Totally agree. Addiction needs to be approached not as a crime, but as a physiological/psychological problem that needs to be fixed. It saddens me to hear that the Secret Writer's family never tried addressing this more with the user and now casts him aside. Drug addiction sucks, and it does destroy lives, but what if it was compared to people who cannot control their eating disorders? If someone is addicted to food, should it be acceptable to look down on them and treat them as just a burden and a scar on your family?

Forgive and let live. You will be happier for it rather than forever condemning a family member's addiction you don't understand. I am not saying his actions were right, or kind, but guaranteed he doesn't look back on it and smile. He probably fought internally for years to try and get sober but couldn't break free and succumbed to the pressure of getting another fix. (there was a heroin addict in our family too)