The Consequences of Heroin Addiction.

The Consequences of Heroin Addiction.

For the last few days, our television sets have carried the news concerning the death of a young talented actor. Mr. Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46 years old, died of a heroin overdose in his plush New York apartment after a tortured fight with drug use. Mr. Hoffman had publicly admitted to drug addiction and had often shared the difficulties he encountered in kicking the habit.

Regrettably, many, many other young men and women also lose their lives to heroin addiction and overdose in the United States on a daily basis. Sadly, these victims are not famous, therefore, their deaths are not reported with the intensity that Mr. Hoffman´s was.  These countless others are mourned by loved ones but they are not recognized by mass media; they are probably only noted as statistics and not as casualties. The public at large will neither know their name nor the extent of their unheralded talents.

In every state, in every home, there is someone who knows someone suffering with this life threatening addiction. In every major city in America, there is someone who knows someone who may have lost a loved one, a spouse,  child or a relative to the heroin epidemic affecting our country today.

The problem of addiction to a powerful narcotic such as heroin, more often than not, ends with lethal and horrific consequences.  Heroin addiction, snarls young, old, rich and poor alike, indiscriminately of race or creed.

The other side of drug addiction of course is drug distribution.  Drug distributors, or pushers, are often individuals confronted with the escalating cost of their drug use, who in order to support the rising cost of an expensive habit, have to sell heroin in order to cover the cost of their own addiction.  These two factions, the users and the sellers, are intertwined in a constant, rhythmic, march/collision towards the abysses of drug use threatening our country today.  The end is often tragic for both, the user, if unable to stop might end up on a cold slab at the morgue, the seller, will end up in a jail doing time.  No winners here.

How we overcome and how we end this horrific epidemic will take the concerted

effort of many of our brightest and best thinkers. Government, educators, employers and families must find a way to work closely together if we are to succeed.  Government gave us a fancy slogan a few years ago as a call to fight drug use and distribution in America, I don’t know what they like to call it now.  Unfortunately, the problem is still there and if anything has changed, it is that the problem has only intensified.

Public and private sectors have no choice but to become of one mind, one goal in order to protect our citizens from the ravages of heroin and irradiate the drug from our streets.

As a defense attorney, I see victims on both sides of the issue almost daily. I often counsel distraught families to remain committed to their loved one involved with drugs, and encourage them to stand by them as they travel together through the painful passage of drug entanglement. I often counsel parents to stay close to their children, to keep an eye on what they are doing and who they are doing it with. I urge them not to give up.  Let us hope then that Mr. Hoffman´s much publicized death will not be completely in vain, (coma) but instead will (with) (remove) serve to draw a line in the sand marking the moment where we all banded together to prevent any more untimely deaths in our country.

As a defense attorney, I have seen victims on both sides of the issue almost daily. I often counsel families to remain committed their loved one doing through the painful passage of drug entanglement. I often counsel parents to stay close to their children, to keep an eye on what they are doing and who they are doing it with. I urge them not to give up.  Let us hope then that Mr. Hoffman´s much publicized death will not be completely in vain but instead will with serve to draw a line in the sand marking the moment where we all banded together to prevent any more untimely deaths in our country.

I am Attorney Martin E. Regan, Jr. and these are my personal thoughts….