Addiction and abuse walk hand in hand and the end result is poverty. Yes, I felt sorry for the patients I saw who fell from grace, lost their jobs, lost their homes and lost their families. All were contributing factors and crime soon developed to support their habits. Substance abuse does take charge. Sometimes the mother is left to take control of the family and try to be patient with the father. And often both parents picked up the habit together. Grandparents took over from there.  

I played the role of a playboy in the mountains for sixteen years and had no idea what the shelves were stocked with in today's pharmacies. I left when most products had brand names and the cost of the medications cheaper. Generics ascended rapidly on the popularity pole after I returned. For some reason I have maintained my license since graduating from pharmacy school. I assume that I worked and sacrificed so much to earn it I would never let it go. I took a break and figured I had worked enough in my life time. When word got out that I kept my license up to date pharmacy owners began knocking on my door.

  I was asked to do relief work as a pharmacist in a mental health clinic and Detox center. That appealed to me. When first introduced to drugs they stocked in the pharmacy the pharmacist said, "All the drugs on our shelves are used for nothing but the mind. You won't have to pour or mix anything." I really had not seen a cluster of mental drugs not dispersed among the others like in pharmacies. It was different and easier to learn. I saw teenagers and all ages sitting in chairs with blankets wrapped around them like Indian Squaws. They had a bland complexion as if their face had been whitewashed. All had the shakes, were strolling up and down the halls, smoking and making phone calls trying to get the hell out of this place. They were detoxed with mental drugs allowing their addiction and hallucinations to dissipate. A few weeks of control and a release to leave worked for a while. Soon we sadly saw them addicted again to return for more treatments. The pushers didn't want to see the addicts slip away from their business. Substance abuse on the rise upset me and got my attention. From there it is the catalyst which precipitated my writing  Fatal Addiction. I must warn you, it will be tough not to read from cover to cover before setting it aside. This book is excitement personified. Drug addiction is hooking the world even as we speak. I hear the words, "God bless you for writing this book" at all book signings.

 Hopefully, everyone can appreciate what I have written. Pharmacy is my profession and I am trying to share the changes that I have seen most of my life. Drugs are wonderful when taken under the supervision of a doctor, his staff and the careful eye of a pharmacist. It's so easy to get hooked on anything that's available. I am sorry if you get upset with some segments you read, but it is in the media every day. I am not the first to expose it I assure you.

 One nice lady whose children I helped raise said, " After reading Fatal Addiction you scared me and made me aware of what's happening in this town and everywhere. I want to thank you for making me aware of the dangers. My pocket book won't be in the grocery cart 'cause I have seen women lose them that way."

 On my book signing table my posters tell the story; Help fight Drug Abuse. I beg you, stay away from the damn street drugs. Addiction is the first step to poverty. When addicted, an addict shows no concern for another's life.  

 Recently I read about a mother who was addicted to Oxy. Her baby worried the hell out of her crying because she had teething pains. So the dummy rubbed OxyContin on her pacifier. The baby overdosed and died. When her mother appeared in court the judge could do nothing but release her. He said he couldn't rule on bad judgment.

 I had a book signing at a department store and a pretty lady saw my books and posters begging folks to help fight drug abuse. Finally she got the nerve to say, "I have to take Oxy for my arthritis." I asked her how long she had been on Oxy and she said five years. So ma'am, how much was the doctor prescribing to begin your dosages? "I began with 5 mg twice a day and today it is 100 mg a day." And you are still having the pain after five years?

 Cold turkey in a Detox center will be what you will have to go through to stop your habit. "Oh no, I can't do without it." That is what we call hooked and addicted. That's your doctor's fault, if he's still prescribing it. "I am on a prescription." No ma'am, you are on a drug. Drug abuse touches every family and addiction knows no classes nor boundaries. I do want to say that I didn't write with the skill of hearts and flowers, I told it like it is. I might have stepped on the toes of resentment but I speak from my heart to make you aware of what really is happening every day. Please, I beg you, help me fight drug abuse.

Everett Beal Rph.