Heroin Abuse in Cecil County, Maryland

Heroin is a highly addictive substance that is derived from morphine. Heroin abuse is running rampant in the United States. Cecil County, Maryland is no exception. The problem is very serious because it doesn't stop at the person who is addicted to it. It affects the family members including unborn children who have no say in the matter.

Cecil County, Maryland is a small county consisting of the towns of Elkton, North East, Charlestown, Perryville, Chesapeake City, Cecilton and Port Deposit. These are small towns which would not fit the description of places you would expect drug abuse to be so widespread, yet, kids are dying from the abuse of such drugs in these very towns.

The following information is the true story of a young man who is addicted to heroin. He resides in Cecil County. The source will not be revealed to protect the names of those close to him.

At a very early age a young man begins to steal prescription drugs from his ADHD step-brother. He takes the drugs to school and sells them to his classmates. This is the beginning of his long career of drug abuse. During school hours, the boy passes out. An ambulance is called to the scene and saves his life. His parents scold him but they don't really make much of an effort to do anything about it. They feel that he won't do it again because he's surely learned his lesson.

As the years passed, the boy becomes more and more skilled. He is now smoking marijuana daily. He continues to steal from his stepbrothers prescription in order to sell them to his classmates. By the time he turns seventeen, he has tried nearly every drug available. He smokes cigarettes and would resemble a wanna-be punk.

He drops out of school and continues with his bad habits. By this time, his heroin abuse is in full swing. He even steals money from his unborn niece's piggy bank to support his habit. He will steal anything that he can take to the pawnshop and sell. If he can't sell it there he will find someone to buy it. It doesn't really matter whose property he steals. He steals from his stepfather, stepbrother, sister and even his mother.

At age eighteen, he meets a girl. They spend their time stealing and doing Heroin. The girl ends up pregnant and they vow to stop doing the drugs. They get on Methadone treatments and it works well for a while. The baby is born healthy. The family lives with his mother and stepfather in order to get on their feet. The mother and father take the baby for a joy ride in a stolen vehicle (not the first and not the last) while they are high out of their minds on Heroin.

His mother gives them an ultimatum. Get straight or get out. If you get out, you leave the baby here. The grandparents adopt the beautiful baby girl. Her parents are too busy with their drugs to bother with her.

The young man decides he will try to get straight again. He moves back into his parent's home. He begins to take the Methadone treatments again. He gains access to the Methadone and gives one dose to his stepbrother. His stepbrother takes it and overdoses on it. The paramedics arrive. The stepbrother is dead. The paramedics are able to reverse the affects of the Methadone in time. The stepbrother survives.

The young man continues along the same path. Stealing, doing Heroin, getting on Methadone and ignoring the fact that he has a child. The baby's mother has no contact with her because she is too busy getting high. The young man is sent to live with his father in Alabama. He eventually returns but with the same problems as before.

The young man recently overdosed on the heroin. It had the same effects on him as the Methadone had on his stepbrother two years previous. The paramedics saved his life. Upon his release from the hospital, he was taken to jail where he sits to this day.

This is only one story about the affects that drug abuse has, not only on the abuser but also on the people who love them the most. Cecil County is full of young people just like this one. Parents think their children learn their lesson once something horrible happens. After reading the above true story, it appears that no matter how many bad things happen, it's not enough to teach them a lesson.

The parents of Cecil County need to take back control of their children. We have lost far too many young people in just a few short years. My children have been to so many funerals for their friends that they think it is normal for kids to die. Parents need to arm themselves with information on Heroin. Know what it looks like, know what it smells like (Heroin is odorless) and know what the signs of Heroin use are. Learn as much as you can about the drug. Learn as much as you can about how to prevent it. Learn as much as you can how to stop it. Stop letting Heroin kill our youth!