Dear Heroin,

You are an evil, destructive, life-altering drug. You have the ability to walk into someone's life and ruin it within minutes. You don't have a preference on the person you are going to prey on next. When you are introduced to someone you don't appear to be as deadly as you are. In fact, many think that you are just another drug that will make all their worries disappear and make them feel good for a bit. What they don't realize is that you are nothing but evil.

Heroin, you are the absolute worst thing that could ever be brought into someone's life. You have the power to break up even the most loving of families and make the strongest of people weak. You take advantage of the weak people who have been through so much that they don't know what else to do but get high. I hate you for that. I hate the control you have over people. I hate that you drag people down. But, most of all I hate that you are made available to anyone.

You take some of the most beautiful souls from the world far too soon. Parents will never be able to see their kids grow up because of you. Teenagers will never be able to live a full life because of you. The saddest part is that while you are killing these people you are leaving their families and friends behind heartbroken and lost. Parents of the child that you killed will have to live with the fact that they outlived their 19-year-old son– that's not how it should be. The 17-year-old whose father you took, she will never be able to have her dad walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. The people you take have so much to offer, so much love to give and none of that matters to you.

Some people think that they can use you once and they will be fine never to touch you again. What they don’t understand is the addiction that comes with you. You ruin every single piece of a person to the point where they aren't the same person anymore. You take every aspect of a person's life and tear it apart. My heart breaks knowing there are people that give in to you daily. There is someone out there losing their battle to you as I type this and that to me is so tragic and so devastating.

I hate that someone I love has fallen victim to you. When I look into their eyes I can see that they aren't the same person. The smile that once crossed their face has completely changed. You have sucked the life out of someone that I care about. I wish that I had the power to take you off of this planet so that you couldn't hurt anyone again. But, unfortunately, I don't have the ability to do that and you will be here long after me.

I hate you because you can't be stopped. I hate you because you destroy even the best people. I hate you because you are everywhere. I hate you for taking the lives of people that I love. I hate that because of you some families will never be the same, holidays forever incomplete. I hate you because once you are in someone's life you are all that matters to them. I hate that you still exist and people are dead because of you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.

I never thought you would ever have any significance in the lives of my friends and I. The sad fact is that at 19 years old you have not only had an impact on my life but you have had an impact on many of my friends. The amount of deaths that you have caused in my hometown alone is disturbing. The number of parents, siblings, children, and friends you have taken is painful to even think about. However, for every person you take there are thousands of others that are learning more about you, being educated on how they can help, and addicts realizing just how incredibly dangerous you are – finally ready to be free of you. So, Heroin, I know that I can never stop you, but I also know that you will never, ever win.