My first experience with heroin:
I was 15 years old. I walked into a public bathroom at Wittenberg Platz U-Bahnhof.
A couple of beers best cocaine dealer in US me, I had to piss like a nine dick dinosaur. As I descended the stairs I heard a slight moaning. A truly horrific image.....a 20 something male lying on the floor of the bathroom. He was tied off with a needle in his arm. Blood spurting all over the bathroom.
Some blood splashed on my pants and left shoe. He grumbled,"no police, no police" when I asked him if needed help. I left immediately.

My second experience with Charlie:
In 1994, I moved to Austin for educational purposes. I recognized a friend at the first party I attended. Bill and I worked at a summer camp together the previous summer. I didn't know many people at UT so I got his number. A week later I called Bill. His roommate told me Bill OD'd that weekend and passed away.

Another time a white horse crossed my path:
New Year's Eve going to 1999, my roommate and I traveled to Amsterdam. Upon entering the main train station an onslaught on American bums hit us up for money. It's a sad sight to see emaciated people try to relate to you in order to feed their addiction. I gave one a guilder.

After being in Amsterdam a couple of days, I regretted my actions. Seems many American travelers get to Amsterdam, spend all of their money, and can't get home. Not every panhandlin junkie was American, but there were quite a few.
I have experimented with drugs in my life. Aside from smokes, I haven't let a drug rule me. Damn cigarettes. I really haven't done heroin, sniffed or mainlined. But I think my experiences with it explain why.