Heroin is said to be a silent epidemic. No one talks about it because of the negative stigma generated, but former addicts want to get the word out and raise awareness.
Shippensburg resident, Jamie Karpency, 39, is a recovering heroin addict who has been clean for two years. Karpency said his addiction began during his first weekend at Shippensburg University.
Like many other users, Karpency suffered from depression and anxiety.
“Heroin numbs your emotions to the point that you don’t care anymore about anything,” Karpency said.
Heroin users turn to drugs to relieve them from their sorrows and pain. A PBS FRONTLINE special, “Chasing Heroin,” explained how typically, users start out taking prescription opiates, which are the “prep school” for heroin. Once doctors refuse to refill their prescriptions, they turn to the streets for a cheaper option.
About six months into his addiction, Karpency realized that it was a problem.
“I’m too old to go to jail and too young to die,” Karpency said.
For many, those are the two options they stare in the face each day. Some addicts want to quit, but build up such a tolerance for it, that their bodies rely on it. The withdrawal symptoms are gruesome and require a gradual process of breaking away.
On New Year’s Eve, 2013, Karpency had a wake-up call when he went to withdraw money from an ATM and discovered his account had diminished. In just six months, he went from having $23,000 to barely even a dollar.
Karpency checked into Roxbury Treatment Center, located at 601 Roxbury Road, Shippensburg, for 28 days.
Roxbury Treatment Center provides detoxification and rehabilitation services for those with drug and alcohol addictions through counseling, therapy and following a 12-step program.
Karpency said heroin addiction is two separate diseases: A drug one and a spiritual one. The drug disease can be overcome with the removal of drugs, while the spiritual disease can be overcome after discovering why you put the drug in your body.
Now that Karpency is clean, he is actively involved with The Harbor, located on 55 W. King St. The Harbor is a facility for addicts to come to socialize and resist temptations while drinking nonalcoholic beverages. It is open Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. During the week, it also hosts Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings.
Overall, Karpency sees no benefit in heroin other than the brief high it induces. He said how it can lead to destructive behavior and ruin multiple relationships.
“You’re taking a mortgage on tomorrow’s happiness today,” Karpency said.
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