When people in the communities read stories on the internet, they hear stories from co-workers, or they read articles in the paper about heroin addiction, immediately many are quick to judge. The comments, such as "what a loser," or "that's nothing but an excuse," or "that's not a disease" are often heard. And many times, the comments are not quite as nice, going as low as insulting someone's personal life, criticizing their family, or making derogatory comments about everything about them.

What people don't seem to realize is that not one person wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, "Today is Monday. I think I'm going to become an addict," and goes on about their day, hooked by night.

Working in the court system and dealing with drug use on a daily basis, I see a different side to the story. I see destruction, I see theft, I see death, and more than anything, I see families crumbling. I see people absolutely demolished by what starts out as simple drug use and ends with divorce, ends with bankruptcy, ends with criminal action, and in some cases, ends with death.

Families lose. Drug users lose. Everyone loses. And what most people who are looking at it from the outside in don't realize is, even those that are gainfully employed, working hard to support their families, and others who are doing the best job possible to keep a safe quiet life, even they lose. People get stolen from. People get robbed. People get killed.

All in the name of a drug called heroin.

Is this an addiction? Is it an escape from life? Is it a disease? It depends on who you ask. And in some cases, when you ask multiple people, they won't answer any of those. They will just simply call someone names. They will insult them. They will criticize everything about their choice, their life, their family or the person themselves. All in the name of a drug called heroin.

Some people have a rough day as they like to say, and they choose to make a decision to turn to a drug. Some people have a difficult marriage as they say, and they choose to turn to a drug. Others simply want to try it for fun. They want to see what the excitement is all about. And they try it.

The sad part about it? Once someone tries it, many times that one time is enough. And there is no going back.

If you ask someone what they know about heroin, they will typically give one of a number of responses. They will tell you it's a drug. They will tell you anyone that does it is stupid. They will tell you that it is an idiotic choice to make. They will tell you very little. They will only tell you what they know about from the internet, what they've heard from the media who makes things up as they go along, and most of what they tell you won't even be close to the truth.

What they won't tell you is that typically, a drug user can buy heroin for as little as 20 dollars. What they won't tell you is that if someone gets hooked, they will steal from their friends, their family, their co-workers, and anyone that happens to have money or the financial status to support the drug habit that someone has. What they won't tell you is that they will destroy their families, ruin friendships, and even risk killing someone to stay high. They will use dirty needles. They will prostitute for drugs. They will do immoral things they would not do if they were sober, not on drugs and not doing something they know better than to do.

There are even cases when they will sell their kids. All for a drug named heroin.

If you read the papers, read the internet, listen to the news, or follow social media, chances are you are seeing very little of what actually happens in the name of heroin. You will see a death toll. You will read horror stories. You will hear the horrible things that could, will and might happen because someone chooses to use heroin. But what you won't see is the numbers that are jumbled, jaded, incorrect and misconstrued.

On average, if you read the papers, you might see a figure of 7-10 overdoses in a week. And that is grossly underreported. If you see a number like that, you should at least double it. If not triple it. Because one thing you need to keep in mind is that those are the reported overdoses. Not the actual ones. Narcan is available over the counter that can now reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. One shot and chances are, someone who has overdosed resumes a heartbeat, resumes a pulse, and is within a matter of minutes, physically capable of injecting, smoking, snorting or cooking another round of heroin.

All for the price (in most lower end neighborhoods) of 20 dollars. For a fix. For a short high. For a euphoric feeling. For the overpowering urge to do it again. To feel great. To want more. To crave it. To steal for it. To beg for it. To kill for it.

People that are staring at the drug epidemic from the outside looking in don't realize that it's not just an overdose. It's not just a high that lasts from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours. It's the destruction of someone's life. It's the carving to do whatever it takes to obtain the drug to keep them feeling good. It's the need to stick needles in their toes, stick needles in between their fingers, to run them up and down their arms, to leave track marks on their arms, legs, behind their knees and all over their body.

All in the name of a drug called heroin.

Read the news. Watch the news. Read the internet. Read social media. You can't miss it. Heroin is an epidemic that has taken over the country. It has done things to families that nobody would have expected. It has destroyed lives of people that some never would have expected it would have. It has turned people into monsters, inhumane animals and killers. It has cost people jobs. It has cost people their life savings. It has cost people their marriages. It has cost people their children. And in some cases, it has cost people their freedom. There are even cases where people are dead. It's cost them their lives.

An overdose happens. Now all of the sudden, a recreational habit turns into an investigation from workers that want to make sure the kids are okay. It involves a hospital visit. It involves embarrassment. It involves the whole world knowing that someone is a drug user. Someone is a loser. Someone is an addct. Someone is a bad person. Someone is going to potentially lose their kids.

All for a drug named heroin.

Everyone has a vice. Everyone has a hobby. Everyone in some way, shape or form has an addiction. They have something they can't live without. Whether it be soda pop. Cupcakes. In my case Twinkies. But is it life and death if I don't have a Twinkie? Absolutely not. I can live without them. I have. For days, weeks and in the case when Hostess went out of business, months. I didn't die. Nor have I died from eating them.

People die from being addicted to heroin.

Is heroin an addiction, a disease or an escape from life? Is it an excuse? Is it a reason to avoid the world, get high, feel like Superman, and think you can do anything?

Have you ever considered stepping in front of a moving train? People on heroin have.

If you think about trying something for a first time, this is something you might want to reconsider trying. If you think twice about it, and really have the overwhelming urge to do it, ask yourself some questions. Is trying something for a first time worth losing your family? Is it worth losing your friends? Is it worth losing your kids?

Is it worth losing your life?

This article is written not from a personal perspective of having been a heroin addict. I never have been. I've never tried the drug. I've watched people die from it. I've lost friends to it. I've seen it destroy families. I've seen people pray to Jesus that their friends, relatives and children will stop doing it. so I've never had the ambition to try it. And I can sit here with an absolute certainty that, having seen what it does to people and the lives of people? I never will.

You can ask yourself a question. Is trying something like heroin worth losing your family? Is it worth losing your friends? IS it worth losing your kids? IS it worth losing your life?

Words to think about. Words to live by. Or words to die by.