Gil Scott-Heron was a poet, some people consider him the father of rap, a title he did not like according to one source. Whatever you know about Gil Scott- Heron, know that he was a genius.

Heron died in May of 2011 after returning to New York from a trip to Europe. He had an open record of substance abuse and had also revealed to New York Magazine in 2008 that he was HIV-positive. As of June 2014, the official cause of death for Heron has not been released; and his estate remains in dispute as of this writing.

Out of the many songs he sang was, “Home Is Where The Hatred Is.”

This piece details some of the difficulties of addiction. Every once and awhile we hear the media address the increase in the use of drugs. They have ravaged some communities. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit, Lord But Did You Ever Try.”

There are so many people addicted to drugs today, it is astounding. Heroin used to be a hard core street drug because of the rate of addiction. Some folks snorted it and other folks shot it up. I lived have through one of the many periods in America when drug use was at a high level. Not one time did I hear this tale of woe. “The doctors get white women addicted to pain killers, then they stop writing the prescription and the addicted person moves on to heroin, a street drug.” This is the new mantra. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit It.”

Now, white people are again heavily addicted to drugs, using prescription drugs, meth and heroin. I am going to continue to focus on heroin. In the sixties and seventies, African Americans were introduced to heroin on the streets, in schools, and in Viet Nam. Heroin flooded our cities by way of the Mafia and their brothers in the CIA. The drug was used to dull the senses and remove any inhibitions. Therefore, people could commit all types of heinous crimes. Further, heroin helped to keep the masses quiet and to turn the violence that they felt inward. Heroin is a highly addictive drug. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit It.”

I can talk about heroin from a personal and a professional perspective. It was never my drug of choice because, I never liked to feel down. It was one of my sister’s, I had five, drug of choice and she was addicted for over ten years. She started using in college and continued when she returned home, she was a professional and she hid her addiction well from her colleagues. Her drug abuse took a toll on the family as it does with any family. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit It.”

In retrospect, I know that I have been fortunate in many areas of my life. I knew when I was eight years old that I wanted to help people. The majority of my career has been spent in the helping fields. During the beginning stages of my sister’s addiction, I was out of town. One of the positions I had was as a therapist working with drug addicts and alcoholics at Eagleville Hospital. Yeah I know, I was able to help her when I moved back to the area. I worked with men and women some famous some infamous some just ordinary folks, black, white and brown. They were all addicted. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit It.”

During a training session I saw a series of films about the effects of heroin on the new born babies. They have to go through withdrawals from the addiction they got from the mothers. Oh, how painful to watch, their little bodies in torment. They also showed how difficult it is for adults to withdraw from heroin also. Their bodies would go through a series of ritualistic painful episodes. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit, Lord But Did You Ever Try?”

For the first time in my lifetime, I am hearing about treatment as an alternative to incarceration. Not once have I heard about a program to stop the drugs from entering the country, interdiction. The mafia and their brothers in the CIA have developed a vast network to keep people on various continents addicted to drugs. “You Keep Saying Kick It Quit It, Lord But Did You Ever Try”?