Heroin use is such a huge issue in our country; it seems to be the drug of choice for most people in today's world.

In Pueblo alone, we had seven deaths as a result of overdoses on heroin in 2014; in 2015, we had nine deaths on top of the 13 homicides in our city.

When will we see that we cannot treat addicts like hardened criminals? Addiction should be treated like a disease.

Our main focus should be the rehabilitation of people who have been led astray. When someone is rehabilitated, they can take back their life, everything the drug has taken away. We have all seen how addiction tears families apart. Everyone hurts when someone they love abuses drugs.

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