I know a high-functioning heroin addict who's a programmer by day. It's surprising to discover seemingly-normal people who have this monkey on their backs, given the popular perception of addicts.

That's me, or was anyway. Addict for 6 years, clean for 4 (well, on Suboxone)

How is it planned ? you try to decrease heroin then switch for another molecule ?

Do you think it's possible to go off this drug without substitutes.. say by forcing small sever periods etc etc ?

Good for you

Suboxone is a miracle drug, more people need access to it.

I recently heard that George Michael's song Monkey was about addiction too..

Samuel Taylor Coleridge had an opium addiction too. We should legalize drugs and help people who get addicted, not just ban substances that some people use responsibly.

Yeah right. Because there is such thing like heroin responsible use.

Yes, there is. Is it the norm? Not at all, but that doesn't change the fact that some people do use heroin in moderation and without it drastically impacting their lives.

This polarized look at heroin use further stigmatizes drug users and leads to those with problems (and casual users who are having trouble not letting it get out of hand) not getting the help they deserve.

Playing russian roulette isn't responsible just because you don't get shot. There are many people who use it in moderation... until they don't. Until they make one too many "bit more won't hurt" type decisions. Or they lose their job or a family member dies or they just have a shitty day.

"responsible heroin use" is probably the stupidest phrase I've heard all day, and I've been watching CNN.

EDIT: And, by the way, calling a spade a spade and naming heroin as the scourge it is is not stigmatizing users.

I thought most overdoses are the result of variable potency which is the result of the prohibition. Are you saying that accidental overdose would be a significant danger for addicts if they had a reliable supply of predictable potency? If that is what you're saying, do you have any evidence to support that?

I do agree that easy access to powerful opiates is a recipe for disaster for people at risk for suicide. And I concede that the danger of a negative feedback loop is obvious.

Does that mean you don't believe that responsible alcohol or tobacco use is possible? What about prescription pain medication?

That's like asking, "Does that mean you don't believe in responsible knife juggling?" One is going to kill you a lot more surely and quickly than the other, but neither is a good idea.

To say heroin and alcohol/tobacco are equivalent would be stupid. To say an addition to heroin has no similarities to an addition to alcohol/tobacco would also be stupid.

>To say heroin and alcohol/tobacco are equivalent would be stupid.

Indeed, with proper dosage long term recreational use of heroin is far less likely to cause lasting damage than alcohol or tobacco.

Heroin is already safer than tobacco and alcohol.

Deaths per year from Heroin: 13,000

Deaths per year from Alcohol: 88,000

Deaths per year from Tobacco: 440,000

Hmm...

Do those stats account for different populations of users? I imagine there are far more people using alcohol and tobacco.

I hope you are not serious...

No, because it's completely true. Repeated use of either tobacco or alcohol cause definite harm - cancer for tobacco (note, not nicotine...), brain and liver damage for alcohol. Heroin doesn't. Long term opioid use can cause hyperalgesia for _some_ people, but by no means all, and that's really if you take them every day at high doses (and heroin is actually not so bad for this - it differs from opioid to opioid), which is a little weird since morphine is quite the opposite - I suspect this is because the active metabolite responsible for the primary effects (heroin is really a prodrug) is morphine-6-glucoronide (M6G), not actually morphine as many would expect.

>To say heroin and alcohol/tobacco are equivalent would be stupid.

It doesn't sound like you have any experience with drugs or medicine outside of what you learned in D.A.R.E.

With heroin you should still legalize possession, just not sale. Instead do what they do in Switzerland and the Netherlands: Have safe injection sites where the government gives you free heroin. Those who are diagnosed with addiction can come once a day and get a dose of heroin under medical supervision. The clinics often help find jobs for the unemployed as well, further helping them with their addiction. Typically once someone gets their life back together they'll be able to quit.

There are many people who use heroin in small quantities or very infrequently. The stigma is one factor keeping you from knowing about this.

Living in a community with heroin addicts that see every opportunity to rob someone for a fix, sorry addicts are criminals first. There is no excuse for their behavior.

Yes, every heroin addict robs people to feed their heinous, immoral addiction.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on crime in poverty stricken areas or those of one predominant race or another, I’m sure they’re just as well reasoned, tolerant, and coherent.

Behavior like yours is why many turn to other avenues of coping rather than feeling comfortable seeking help. Don’t think for a second I’m condoning what you perceive, but your definition of “addict” is likely one or two standard deviations away from reality, and to imply that all “addicts” are criminals or all criminals you see are addicted to heroin is more than a little amusing.

There's no excuse for robbing people for any reason, but the addicts who do that are broke and are faced with a choice of re-feeding their addiction (via theft or robbery) or immense suffering.

You do not see this issue in wealthy heroin addicts, I promise.

Well, since that attitude doesn't get useful results, maybe try the humanizing one that might?

No one demonizes you for being addicted to potato chips and reality TV, so maybe try some empathy.