Dear Metro Atlanta,

Did you miss the memo? How about those commercials? You know, "Not even once," the ones that made you go, "Sheesh, I never want that to happen to me." When everyone from the 60s and 70s came back and said, "Yeah, that was awful, don't do that?" When Kurt Cobain placed a shotgun against his head and pulled the trigger, I'm assuming you thought to yourself, "Life goals?"

I guess all the campaigns and all the wars and all the horror stories just missed their mark, right? You couldn't possibly have heard those and said, "Nah, I don't believe it." Did you watch "Breaking Bad?" I'm serious. How about "Requiem for a Dream?" Let me fill you in on something that's not at all a secret: heroin is likely the single most dangerous drug you could possibly take. Listen, I know you know something about heroin. I know you've heard of how dangerous it is, because we share a demographic. According to this article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the majority (something like 90 percent) of new heroin users are white males from ages 18 to 25.

In case you really don't know what you're getting into when you choose to take heroin, here's a page from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) that will fill you in. And in case you really don't care to read it, here's just a couple of headlines. According to NIDA, it is estimated that about 23 percent of individuals who use heroin become dependent on it. Let's take a closer look at that number. 23 percent doesn't sound like that much, but the key word here is dependent. Dependent and addicted don't necessarily mean the same thing. Here's a basic distinguishing factor: addiction means that you can't stop yourself from doing it, even if you know you shouldn't. Dependence means you have to do it, or you stop functioning properly. You suffer withdrawal and tolerance symptoms. If you don't know what tolerance means, it essentially means that your body gets used to the amount of a drug you use, so to get the same "high" you need more of the drug. When dependent, you need more of the drug to stay in a normal state. When you are dependent on heroin, there's no such thing as a high. Taking heroin is the only way for you to feel even remotely okay, and to keep feeling remotely okay, you need more and more heroin. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

In case you're wondering, no, the negatives don't end there. Overdosing on heroin can lead to a condition called hypoxia, where your brain is not receiving the oxygen it needs to function. How does heroin cause this? Well, when you inject heroin, it binds to opioid receptors in your brain as morphine. These receptors are located in your brain stem, the thing that lets you, you know, breathe and pump blood. Now we have to remember what morphine is generally used for. Oh yes, numbing pain. Essentially morphine shuts down your nerves. Sounds like a good thing to put in the system critical to those various functions we mentioned, right?

So, what happens when your lungs stop breathing automatically? Hypoxia happens, which can lead to permanent brain damage and coma. Well, at least you got high, right? Well, now you might be thinking, are people really using this stuff? Yes. Yes, they are. According to the Fulton D.A., we can expect something like a 50 percent increase in heroin abuse between now and 2021 if trends continue. Looking back at 2010, the Fulton medical examiner's office recorded four heroin-related deaths. In 2014, that number grew to a shocking 77 deaths. These are not ghettos they're talking about, either. They're talking about young, affluent people. The kind of people who attend Kennesaw State University. Twenty years old from Johns Creek and Vine City. These are people sitting next to you in class. These are people likely suffering from depression, stress, peer pressure, the list goes on. This is not just an epidemic. It is a tragedy.

Do not take heroin. Not even once. They weren't joking when they said that. If you think somebody you know might be doing heroin, talk to them. Give them the information. Let them know there is help. Direct them to this site, or this site, or this site. If they are depressed, as they are extremely, statistically likely to be, reach out to them. Let them know someone cares. These people need help. We need to help them.

Sincerely,
People who care.