11/1/16

Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington DC 20500

Dear Mr. or Mrs. President,

The war on drugs in America is only getting worse. I would like to share with you my opinions on the issues of heroin and other opiate based drugs. These drugs are addicting more and more people in suburbs and I think there is lots of things that the next President can try to do to prevent the problem from growing. The main points I would like to focus on are addictions to prescription pain medications , the stigma of who is using drugs and that heroin is no longer just a street drug, and better care for those who have gotten addicted.

The first thing I would like to focus on is prescribed painkillers. Doctors prescribe these painkillers for things like surgery recovery, but these drugs are highly addictive and often lead to ruined lives. For example, in a 60 Minutes article there is a football player named Tyler Campbell who has shoulder surgery. His parents say “He had 60 Vicodin for his shoulder surgery”(Heroin in the Heartland Whitaker 2). This was a normal prescription and it had gotten him hooked. Once hooked on the painkillers, most turn to heroin because it is a much cheaper option. These prescription pills have a direct correlation with the rising numbers of heroin users in more rural and suburban areas. I propose that the doctors should monitor the patient's use of the drugs more closely so that they can't get addicted.

Another issue I would like to focus on, is the stigma of heroin. Heroin used to be looked at as a “gutter” drug only found in big cities, but it has become more common in suburban and rural areas. Parents have to be more aware that their kid might have access to heroin in their community. In the 60 Minutes article one of the mothers had two daughters who were hooked on heroin said “Never say not my child.”(Heroin in the Heartland Whitaker 2). In this part of the article, the parents are talking to the reporter about their experiences with their kids and heroin. The parents are trying to get the point across that anyone can be a victim of heroin, not just people in big cities. The parents talk about how they wished they would have caught on sooner so they could have saved their child. Most of the children in the article had died from an overdose of either heroin or other opiate based pain medications. More should be taught in schools and at home about heroin now that it is more present in suburbs and rural areas. These drugs end up taking control of people's lives. It’s like a hole that they have dug themselves into that is almost impossible to escape.

Lastly, I would like to focus on the treatment of people who are addicted to heroin or painkillers. Most people who have used heroin once are immediately hooked. Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs on the market. In the 60 Minutes article a previous heroin user spoke about her first experience with the drug and why she got hooked. She said “Oh yeah. Let's say I've never done a drug in my life. I would normally be a happiness at a six or a seven, at a scale out of 10, you know. And then you take heroin and you're automatically at a 26. And you're like, I want that again”. Heroin has gone from being a “gutter” drug to a suburban party drug.

23% of heroin users are addicted after the first time. This shows that even first time heroin users are easily hooked. To prevent them from using heroin again patients should be treated better so that they don’t use it again. Better rehabilitation is essential to stopping previous users from using heroin again. Almost 83% of heroin users will use it again after their first session of rehabilitation. I think the people who complete rehab should be watched closely so they can’t relapse as easily.

Heroin needs to be recognized as a suburban problem as well as a city problem. More effort needs to be put into helping people quit. Also prescription pain medications should be given in smaller doses. In the end, would you like to be the president that lets the heroin problem get completely out of hand or the president that stops the use of heroin all together?

Sincerely,

Tor from Twin Cities