How You Can Help Prevent Heroin Addiction and Overdose
Here are a few useful things that if everyone got into practice would rapidly decrease the demand, addiction and overdose statistics for heroin, and the good news is they aren’t complicated.
Reduce Heroin Popularity
- If you see artists promoting or endorsing drug use, then try and boycott them, publicly make people aware of the negativity this artist is pushing, let’s counter the pro-drug message.
- If you see young people trying to mimic artists who take drugs, then immediately educate the person on the artist’s ability and the negative effect the drug will be having on that creative ability, there are many artists you can use as reference for this. That way you can nip in the bud, the idea that drug use if fuelling art.
- Push and acknowledge personal integrity you see in anyone. In this day and age, too many people are sheep and we need to acknowledge and validate people who are doing right and not just following popular culture.
Prevent Gateway Drug Addiction
- Actually alcohol is currently a key gateway drug, so if you see anyone you know getting too close to the bottle then say or do something immediately, don’t wait until the person has moved onto illegal and heavier drugs to do something about it.
- Marijuana is known as ‘the’ gateway drug, and though certainly it isn’t the only one, it is still something to watch for. As someone experimenting with marijuana may think there is no harm being done. Again, do something immediately, educate and don’t wait until the person has moved onto heavier drugs. Unfortunately, currently one of the biggest gateways to heroin is prescription painkiller medication. This is because both these painkillers and heroin are part of the same opium family. Prescription medication is all too easy to become addicted to, and once the prescription runs out many people turn to heroin. Advocating less use of these painkillers, and encouraging research into non-addictive medication is extremely important. And closer to home, watch what medication you or your family are prescribed, and ask for alternatives if you see it is opium based.
Life Purpose
- Ensure you or your loved ones are working towards life goals. Whether this is completing college, starting a family, building a business or getting a promotion, having something you are passionate towards is a big factor for not getting involved in drugs.
- This works for small things too, have month to month plans and goals, hobbies to start, things to accomplish, be busy and productive and there will be no need to turn to drugs. When problems or negatives take over life, they can predispose one to turn to drugs.
Education on Heroin
Drug education is always key. Most people when fully confronted with the facts of what heroin does to your system, the effects and consequences of overdosing will choose to not try heroin in the first place. This should be done from a young age and repeated continually, once is not always enough for a message to sink in.Rehabilitation for Addiction
If despite your best intentions someone you love is addicted to heroin then act now to get the person off it, before they reach something worse, overdose. If the person is still alive, it is never too late for rehabilitation, but the sooner the person comes off drugs, the easier the person will find to adjust back to life without drugs.
