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What would you consider a bad heroin addiction?

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xburtonchic

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May 17, 2011
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(And by the word 'bad', I mean the negative connotation of the word. Not as in badass, or awesome, or 'sick, bro!'... because awesome heroin addictions don't exist. I'm talking 'bad' as in, like... extremely-horrible-this-shit-is-a-life-ruiner, type of bad. Or well maybe not that intense, but you know. Argh I want to use a word other than 'bad', but I can't quite think of another word that fits at the moment. :?)

Okay, so I understand that a "bad heroin addiction"... or a bad addiction to anything, really... is all a matter of perception. But that's exactly what I'm asking -- what do you perceive it to be? Do you measure it via the user's method of administration, i.e. an addiction to smoking tar isn't as bad as slamming it? By how many grams a person does per day? By how many times they use throughout the day? By how many days, weeks, months, years they've been using? By what they'll do, how far they'll go, in order to get their next fix... by the extent of which their lives and/or personality have changed (and not for the better)? Do you take into consideration all of these factors, and then make your judgement that way? Or is it something else entirely that I completely forgot to mention?

I'm curious both for personal reasons as well as academic ones. I'm taking a drug and alcohol counseling course over summer session (which I'm super stoked about by the way!), and I chose to write about heroin addiction for our first essay assignment. I figured it would be an appropriate topic for me to write about, given my history and all. Except... well. It turns out it's not so easy after all to talk about heroin addiction, specifically, for five single-spaced pages. And then it hit me -- Bluelight is the perfect place to come to for more opinions and information!

I already know what I would judge a "bad" heroin addiction to be (I believe all heroin addictions are bad, but that some are worse than others taking different variables into consideration), but now I want to know what you guys think... the more specific, the better! Also, don't worry -- I won't be using anyone's usernames! I'm just trying to gather a general opinion and see if there's a majority of what society, especially within the drug/alcohol community, thinks of different "phases" of heroin addiction for lack of a better word :)
 
I believe it to be all about what it pushes you to do and nothing to do with tolerance etc. I was taking 6gs per day at my peak but as my addiction was not hurting anyone (except myself) I don't consider it a "bad" habit. I know people that do 0.2 (1 bag) per day and they steal from people, mug, rob houses, anything to get their fix. Once your habit affects others negatively then I consider it to be bad.
 
I believe my heroin addiction truely turned bad when after 5 years of use I turned to the needle, lost my job ($70k), crashed two cars, spent an inheritence, needed a gram just to maintain, habitually stole tv's and gamestations daily (typically around $600 retail and hocked for $250 to feed me and my girl), continued stealing doing this knowing the police would catch up eventually (stole from the same dozen stores repeatedly) until i landed in jail after about a year of total madness. Got clean (methadone) to avoid felonies only to relapse 2 weeks after tapering to zero. Now that run is still going after 6 months even though i once again have a good job.

Any addiction is bad, for me it is heroin that i can not control, but any addiction can lead to some truely shitty things.
 
The severity of an addiction has nothing to do with how much a person uses, their ROA (snort, smoke, inject, etc) or even what drug they use. It is entirely about the negative consequences to their lives and to others and how little control they have over their drug use (not that control is a conscious choice). Physical dependence is another matter and is separate from addiction, but with drugs like heroin it often comes hand and hand with addiction. Drug addiction is when a person has impaired control over the use of a substance, is preoccupied with that substance and continues to use it despite the consequences. Of course a person doesn't always realize when they are addicted, especially not at the beginning. Physical or physiological dependence is when a person's brain and body has adapted to the drug so they require it to function normally and get withdrawal symptoms when they discontinue use. A person can be addicted to a drug, even a drug that can cause a strong physical dependence like heroin, without being physically dependent. For example, someone could use only twice a week but still be mentally addicted if they feel a compulsion to use, they think about using all the time, etc. But once a person becomes physically dependent there are usually worse consequences (like spending a lot of money, using risker routes of administration, not being able to function or go to school/work when they don't have the drug, etc) and they have extreme difficulty in going even a day without using, so generally when a physical dependence is present it is a more severe addiction, and it is harder to control or quit.

Classifying a drug addition in levels of better or worse is extremely difficult. For example, say there is a person who has a very powerful addiction and is very physically dependent, they inject large amounts of heroin 10 times a day and feel they absolutely can not go without it, but to the average person you wouldn't even be able to tell: they have a good job and are always on time, everyone likes them, they are healthy/look healthy, and behave and appear normal. Then say there is another person who only snorts a small amount of heroin and only does it a few times a week, but they can't keep a job, they are about to get evicted because they spent their rent money on heroin, their spouse left them because of their behaviour, they are depressed and unstable and don't seem to care about anything (other than getting high), they haven't been eating properly or bathing regularly and they steal to get money for drugs. Whose addiction is "worse"?

Really all you can measure is the adverse impact on someone's life and health and on other people, and the expected adverse impact in the future if they continue on with the same behaviour (or it escalates). Even these things can be difficult to tell since people are often not even honest with themselves when it comes to addiction, let alone others, everyone is very different when it comes to heroin addiction, and a lot of it really comes down to luck, their situation (money etc) and how understanding other people in their lives are.

A LOT of what makes an addiction to heroin harmful is the fact that it is illegal and stigmatized. People have to buy drugs on the black market, which is extremely expensive, can be dangerous and the drug can be of unknown potency or cut with something harmful. People receive judgement and punishment for their addiction instead of love and support. Their lives often revolve around getting drugs and getting money for drugs. People often don't have easy access to harm reduction materials and information on how to use drugs more safely. People have to do it in secret, which increases the risks. If I were writing an essay on heroin addiction I would definitely touch on these topics.

Really I think one of the main things that makes a heroin addiction "bad" is simply circumstance, like if someone cannot afford their addiction, has little love and support in their life and wakes up every morning sick and has to spend all their energy on getting drugs (and often has to do illegal things, unsafe things or things against their own morals to get them), that severely impairs their ability to lead a normal life. Another primary factor in my opinion is whether or not heroin is the only thing they care about. Of course the addicted brain rates heroin as necessary for survival, but some people still care about other things in life and still value their personal beliefs and relationships, whereas others really couldn't care whether they live or die and will do absolutely anything to get the drug. And a third is the risks they are taking with their health and safety, it is going to be far worse for someone who doesn't have access to clean drug paraphernalia, proper nutrition and hygiene, than someone who does, or for someone who is desperate to get as high as possible and doesn't consider/care about the risk of overdose as opposed to someone who always tries a small amount first and only uses enough to get by. I really think anyone who is predisposed for addiction could end up in a terrible situation, homeless and sick and alone, given the wrong circumstances.
 
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Any addiction to heroin is bad. I believe that opiates can be used in moderation and thus be safe and beneficial, but I believe that any physical or psychological dependence is bad, as it takes you out of control. Not to say that I haven't been addicted to anything, I've been stuck on every stimulant you can name as well as heroin, as well as nicotine and caffeine and pot and mxe and a handful of other drugs, but nowadays my moderation is much better, and easier to do, as I keep myself occupied so my mind doesn't wander back to thinking how I could feel better with just a tiny blast/line/shot of_____. The most common catalyst for addiction is boredom. Thats why I started using drugs and why I used so many of them so often, is because I was bored out of my skull. So I let cocaine and amphetamines take the wheel and keep my endorphins occupied, while I sat back and let it do everything I would normally do, but more efficiently, so coke would make me friends and make sure I wasn't bored, but it never ends, it just consumes you, and you don't even know it, cause its got you thinking that you're in control and that nothings wrong and nothing will go wrong. A bad addiction is when you can't see that, so naturally you just keep repeating the cycle, until you die or OD or whatever happens to you because of your addiction. I have learned to have a time and place for everything, and to fill up the rest of the time and still have fun and not get intense, insatiable cravings. The first step to that was discontinuing my prescribed add meds, Dexedrine, adderall - speed. After that I got to see what daily use of a drug had done to my willpower, and I could see the true nature of my motives. Then I set boundaries like, don't spend a certain amount of money on drugs, or don't seek out drugs, let them be offered to you, don't have dealers numbers in your phone. This way, it's like I'm a "normal" user. I can do a line of coke, and maybe I'll do a few more, but the next day I won't be dreaming about it, and wanting to repeat the experience every day, cause I have shit to do, people to see, and a life to live. That being said, sometimes I go a little overboard in a single session, but there won't be another session the next day, or for a good month at least. Balance, everything in moderation.

Let your drug use revolve around your life, don't let your life revolve around your drug use.

Sorry for babbling, those damn amphetamines tend to make me talk without inhibitions and apparently, I have no end of things to say. I intended to keep this at 2-3 sentences, that didn't work out lol
 
I consider it to be bad if you are dependent on heroin or any opiates at all for that matter
 
. i would say if your drug use impacts your life in a negative way, on a daily basis that is bad.
 
let your drug addiction revolve around your life, don't let your life revolve around your drug addiction

that is how i am still alive
 
Bigfanofthemdrugs said:
let your drug addiction revolve around your life, don't let your life revolve around your drug addiction

that is how i am still alive
Click to expand...

That doesn't make any sense; how does one let their drug addiction revolve around their life? Don't you just not have an addiction then? If you were being sarcastic, sorry, I didn't get it. :\
 
^i have to disagree on that one

two formal definitions of the word addiction:The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

another one:: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

the word comes from the latin for "to surrender to or give over". the idea that you can be physically addicted and NOT have your life revolve around that addiction does not seem logical. in my experience anyway
 
Rabidrabbit said:
That doesn't make any sense; how does one let their drug addiction revolve around their life? Don't you just not have an addiction then? If you were being sarcastic, sorry, I didn't get it. :\
Click to expand...

I wasn't being sarcastic, you can let your drug 'addiction' revolve around your life, as in you use, but it is not the defining detail about you. You are functional, you make money legitimately, and put nessecities like food and hygiene above drugs. In this sense yes, I suppose it's not an addiction, but my point remains, use everyday if you must, but have that be like the extra thing rather than your life's purpose. I smoke weed a lot, and do a lot of speed, among other drugs, but I'd pass the chance to get a bag of meth if it meant I couldn't get my basic needs met for that day. Now you understand? Sorry I guess I misused "addiction". I guess that code prevents me from getting addicted again, while still using drugs.
 
Yeah..from personal experience it's just bad over all. You can sit here and front saying your functional and go to work an do all that...but as long as you choose to stay in the game you will lose. It's fucking rigged and you will lose. Eventually your tolerance will keep rising till it gets to the point where that job you had and your perfect attendance to said job just isn't enough to maintain the habbit. Usually when it gets to that point, the ROA changes. You said you'd never poke yourself but after seeing how much money you save AT FIRST you get stuck on that..and before you know it your drawing up half grams. I hate it..but I know tomorow I'll be doing it regardless..
 
I'd say there's a difference between take enough to feel well or buzzed and going balls to the walk anesthetizing yourself(like pass the fuck out), wake up, repeat till they're out, get cash, cop, and repeat. Some aren't merely physically dependent, they're addicted to getting FUCKED UP all the time.

Addiction more of a spectrum. Bit like some catch the flu and it's like a bad cold, others get pneumonia and die. I'm not trying to minimize the seriousness of addiction, just pointing out the degrees of it.
 
To be completely frank, the route of administration doesn't matter. The minute that a drug goes from fun and recreational to "I need it." it is bad. It's terrible. There really is no other way to put it. An addiction is an addiction regardless of how much or through what route to the body.
 
When you stop doing dope to get high and just do it to get "well" ... When you're sick more often than you're well ... When you need dope to eat, sleep, breathe, function ... you may or may not be shooting, you may or may not have lost your job, you may or may not be homeless at this point... but these are all possibilities. It's like a magician spinning plates or juggling or a house of cards ... if one small thing goes wrong, you're in for a world of hurt and shit's just gonna come crashing down...

Bigfanofthemdrugs said:
I wasn't being sarcastic, you can let your drug 'addiction' revolve around your life, as in you use, but it is not the defining detail about you. You are functional, you make money legitimately, and put nessecities like food and hygiene above drugs. In this sense yes, I suppose it's not an addiction, but my point remains, use everyday if you must, but have that be like the extra thing rather than your life's purpose. I smoke weed a lot, and do a lot of speed, among other drugs, but I'd pass the chance to get a bag of meth if it meant I couldn't get my basic needs met for that day. Now you understand? Sorry I guess I misused "addiction". I guess that code prevents me from getting addicted again, while still using drugs.
Click to expand...

That makes a lot more sense, thank you for the clarification! Good philosophy. I wish I had more self control.
 
I consider it a bad addiction if you get sick within 24 hours of your last dose. Once you become dependent on opiates it is very easy to become dependent again even if you don't use as often as you used to, which is why I don't consider dependence in general to qualify it as a bad addiction. Don't get me wrong, any form of dependence sucks, but if I can easily go a day without opiates and feel fine, then I don't consider the addiction to be that bad. Like right now I'm just using on the weekends, but by Wednesday I'm feeling shitty and will take a small dose of suboxone to hold me over until Saturday when I use again. I don't consider that to be that bad. But when I was using 3-4 days a week and getting sick about 24 hours after my last dose, I considered that bad since I would have to take something every other day to keep the sick away, even though I was usually only getting high once, and the other 2-3 time I was sniffing a bag or two so I wasn't sick and got a buzz.

So even though it's pretty easy and relatively cheap to maintain a habit using 3-4 days a week (usually topping out at 8-10 bags a week) I still considered it bad since I was pretty much always either on dope, or sick. Now with 2 days of using dope, one day of suboxone, and a few days of feeling a little shitty, I don't consider that to be bad, although I would much prefer to not be dependent on opiates at all.
 
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