A Reality of Heroin, Addiction and It's Abuse Is

Last night I found a piece of a post I had started working on back in January and have added to it. It's official I guess. I'm back with this piece.

It was announced recently that heroin and opioid abuse is now the #1 leading cause of death in the United States for persons age 50 and under. This epidemic has surpassed heart disease, diabetes and cancer as the leading cause of death in this country.

The reality is that heroin and it's abuse is preventable and is treatable.

IF everyone can get on the same page.

We are learning that aside from all of the new information that it is affecting every company.  Companies are realizing just how much this has affected their workplace where drug-related injuries have skyrocketed and caused companies billions of dollars in workers compensation.  Companies are experiencing the trend that overdosing on the job seems to be the norm these days.

 It disrupts the daily workflow which can also cost companies a lot of money.

Last week I posted that I am once again working on a few pieces for this blog. I have been contacted by quite a few people. I hadn't realized how much some missed reading here.

While I am working on a few posts coming soon, I thought I would share that we on this side of loving someone with this addiction have always said that addiction to heroin and opioid addiction doesn't discriminate.

Heroin doesn't care if you are rich or poor, it affects both the same.

Heroin does not care if you were prom king or queen, very popular at school, or football jock, or the quiet shy person in school who had few friends.

Heroin doesn't care about your job. It doesn't care if you are a construction worker, banker, CEO police officer, politician or pastor.

Heroin doesn't care that you attend church every Sunday.

Heroin does not care how you vote at the polls. It is neither democrat or republican or any other political party one may be affiliated with.

Heroin does heroin care which gender or race you are.

Heroin is killing everyone and destroying lives. It is tearing at the very threads of the American family and the values of every family in this country alike; rich or poor and young and old.

Sometimes when asked where I stand my response is simple,

I stand on shaky ground where heroin and addiction are concerned. 

If you want to be a part of my blog I certainly welcome all. If you don't wish to, I understand that as well.

© 2018 Gossip Girl

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month

We are only about a week away from the first of October...

October is National Red Ribbon, Drug Awareness and Say No To Drugs!

Enrique (Kiki) S. Camarena Story

History of the Red Ribbon Wiki

Mental Health and Drug Abuse

Personally this is what our son Kyle is dealing with- Dual Diagnosis. He was treated for depression several years ago. On July 10th we found him in really bad shape once again. He was talking about suicide once more.

An article written at Drug Abuse. com says,

Mental illness is common amongst a population suffering from substance abuse and addiction. The relationship is so strong that many people believe the drugs play a causative role in the development of the mental illness. In most instances, this is not the case. In the United States, approximately 8.9 million people have both a mental health and a substance abuse issue.

Read More>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mental Health and Drug Abuse

Forget Making Assumptions

Just in the past twenty four hours I have learned so much. I have often forgotten to take a moment of disconnect, rethink it take a moment and breathe. This post is not about making excuses for our sons behavior and his addiction. It is however about putting the pieces of the puzzle together, to understand it better and possibly make treating his addiction a little easier to understand. You see...

Our son Kyle did really good maintaining his sobriety for several years. Because we didn't know what truly happened we started interjecting our own feelings into it and concluded that it had to be his old friends.

About three years ago he relapsed. For a year we have been racking our minds trying to figure out, what happened?

After some recent events with our son and in talking to someone close to him we have learned a few things that in doubt led to this spiraling out of control so fast-so easy.

About three years ago Kyle was working a stable job. He tells me about others on his job that were using pills around him and that he had been so strong in declining any offers. He hurt his back one day on the job. A guy on the job offered him a Perc. At first he declined it, but as the day went on his back was hurting even more and he took the pill.

He said he knew just swallowing it would not have that immediate affect he needed, so he smoked it. Kyle said there was immediate battle going on his head. He felt so guilty for doing it, but it relieved the back pain.

He said this one time use set off a trigger in his brain. He told no one- not the girlfriend- not us- no one. For approximately six months he became what is known as a functioning addict. Then came the layoff. Not enough work to go around and he and his crew were laid off. This would be the event that set in motion the decline and his sobriety spiraling out of control.

He was looking for work, but as we all know having a criminal record doesn't make it easy finding a job. With his back still hurting he found it easy to keep himself self medicated on the streets. He could find what he needed anywhere.

He started lying that he was out looking for work. He said he was embarrassed to tell his then girl friend that he couldn't find anything because of his record. He became too overwhelmed with the pressure that he needed to find a job to help with the household expenses.

He had denied to himself and those around him that he had a problem. That would mean admitting he had slipped.

When he finally admitted what he had been doing-self medicating- it was pretty much too late. He had been using heroin for many months at that time.

His then girl friend would take him to the hospital because at times the pain became so bad he went into seizures.

One look at track marks and it is like "GAME OVER" at the hospital. They did not believe he was in pain and he often was told take Tylenol and sleep it off.

He never in the past years stopped complaining about lower back and abdomen pain. Sometimes the pain was so severe he couldn't walk. Other times the pain so severe he went into seizures.

Last year when he was going to the Martinsburg Institute we know that his medical records were faxed there and was told that he had some really severe medical problems going on. One being his kidneys.


>>>>>>TO BE CONTINUED

© 2016 Gossip Girl

Who Wants To Live Forever?

I will always be a fan of Queen. Whenever I hear this song it reminds me so much of my son addicted to heroin and that thinking he has of invincibility because of this drug and use and abuse of it! Of course if he were here beside of me he would snicker at me or laugh for saying this.

If you have a problem with heroin or any other drug, please seek help and treatment today.

It is a matter of life and death!

Song from Queen/YouTube

Is It Any Wonder There Are Stigmas?

Is it any wonder that a stigma exists between society and those who are caught up in the addiction as well as those people who love someone using and abusing heroin when entities within the Federal Government cannot even stand on the same side?

As a blogger, I type many keywords into search engines seeking information and resources on heroin. We have a son who uses and abuses not only heroin but others as well.

I cannot remember now exactly what words I used to type into the BING search engine to come up with an interesting FACT CHECK on the heroin epidemic written by the website, Fusion.

By interesting I mean this,

The word fentanyl has now become a household word and the nightmare of every parent or person who loves someone addicted to heroin as well as among the groups who advocate. We used to only hear that word as it was associated with many stars in Hollywood who died from a heroin overdose now it is among us on our streets and it is killing people right here in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

The DEA calls it a heroin epidemic however in 2014 the CDC disagreed and said "NO" The CDC does not consider this an epidemic.

“We do not consider heroin usage as an epidemic,” said spokesperson Courtney Lenard. “Deaths rates from heroin overdose in the US were relatively stable from 1999 through 2010. We did not see the sharp increase that we would characterize as an epidemic.”

Now, all the other entities (the CDC and SAMSHA) all agree there is an opioid epidemic in this country but it's not heroin.

Now we who love someone addicted know that once our loved one is addicted it is often not just heroin. Our son was addicted to heroin first. Now it's a combo of heroin/opiates. Sometimes just opiates.

Other opioids and benzos come into action. Those addicted will combine other drugs with heroin just searching for the next bigger high. Heck, I just learned that our son is combining heroin, opioids and smoking them with Spice.

Is there any wonder that there is such as stigma around addiction and whether or not it is a disease? As well as the stigma society places on families and friends of those who use and abuse. We who love them come to that place when we have to call it was it is, a heroin addiction.

Why wouldn't these government entities call it for what it is?

Personally, I feel this way,  If they were to all come to together and agree, it would show a great failure on their part because from the late 1990's and through the 2000's heroin use has gradually risen year after year. We have the numbers of the overdoses and the deaths to prove it so how can they say there has been no increase? No epidemic?

Of course, this is just my opinion.

To read the rest of this interesting article...

Fact Check: Is There Really A Heroin Epidemic?

© 2016 Gossip Girl

It Seems To Fall On Deaf Ears

On May 12th I stood in front of the Mayor of Martinsburg and the City Council (those few that attended the meeting) and read our petition to them. I also told them on that day that this reaches into our schools here. In light of the recent OD's and the two deaths of the young Spring Mills High School Graduates and students I wonder if my words fell on deaf ears that day? Did they not believe me that this has already reached into the school system here in Martinsburg and Berkeley County?

I have no clue what more it is going to take for our leaders to wisen up to this problem here. How many more will need to die while our leaders set idly by?

It is really amazing the struggle in getting people just to sign the

If We Do Nothing...

About a month ago I held a Community Awakening, Memorial and Vigil to bring attention to our growing heroin epidemic here in Berkley County, West Virginia.

This event was to bring us all together in one place. That place is the site of the proposed treatment center here in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

About fifty people attended from various groups here in the county. All of us coming together as one. The goal I had in mind then is still the goal I have in mind today. We have to make them see in such a way that they cannot deny this problem any longer. This will not go away on it's own.

Although a month ago I still remember the words of Mr. James Boyd that day when he said,

"If we do nothing this will hit those who haven't even made it here yet."

Boy was he right. Yesterday I learned that three young people from our county who just graduated from high school six days ago are dead from an overdose. There was a graduation party this past weekend and from the stories I am hearing about it they apparently bought what they thought was cocaine. It was either pure heroin or it was cocaine laced with heroin I'm not sure which since our county officials- Sheriffs Department- has not come forward to the news paper with this story.

I am saddened, but I am not shocked or surprised.

I am saddened that another family is going through this; yet I'm not shocked or surprised that this has happened.

For Parents of Young Kids and Teens: Know The Signs

Let's face it. The signs of abuse and addiction are there. Even if you know the signs and see the signs, what then? What do you do? Read the rest @

Know The Signs

Addiction Explained....

It's often hard explaining to others about addiction. If it's never affected you or someone you love it's easy to say that someone can stop. It's not as easy as others believe...

What causes addiction? Easy, right? Drugs cause addiction. But maybe it is not that simple.

This video is adapted from Johann Hari's New York Times best-selling book 'Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.' For more information, and to take a quiz to see what you know about addiction, go to www.chasingthescream.com

Back In History: It Just Had To Be The Pot

It couldn't have been all the LSD and Acid!

This is a continuing discussion about Berkeley County's out of control drug problem. Weeks ago I posted one of several I have written on the subject of, Should Pot Be Legal?

I was born and raised here in Martinsburg. My parents took me to church every Sunday and also talked about why we should never use drugs. Maybe that should say they used scare tactics back then to explain it.
As a kid I was scared to death of drugs. Back in those days the majority of kids I went to school with was raised the same way we were.
Back in those days on Sundays you were in church. Everyone knew each other here in town. At the stores or when out you ran into people

WV Drug Report Card

West Virginia had the Highest Rate of Youth Drug Overdose Death Rates, Rate has Tripled in Just Over a Decade

West Virginia's Report Card.

You know we have a lot of work to do when kids are finding ways to chase a high by means of

• Getting high by ingesting Morning Glory Seeds
• Young girls putting drugs on tampons and inserting them to get a bigger high
• Drinking Fizzy Which is putting poppy seeds in water, shaking them really hard to split the seeds and then drinking the water.
• Smoking Alcohol
• Eyeballing- Pouring vodka in their eyeball.
• Drank- Jolly Ranchers, Cough Syrup and Sprite
• Robo Tripping- Drinking cough syrup
• Boozy Bears/Gummy Shots- Gummy Bears soaked in vodka
• Purple Wave, Zoom, Vanilla Sky Cloud Nine- Bath Salts
• Blaze, Bliss, Black Mamba, Bombay Blue, Pulse, Hush, Mystery, Earthquake, Serenity, Red X Dawn Stinger, Zohia, Summit, Genie - Names for Spice
• They are smoking the kitchen spice Nutmeg
• They inhale Mothballs
• Beezin- Rubbing Burts Bee's lip balm on your eyelid
• Cheese- Tylenol PM mixed with heroin. Costs $2
• Smoking Catnip- Yep the stuff found in pet stores
• Many more just like these

You may also want to study: The Teen Drug Slang Dictionary For Parents

Other Links:

Bath Salts