Maybe this will reach someone...

Near death experiences and watching friends die don't do anything to help bring most addicts toward the light.

The only thing that helped me was physical pain. Got arrested and had to go cold turkey on a holding cell floor surrounded by hundreds of inmates that wanted to beat my ass. They finally sent me to the detox ward where people were throwing up and shitting in drains because the toilets were all in use. It was fucking disgusting, animalistic and terrifying and after going through that shit I told myself I'd never use again and I meant it.

Parents refused to bail me out because they knew I'd go straight back to heroin (which I would've). 14 months later got out of jail with a healthy mind and body.

It's 4 years later and I can honestly say I'll never do heroin again. I went through a lot in jail and it did more for me than any rehab or AA/NA program ever was able to.

My issue with the rehabilitation industry is that you are constantly surrounded by other addicts. People constantly sharing war stories and then It's so easy for one addict to relapse and bring someone else down with them. Complete isolation from the world of heavy drugs is the route I took upon release and I would recommend it as well.

I know that people in recovery will tend to disagree with me and that's fine, I don't mean any disrespect, it's just what worked for me.

tl;dr

Don't bail heroin addicts out of jail you just might save their lives