only learn to cope and manage it. That dark passenger will ride with you for
the rest of your life. The best option is to never even try it.

When people first hear the word drug, they think of illicit drugs such as cocaine and
methamphetamine. They also think about the user and sometimes why they use. One thing that is
overlooked by the public is the treatment programs that are available to drug users. There is a
stigma in our society around drug use that is very negative. Many believe that people that do drugs
do them just to do them and even if this is true in some cases, no one wakes up one morning and
decides that today is the day they are going to start doing drugs and be a drug addict. Drug addiction
is very complicated. It is a mental illness in which the user is in an altered state of mind. Just like any
other mental illness, addiction is an extremely hard thing to deal with in day to day life. The focus
now needs to shift to how we can help people with drug addiction and what programs are the most
effective. There are so many drug treatment programs out there that claim to be the best treatment
for people addicted to drugs. Depending on the type of program, there are programs that are
effective short term and there are programs that are effective long term.
The arguments for whether or not to prescribe heroin to treat heroin addictions are controversial.
Henden and Baeroe (2015) state both sides of the arguments being that some believe “it is in the
nature of heroin addiction for individuals to lose their ability to resist their desire for heroin,” which
knowing the nature of chemical dependency, heroin addicts would not refuse any heroin, so it still
possibly an invalid consent to research participation as they did not have a free choice to really
decide, which there mental or physical state of being dependent on the drug would create an
automatic response because it is a craving, or a need, for functionality. On the other hand as
Henden and Baeroe (2015) mentions, “those who maintain that consent given by heroin addicts can
be valid” may just be unsound because of the social stigma involved with the heroin addiction. In
regards, there is much research showing that “financial concerns, fear of arrest, values regarding
parenthood and many other factors influencing decisions in general often persuade a person
addicted to heroin to cease their drug-oriented behavior,” therefore, it is a possibility that the heroin
addicts do have competence and can control their functionality in order to make a valid consent (pg.
28). Knowing both sides of the issue about heroin prescribing to treat heroin addiction, to make a
final decision would require ethics.