Tully: The story of our heroin epidemic must be told

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Indy Star on March 13, 2015 by Matthew Tully

B9316589632Z.1_20150313122530_000_GM7A77OKK.1-0The story of a growing heroin epidemic is being told through the voices of moms and dads, friends and siblings, grandparents and children — those who have watched loved ones fall victim to addiction.

Every time I write about the growing heroin epidemic, usually from the perspective of a young person whose life has been destroyed or ended by addiction, I hear more stories.I hear from moms and dads, friends and siblings, grandparents and other relatives. They write from across the region, crossing demographic lines. They rarely have happy endings to share. At best, the emails I receive conclude with a cautious hope that this latest recovery will somehow be the one that takes.  When I talk to experts, meantime, there is a similar nervousness. They tell me things that would make any parent lie awake at night.First, those on the ground say that for all the damage the drug has caused in recent years, this epidemic has likely not yet reached its peak. And whether it’s heroin or a scary addiction to painkillers, it’s all part of the same story. Second, this drug is so powerfully addictive that any suggestion that it can be used in a recreational way, even a time or two, is foolish. When you use, you most likely become an addict, and this addiction never goes away. Those who go into recovery at 20 will find themselves fighting their cravings at 40. Few mistakes have the life of this one. Third, despite the attention the drug’s comeback has received it is still not being taken seriously enough. Indianapolis EMS Director Dr. Charles Miramonti and others are working furiously to fight the epidemic. They have pushed to make sure first responders can administer a drug that combats the effects of an overdose, and they are working to stop the flood of prescription drugs to the street that often leads to heroin use. But Miramonti and others say the response is not as widespread as it needs to be, and much of it is reactionary.  Fourth, and this isn’t a surprise, heroin is so cheap and so easy to find that there is essentially no barrier to entry. I’ve heard this most often from those addicted to heroin. It’s in gas station parking lots and neighborhoods across the region. “It’s everywhere,” a 28-year-old heroin addict who is now in prison told me recently.