Can we talk about this heroin epidemic?

[revolver86]

Yeah, a lot of folks in rehab had the same story. As kids, I will never smoke pot. Get to highschool and they succumb to peer pressure. As young adults they are given prescriptions, I'll never take too many. Then the same amount stops helping their ailment. Eventually, it's I'll never do dope, until they can't get their meds. Then it's I'll only snort it, until they get a weak batch where shooting it is the only way to get high. Addiction is a progressive disease that is easy to get sucked into without knowing how f***ed up it is until you are hooked and it is too late. In my early 20s, I would take any drug you would put in front of me. I am very lucky no one introduced me to heroin at that age. I am also grateful I nipped a developing benzo habit before it got out of hand. Sadly it took over a decade to finally quit booze.

[mizerable]

I think what it comes down to for me anymore is just avoiding anything that can change your mental state and affect your coordination in any way. There's just too many dependencies on these things to get you through life. The only exception to the rule is if it's truly medicinal in that you need it for physical pain that you were diagnosed by a legitimate doctor, not one of those dime a dozen quacks that'll write a prescription for thumbsucking.

I didn't want to bring this up on the forum, but I recently lost a dear co worker and friend of 7 years. This man is someone I worked next to for almost my entire time with the company for 10+ hours a day, 5 days a week. I knew him very well, he was the closest thing I had to a dad, next to my real dad of course. He had a drinking problem though and eventually let it affect him to the point he eventually​shut himself off from everyone and died alone. Seeing that play out over years and doing everything you could to help them just hurt.

I've learned to just accept the problems that life has and find ways to function through them without the need of a chemical band aid that a lot of time creates more problems than it fixes.

[revolver86]

Mar 25, 2017 21:35:17 GMT -5 mizerable said:

I think what it comes down to for me anymore is just avoiding anything that can change your mental state and affect your coordination in any way. There's just too many dependencies on these things to get you through life. The only exception to the rule is if it's truly medicinal in that you need it for physical pain that you were diagnosed by a legitimate doctor, not one of those dime a dozen quacks that'll write a prescription for thumbsucking.

I didn't want to bring this up on the forum, but I recently lost a dear co worker and friend of 7 years. This man is someone I worked next to for almost my entire time with the company for 10+ hours a day, 5 days a week. I knew him very well, he was the closest thing I had to a dad, next to my real dad of course. He had a drinking problem though and eventually let it affect him to the point he eventually​shut himself off from everyone and died alone. Seeing that play out over years and doing everything you could to help them just hurt.

I've learned to just accept the problems that life has and find ways to function through them without the need of a chemical band aid that a lot of time creates more problems than it fixes.

I was going down that exact path, and that is why I sought help to find the tools to cope. Funny thing is, as I work the steps and go to meetings I've started to feel like the program can help even non addicts cope through life. They are excellent tools to keep your head on straight and promote an honest lifestyle.

[Toilet Paper Roll]

A little over a year ago my cousin and her boyfriend came over to me house, we had dinner, joked and made plans for later in the week.

Woke up for work the next morning to a text from my cousin, she had found him dead from a heroin OD.

We've had countless OD's in my small city the past year and following the Police/Fire Scanner from my town on facebook they've saved dozens of others with Narcan.

I don't even know what to say or what we do at this point. Seems it's almost an automatic death sentence.

[Display Name]

Mar 25, 2017 21:07:40 GMT -5 mizerable said:

The big thing where I'm at is meth. It's such an issue that it's incredibly easy to identify as a manager of the company I work for. The sad thing is, we can't legally do anything without forcing them to take a drug test, and running those at our size is incredibly expensive. Heroin has began to trickle over here from the east too.

Mar 25, 2017 2:15:24 GMT -5 Display Name said:

I understand getting addicted to something once you've done it...but what makes people take that first step to try these hardcore ass drugs that can kill you? I've never in the least bit been curious and have been deathly afraid to ever touch anything other than pot.

And honestly, why did you try pot? I guarantee that if you were like me when I was 8, I would've sworn up and down I'd never touch it. But like a lot of society, the way we are told to look at things is different. The image changes, we're told it's okay, we give in to the message that everyone around us tells us and we do it. And guess what? We live, we see the "benefits" this item brings and we don't see the harm in using it. There is a reason why it's called the gateway drug.

Fast forward a little bit and you feel more mature, like you can handle a little something more even though you aren't seeking it out, it finds you. It can find you because of your social circle, easy access or just something casual that is brought up while you're doing something else. It gives you the kind of high you've been looking for since pot has made it difficult to get to that level on a regular basis. There's a confidence trick to using recreational drugs even after all we've been taught. And you don't realize you've been suckered before it's too late.

And before someone says it, the reason I'm comparing any drug use to pot is because everyone goes through the same method to get to that point. At some time in your life, you said you never would, then you did. Marijuana just happens to be getting a Renaissance in recent years for acceptance. Sixty years ago you couldn't walk into a room and get a cheap pop by mentioning you're 420 friendly like you can now. Only in this case, this isn't an entire country saluting the red, white and green...it's your friends, family and co workers...your closest thing to everyone saying it's acceptable to use meth or heroin. It's a f***ing shame and it's so bizarre to see play out, but that's how people are. No one sets out to be a druggie.

I tried pot once at 24, after being around it for years at that point. I tried it because I was curious as to why so many of my friends smoked so often and I knew it wasn't something that could potentially kill me. Did absolutely nothing for me.

[ToyfareMark]

Heroin was created as a cure for Morphine addiction for Civil War veterans, hence why the word hero is part of the name. It worked.

[Gopher Mod]

My neck of the world (greater Dayton, Ohio) seems to be ground zero for the heroin/fentanyl epidemic. We can't even go one night on the news without hearing about another overdose, another death due to all of this.

Apparently, there were over 2,000 ER visits just last year and over 250 deaths in 2015 as a direct result of heroin in Dayton alone.

[revolver86]

Yep, all the shit going down in southeast Michigan seems to be spreading from Ohio.

[revolver86]

Now I have another rehab friend, who I was even closer with, in the ICU. Me and her have been going to meetings together since we both got out and she fell off the radar last night. I am so sick to my stomach right now. Signs were pointing to the two of us getting together, and now I might lose her...

[revolver86]

...and she's dead.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

Well one of the massive lowlights of my trip to America last year was having to go though what seemed like an endless gauntlet of junkies in San Francisco. Hell I went to some Diner near the Hostel where I was staying at and when I went for a piss I saw some guy with a needle in is arm passed out on the toilet seat.

[Deleted]

Here in West Virginia, we're constantly making headlines by setting records for amount of overdoses in X amount of hours.

[Andy Martin]

Mar 25, 2017 20:02:13 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Mar 25, 2017 7:51:49 GMT -5 @razzle said:

i keep hearing about fentanyl addiction in BC. What is causing this massive jump in these overdoses. Is it just easier to get a hold of?

It's cheaper and deadlier than heroin. Like it's a hell of lot easier to OD on it because it's more powerful and you get dope sick a lot sooner where you have to take it more. Like I said we pretty much skipped out on heroin and went straight to fentalyn.

Doesn't help when they're (allegedly) lacing cocaine with it, either.

[fw91]

Mar 26, 2017 3:07:55 GMT -5 Display Name said:

Mar 25, 2017 21:07:40 GMT -5 mizerable said:

The big thing where I'm at is meth. It's such an issue that it's incredibly easy to identify as a manager of the company I work for. The sad thing is, we can't legally do anything without forcing them to take a drug test, and running those at our size is incredibly expensive. Heroin has began to trickle over here from the east too.

And honestly, why did you try pot? I guarantee that if you were like me when I was 8, I would've sworn up and down I'd never touch it. But like a lot of society, the way we are told to look at things is different. The image changes, we're told it's okay, we give in to the message that everyone around us tells us and we do it. And guess what? We live, we see the "benefits" this item brings and we don't see the harm in using it. There is a reason why it's called the gateway drug.

Fast forward a little bit and you feel more mature, like you can handle a little something more even though you aren't seeking it out, it finds you. It can find you because of your social circle, easy access or just something casual that is brought up while you're doing something else. It gives you the kind of high you've been looking for since pot has made it difficult to get to that level on a regular basis. There's a confidence trick to using recreational drugs even after all we've been taught. And you don't realize you've been suckered before it's too late.

And before someone says it, the reason I'm comparing any drug use to pot is because everyone goes through the same method to get to that point. At some time in your life, you said you never would, then you did. Marijuana just happens to be getting a Renaissance in recent years for acceptance. Sixty years ago you couldn't walk into a room and get a cheap pop by mentioning you're 420 friendly like you can now. Only in this case, this isn't an entire country saluting the red, white and green...it's your friends, family and co workers...your closest thing to everyone saying it's acceptable to use meth or heroin. It's a f***ing shame and it's so bizarre to see play out, but that's how people are. No one sets out to be a druggie.

I tried pot once at 24, after being around it for years at that point. I tried it because I was curious as to why so many of my friends smoked so often and I knew it wasn't something that could potentially kill me. Did absolutely nothing for me.

Yeah pot does nothing for me. My friend had a relative who had a vacation house that he let us use for a weekend. All we did was smoke a bowl every hour. Bored out of my mind. I don't think it's taboo or anything just makes you feel ok being bored. Booze (in moderation of course) does more for me in terms of socializing and loosening up then pot ever did. But it was my experience with brownies that turned me away from the stuff for good. Holy shit what a night that was.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2017 11:16:19 GMT -5 Andy Martin said:

Mar 25, 2017 20:02:13 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

It's cheaper and deadlier than heroin. Like it's a hell of lot easier to OD on it because it's more powerful and you get dope sick a lot sooner where you have to take it more. Like I said we pretty much skipped out on heroin and went straight to fentalyn.

Doesn't help when they're (allegedly) lacing cocaine with it, either.

Why does this province love that drug so much? Plus wouldn't that drive up the price in fentalyn?

[Deleted]

It really is EVERYWHERE.

Never banged. Have snorted H doe. It's..... a drug.

Had friends deep in it. They're not having fun. They are making themselves not be sick.

It's not just a mental thing. It physically enslaves people. It's terrifying.

[lionheart21]

Mar 25, 2017 18:59:36 GMT -5 Sephiroth said:

You seen that shit they are doing in Russia that melts people's faces off?

This one is news to me. Also makes me wonder: why would you do a drug that does this to you? Same goes for crystal meth, why take a drug where even making it can kill you?

[lionheart21]

Mar 26, 2017 23:45:46 GMT -5 revolver86 said:

...and she's dead.

My condolences, I'm sorry for your loss.

[Sephiroth]

Mar 27, 2017 14:20:34 GMT -5 lionheart21 said:

Mar 25, 2017 18:59:36 GMT -5 Sephiroth said:

You seen that shit they are doing in Russia that melts people's faces off?

This one is news to me. Also makes me wonder: why would you do a drug that does this to you? Same goes for crystal meth, why take a drug where even making it can kill you?

Desomorphine, also called krokodil in Russia. Can't post pics of its effects here. And people will do anything to feed their addiction-look at the instances of people who are so addicted to food they end up weighing almost a ton.

[lionheart21]

Mar 27, 2017 14:23:28 GMT -5 Sephiroth said:

Mar 27, 2017 14:20:34 GMT -5 lionheart21 said:

This one is news to me. Also makes me wonder: why would you do a drug that does this to you? Same goes for crystal meth, why take a drug where even making it can kill you?

Desomorphine, also called krokodil in Russia. Can't post pics of its effects here. And people will do anything to feed their addiction-look at the instances of people who are so addicted to food they end up weighing almost a ton.

My major is in Biochemistry and Pharmacology, so part of me is intrigued at this and what it does.

EDIT: Looking at it, it seems to be a Schedule I Controlled substance, so at least there has been enough attention drawn to it here. But then again, so is heroin. Also, it seems that this spike in desomorphine usage occurred because of a crackdown on heroin. That's just sad at how some people who are addicted to one thing will try to find another way to get their fix when the former has been taken from them. Addiction truly is a sickness.