I want you to stop what you are doing and pay attention. I have something to say and it is absolutely imperative that you understand me. I do not want there to any confusion. We are facing an epidemic of such magnitude that if something isn’t done, we may never recover as a society and as decent human beings.

Are you ready for it? Here it is.

Wake the hell up!

Why you ask? Well, heroin, that’s why. That is what I just lost my neighbor to. A heroin overdose. I am still in shock. I am having trouble processing it. I am hurt and angry, but my neighbor isn’t here to cuss out for being so stupid. There he was, upstairs dying while my children were downstairs! He told me he was trying to get clean, that he was done using. He told me of his dreams to become a truck driver. He was about to start classes. See, the thing is, I knew he wanted to get clean.

When someone puts your drug of choice in your face and you haven’t been sober for very long, your willpower is non-existent. The demons are still loud in your head and nothing silences them. Whispers that say it will be alright. One more hit, just one more injection, and you’ll be fine. Nothing will happen to you because you know what you can handle.

Guess what? Maybe my neighbor could have handled it. On the other hand, it did not stop him from getting a bad batch of heroin. It had been “cut” with Fentanyl, a powerful drug, which intensifies the effects of heroin when it is used to “cut” heroin. This has become an extreme problem in Preble County, Ohio, where I live. There were three deaths from heroin the weekend my neighbor died, him included, and people do not realize that they can do something about it. Ohio leads the nation in deaths due to overdoses on heroin and other opioids. The rate at which people die from an opioid overdose in Ohio is 1 in 100. (American Addictions Center) That is horrific. So, if you know 100 people, at least one of them is addicted to an opioid.

See a problem yet? I sure do!

I see a society willing to accept what is. It is acceptable to overdose on heroin but get caught with a joint. The sky has fallen! I think not. The sky fell when it became acceptable for people to use synthetic heroin as a means to wean themselves off of heroin. Sub Oxone and Subutex were created to “help” the use get clean. It is still heroin. It is supposed to lower the abuse potential, make it easier to obtain (doctor can prescribe), and has a high success rate. (American Addictions Center) Sub Oxone is to be used with a comprehensive plan for treatment.

Sub Oxone blocks the brain’s receptors, making it more difficult to achieve a true opioid high, however, unfortunately, this can create an intense frustration in addicts. Though the high might last longer, it isn’t the type of high the addict wants. They will use more Sub Oxone to try to reach that high. My best friend of over 30 years is addicted to Sub Oxone. I have seen her nod out and almost burn herself. I have seen her looking like the walking dead, eyes sunk in and dark circles under her eyes, and sick from being diabetic and not taking care of herself because she is too high to care. It is something that hurts my heart. I realized there is nothing I can do for her until she wants to be clean for real and not just talk about it. So, in the meantime, all I can do is love her. That is it.

I have to watch body bags come down from my neighbor’s house with a dead friend from doing stupid shit. Yes, I said shit, because that is what heroin turns your life into. Everyone you know and loved are left devastated and trying to make sense of something so senseless. I held my neighbor’s girlfriend in my arms while she completely lost it. That is something I will remember for the rest of my life. The pain coursing through her body hit me and I doubled over, nearly losing my lunch. Here is another tidbit. I hadn’t spoken to either of them in weeks for doing stupid crap to me. Guess what? I feel shitty I didn’t get the chance to make things right between my neighbor and I. I’ll miss him and his amazing cooking.

In closing, the only thing I can say is, WAKE UP! Heroin is not a joke. It is not a drug to use, recreational or otherwise. It serves no purpose other than to tear families apart and take life way too early. I get it that an addiction is hard to kick, but folks, anything in life worth isn’t going to be easy. It will be simple but never easy. Do not let that deter you. And to all addicts out there, there is hope. Do not give up. It is okay to hurt and cry and rage. It is not okay to kill yourself. That is exactly what you are doing and we do not want that. I do not want that. I the wake of losing my neighbor, I want every addict to know that there is help. We hear you. It is time for you to step up. The ball is in your court.