Heroin – Old Drug, New Neighborhood

Needle on a street on Bainbridge Island

Heroins’ province is no longer the seedy underbelly of the inner city. It’s now in your own suburban neighborhood, maybe even next door, and certainly in your local high schools. These kids are starting at an average age of 14.  A few words about heroin: It’s cheap. It’s deadly.  After one or two hits, the user is powerfully addicted. Further, he has no idea  where the stuff he’s taking came from, or what’s in it. So every fix incurs a massive risk. The high that it delivers is euphoric, far greater than the high one gets from RX pain meds.

Take note of the man hanging around your local grocery store. Ask yourself, “Why is a grown man hanging in the parking lot after 3:00 near the schools and popular hangouts?” For Islanders, the ferry terminal is another regular spot for drug deals. Then there are kids selling to other kids. Talk to your teens about heroin and let them tell you what they know about what goes on at school.