Anti-Heroin Addiction Billboard Makes Waves
One county is making moves to wipe out heroin addiction – with a billboard that is causing quite a stir among the neighbors.
Does the billboard depict someone dying as a result of heroin addiction? Dealing with an infection due to injecting the drug? Contracting a blood-borne disease as a result of sharing contaminated needles? No, no, and no. Though all of these would be completely accurate and somewhat disturbing deterrents for continuing or starting a heroin addiction, that is not the billboard focus chosen by Hardin County officials in Ohio. No, Hardin County instead posted a billboard letting people know that if they choose to smoke or inject heroin, they are likely taking a substance that was smuggled into the country via someone’s behind.
The caption on the anti-heroin addiction billboard reads: “Summer 2009, Police arrested a Kenton man with over 90 balloons of heroin up his butt. Where has your heroin been?”
It’s true that a Kenton man was arrested with heroin in his bum back in 2009. That man was Justin Humphreys, 26, who ended up with a heroin trafficking conviction after the car he was a passenger in was pulled over by police for following the vehicle in front of it too closely. Both Humphreys and the driver were arrested.
How is it that police discovered that Humphrey’s was carrying 90 balloons of heroin in his behind while pulling someone over for a routine traffic violation? Apparently, the driver told an officer that Humphreys had the drugs in his system. And it wasn’t just balloons full of heroin that he had up there; Humphreys was found to have not just heroin but a syringe that was actually sticking out of his rectum.
So what was the purpose of posting such a… striking billboard on a popular route through the county? To strike up conversation and debate, say the official offices.
It’s not a bad idea: The more people who are talking about the dangers of heroin addiction and the more who know about how heroin is brought into the country, the fewer who will be likely to begin a heroin addiction. And maybe, some who are already living with a heroin addiction will be more likely to seek out the heroin rehab help that they need to heal.
If you are actively abusing heroin or are living with or courting a heroin addiction, don’t wait to get the help you need. Contact us at Michael’s House today to learn more about our Palm Springs heroin rehab. Call now.
