Yeah, heroin USED to be the thing everybody agreed they were too scared to try. But, like everything else, kids are more adventurous than we used to be... like we were more so than our parents. Kids these days are more willing to do a lot more things we wouldn't have considered, and earlier too; just name the topic, sex, guns, serious dope. Who among us would have considered carrying guns all the time, and killing someone over the trivial sh*t kids do these days? A bloody nose from a fistfight was the greatest fear after school in our day... you could pretty much count on that being the worst injury from an altercation. Now you better be sporting body armor.

As for the government dole; there seems to be a little lack of understanding on the topic. These new age addicts better not count on being able to get any disability, SS, or SSI because of their status as an addict. Rules for that changed quite a few years ago; and not only aren't folks allowed to get disability due to alcoholism or addiction, it's actually a strike against them now. Back in the old days, alcoholics used to get on disability simply for alcoholism... now they have to show they have a disability unrelated to alcoholism, and they also have to have been sober long enough to prove that their disability is unrelated to alcoholism. That period of sobriety varies; but most people will have to be able to prove they've been sober for at least 3 years, and that their problems working haven't been caused or exacerbated by the alcoholism. The chances that somebody would stay sober for 3 years, solely for an opportunity to get disability and start drinking again are slim to none... basically because somebody who's stayed sober for 3 years has done a helluva lot of work to stay that way, and have probably already reaped many of the benefits of sobriety. In essence, staying sober that long has proved to them it's a better way of life; and they'd rather die than go back to being a chemical slave.

When my friends and I have gone to hospitals and detoxes to speak to people just entering recovery, we make certain they're aware of those things. They frequently say things like, "Well, I met this old-timer at a meeting who said I should apply for disability, because he did it 20 or 30 years ago, and was approved based solely on being an alcoholic.". We have to inform them that, sorry chief, those days are loooong gone... you won't get paid to be a drunk. The primary reason for that is because supporting someone who doesn't have a sound program to keep them sober will just continue to use the money to stay drunk. There's accountability now. If you apply, and use that or addiction as your reason for being unable to work, you'll NEVER get approved. It's been that way for quite awhile now. Working and having experience in the field, along with a mother and cousin who do SS and SSI work, keeps me abreast of the goings-on with that particular element of our society.

Of course, that still doesn't address women who are addicts and/or alcoholics. Women have it much easier than men; and can stay out there on the streets considerably longer, for a variety of reasons... not the least of which, sadly, is their ability to have children. Because women have a natural commodity (men's insatiable desire for sex), they can support their habit considerably longer than a man in a similar situation, who has stolen all he can, and has nothing to sell. Additionally, women with children can get on welfare, and frequently help support their habit that way; since the agencies responsible for seeing to the safety of children is outrageously slow and ineffective... maybe inept and incompetent are better descriptions. For these reasons, recovery rates for women are worse than those for men... women have more options to obtain drugs and reasons to leave treatment (often family reasons). And, because they can stay out there longer, it takes them longer to hit bottom and look for help; and their prognosis for recovery isn't nearly as good, often because of the length of time they've been able to stay out there. Fewer groups are as willing to start treament facilities that cater to women, too; for all those various reasons. They frequently leave early because they think they need to be home with their families... never realizing, of course, that in their current condition, they're no good to their families and are actually detrimental to the overall health of the family.