With the presidential campaign setting the media abuzz, a new devastating reality has been put in the spotlight. The severity of the overdose on heroin finally reached the public with graphic images on social media attached by Ohioan officers. The graphic image displayed a man and a woman passed out in the front seat of a car. With further research, they were found to have overdosed on heroin shockingly while having a child in their custody. This image has been circulating globally with many not able to contain their disbelief.

It gave a wake-up call to the world about the danger of drug overdose, specifically heroin. Thanks to this image, many people got the chance to find out about the stats behind heroin use.

In 2010, a total of 16,651 deaths were caused by misuse of opioids. For heroin alone, there were 650,000 users and almost 3,000 deaths.

The reasons behind the peril of heroin injection can shortly be summed up into 3 reasons. The first is that there is a high possibility of overdosing due to the lack of control over the purity of the drug. It is almost impossible for a person to determine the quantity of active drugs in the formula. The second is that a sexually transmitted infection can be passed on. When a person with a blood-borne disease shares the contaminated drug, the virus will continue on as a never-ending cycle. So not only does drug overdose itself harm people, but its contamination within it can also pass around for further trouble. And lastly, heroin is an extremely addictive drug that increases chances of overdose. If one accidentally encounters the drug without knowledge, there is a high chance of not being able to rid oneself from the temptation of taking the drug again.

A thing to definitely keep in mind is that although there are many events garnering our attention, there are some things to refrain from viewing lightly. Such as heroin overdose. Although the next president, infectious and deadly diseases, or such things might be interesting, we need to remember that thousands of people in our own country is suffering from major drug addictions and overdose. We need to realize the struggles they go through and lend them a helping hand in any way we can.

<Ashley Kim New Covenant Academy 9th Grade>