'I Really Like Getting High': Anne Arundel Heroin User

A gut-wrenching video with heroin addicts and parents of heroin users, both alive and those who died from overdoses, has been produced by Anne Arundel County.

The “Not My Child” heroin addiction prevention video can be viewed at the Arundel Center in Annapolis or online.

“I definitely want to get clean, I’m just not ready to get clean right now. I really like getting high, and don’t like myself when I’m sober,” says one girl on the video.

Interviews with Anne Arundel County residents include a man who was dead for 11 minutes from an overdose but survived, amazing doctors. After repeated stints in rehab and relapses into heroin use, the man said he spent more than a year in a New York treatment program to get clean.

One mother shares the grief of her son’s death from an overdose after he appeared to be clean, while a recovering addict who helps others with their sobriety urges addicts to get help rather than use one more time. In the case of a young mother of a 4-year-old, that last heroin fix was fatal.

“As we fight heroin addiction in every corner of our county, we need to continue to educate all of our citizens about how this drug destroys lives and families,” said County Executive Steve Schuh. “This video will be a stable of our county television programming and will be featured on our social media platforms. We encourage all our citizens to watch and share this video with their friends and family.”

The “Not My Child” public service announcement features residents who contacted county government after Schuh declared a public health emergency for the heroin crisis in January 2015.

The video was released on county television Nov. 19 and can be seen here online.

The Anne Arundel County Executive’s Office of Constituent Services produced the video, and currently travels around the County with parents and recovering heroin users to neighborhood and community associations to educate citizens on the dangers of abuse.

For more information about the “Not My Child” heroin addiction prevention and awareness program, contact Nancy Schrum in the Office of Constituent Services at 410-222-1821.