Heroin may be considered a cheap drug, but for a family of addicts, the money adds up. Mike and Darla say they spend $20 to $40 a day on their addiction, and Mike estimates that they've spent between $30,000 and $40,000 total since they started using. Mike doesn't have his full-time job anymore, but says he picks up odd jobs to pay for heroin. He's also sold all the family's belongings. "We've liquidated everything we own," he says. "Our TVs, furniture, our vehicles."
The boys say they shoplift and sell what they steal to get drug money because their parents don't pay for their habit.
"People who are addicted to heroin, I've learned, have done a lot of things in an effort to get the drug that they are hugely embarrassed of," Lisa says.
Published 09/29/2008
