And people are dying from even trace contact. This includes nonaddicts and children who are unlucky enough to have exposure to it from contaminated items and surfaces.

It is absolutely a different sort of roulette now. The bullet is in every chamber. The demand is present as ever. But there's the unflappable power of addiction that creates those feelings like apathy, invincibility, compulsion, self loathing, etc which fund their drive down this path to self destruction. They know its a dead end, they just can't stop, they aren't behind the wheel anymore. They have to be ready to jump out the car while it's still moving. All of their friends and family could be crashing into the ocean off of the same cliff they're heading towards, and they still won't move an inch toward the door handle

It's awful. And the fact that there is still a taboo and stigma that surround it hurts everyone, not just addicts who are deserving of salvation from their demons but those who are face those demons taking hold of someone they care about and are forced to watch that person dying in real time until those demons ultimately succeed at their mission once and for all. Too many people are affected by this epidemic to still have so much heartlessness towards these individuals and their families. Its time for reform and action towards protecting those who are most vulnerable with preventive education and adequate support for anyone affected by it. Compassion will be vital to the campaign for change and progress in these issues. We need it now more than ever.

Heartfelt post, u/FleurDeezNutz