I am writing this because I’m sick of reading articles about children being taken from their addicted parents. I’m sick of reading obituaries of friends who lost their battle. But mostly, I’m sick of reading horrible comments said about these addicts.

In 2014, the record was set with a total of 208 overdose deaths. In 2015, a new record of 272 was set. The heroin epidemic is on the rise and we need to do something about it. But how?

We live in a world full of people who are so quick to judge. We read headlines about heroin addicts and immediately bash on them. Is that how problems are solved nowadays? We don’t know their stories, so why do we have a right to judge?

Addicts don’t choose to be addicts. Every day we take risks with high consequences, in this case, they chose heroin. They chose heroin because they believed their lives were intolerably painful. They chose it to numb the pain.

Now that heroin has become a part of their life, it becomes a part of their brain, a part that tells them to breathe. Drugs turn people we once knew into demons.

Instead of throwing heroin users into jail, we need to start placing them in rehab centers. Most drug addicts say they feel imprisoned in their own bodies. So why should we make them feel even more alone? That’s adding fuel to the fire. These people deserve help. They deserve to rebuild their relationships with friends and family. They deserve a life.

The more addictions that are cured, the better public health of the whole community. We need to stop blaming our addicts and start supporting them.

Bayleigh K. Logan

Augusta