Addiction Recovery

A heroin addict's life can quickly crumble. The consequences of the habit can cost him his job and the support of family and friends. Feeding the habit can leave him destitute. A squalid lifestyle can wreck his health. He lives with the constant danger of a heroin overdose. Eventually, he may have to pay the legal consequences for drug offenses.

The heroin addict may feel that he is alone in the world except for his addiction, but his actions affect the people around him, his community, and society. His family and friends are devastated and may devote time and money to try to help him. His employer feels his absence. When he buys heroin, the money may go to gangs or other criminal organizations that bring pain and violence to his city or region. Taxpayers may foot the bill for his medical care. If he goes to trial for a drug offense, taxpayers may also have to pay for both the prosecution and defense, if he is represented by a public defender. If he is convicted, taxpayers would pay for his rehabilitation or, as is far more likely, his incarceration. A year of drug treatment costs about $4,000. Keeping a convict in prison for a year, on the other hand, costs over $20,000.