20/20 show on Opiate & Heroin addiction

[Kathy813]

I watched the 20/20 special last night? It broke my heart. There was a young couple who were doing everything they could to stay clean for their baby daughter with very little help. They had to scrape together $17 a day to buy suboxone for the young mother. She literally would walk a half mile to the pharmacy each day to buy a pill. She would have to pass by heroin dealers on the way.

When the husband reported back to the court after breaking his probation, he was put into jail which left the mother and child with his mother in another state. A few weeks later the young mother disappeared leaving the child.

The show producers tracked her down several months later in jail.

I kept thinking how much more the government is now spending on incarcerating the two parents than if they had helped them fight the addiction. I bet it is more than $17 a day.

The other story line was also about a young couple fighting heroin addiction. The 21-year-old husband was searching for a treatment center and finally found one but left after three days and overdosed and died eight days later. His wife was in treatment at that time and was four months sober at the end of the show and living in a sober house with their young son.

I hope she makes it.

Anyone else watch the episode? What did you think?

~Kathy

 

[lovemyson1]

Yes! I watched it! I was thinking of starting a post like this too. It was so hard to watch! I agree with you about the couple that was trying so hard to make it and how they just put him in jail and then the family just fell apart. Such a darling baby too! I hope they get out of jail soon and are sober for their baby girl. It broke my heart when the 21 year old over dosed in the other segment. Made me think of my son, and how he's just one dose away from overdosing. (he's in treatment now, but if he relapses again). That's my greatest fear of all! I actually started crying when the 21 year old's son asked to speak to daddy and the mom said put your hands like this (praying hands) and the little boy said, "hi daddy". Ugh... such a fricken waste!! smh.. I hope and pray that our country gets smarter about addiction and instead of putting people in jail, they put them in treatment. Also, there needs to be a frantic search for the dealers and extremely hard consequences! Did you see the dealer who said, "I like her, but I love heroin" He said it's like a pyramid to get people hooked, it's all about money and not about the horrific consequences of that first hit.

 

[Nancy]

I am sorry I missed it. If I had known it was on I would surely have watched it. I usually do watch 20/20 so I don't know how I missed it.

Truly sad Kathy.

 

[RN0441]

If you have Comcast you can watch it On Demand. I plan to watch it this week.

My friend said it was terribly sad. But so glad that the need for change is getting out there. Maybe something good will come out of all the pain.

 

[Kathy813]

You can also go to ABC.com and watch it if you sign in through your provider. After a week, anyone can watch it without signing in.

My younger daughter (the non-troubled one) who used to be a high school teacher said that she thought that it should be shown in schools. She thought it would be much more effective than the ones with actors in them since you saw actual lives being destroyed by addiction.