These are things that I have seen in Liverpool. Liverpool is probably the centre for drugs and crime in England, and the problem is much worse in the inner city, amongst people without a job, than elsewhere.

Drugs (Heroin) and drink

The life of a person who gives themselves drug (heroin) problems seems to follow these lines. He or she will start heroin at about 15 to 25 years old. It will be very hard to stop after five years of taking the drug.

The parents who find that their child has been taking heroin and have invaded their privacy, searched their bedroom, thrown out all tin foil or needles, and made the life of their child miserable when they have found these things, and have stopped their drug addict friends from entering the house, have a better chance of getting them off heroin than one who has not done these things. Do everything you can to get them off it other than throwing your son or daughter out of the house, or if you do throw them out, let them back in when they ask.

After five years of heroin, it will be very hard to stop them, and you probably will have to wait until they are thirty or forty years old, depending on how much drugs they have had, and their health starts to break up, before you can encourage them to stop. A doctor might tell them that they will die if they continue taking heroin at about that age. The organs…liver, kidney, pancreas will give them pain. They will have tried to come off it by taking methadone, or might have even gone on a course to get them off it. I am told that the Christian courses have a much greater success rate than other courses. They can tap into the power of God through prayer, and encourage the person to get a new heart and a new spirit. Several Christian Drug Centres do not use other drugs and that is thought to be very hard on the addict.

The ‘will’ of a person is a very powerful thing. If they have had enough of heroin and they decide that they are coming off it, then that is what will do it. It would help if society, parents or friends were able to give them light, but real work to do afterwards.

A lot of parents with a son or daughter on heroin, after years of heartache, give up on them. They often, by this time get grandchildren, and they pour out their love and care on the grandchildren. The drug addict, (usually the daughter) is happy to give their children to the grandparents to look after for periods of time while she gets the money for heroin. I have seen some excellent grandparents with equally excellent grandchildren doing very well at school and are very balanced and secure…because of the grandparents. Usually the drug addict Mother, enjoys their company, but does not have the responsibility of her children. The bond between the grandparents and grandchildren is life-long. The children treat their mother as if she had a sickness that was not her fault but don’t have much respect for her.

Where the addict does not have a grandparent and is forced to look after her own children then the children can have their life ruined. The children are aware of the ruin that drugs can give and have their defences up, against it. The girls seem to come out of it much better than the boys because they get their own baby to look after and often do an excellent job if it. The boys seem to go into crime and end up in prison.

In Liverpool, at the moment, the young men without jobs, go from girlfriend to girlfriend, and end up with several children with different mothers. A lot of the drug addict men start of as ‘irresponsible, careless, selfish, scheming RATS, (apologies to rats)’, but when their children do not want them, they either start to love their children and behave more responsibly, or they reject them.

Responsible mothers are left with the children as their responsibility and live with a boyfriend who has serious problems. It is not that her boyfriend does not love her, but that he has serious problems. She ends up throwing the boyfriend out and looking for anyone who wants to settle down and does not have problems, and preferably has a job.

When a drug addict gets to forty years old his health starts to go, and he will get serious pains. If he continues to use drugs then he will die before he is fifty years old. A lot of drug addicts stop when they have to look after their health.

Teenagers often think they are invincible, and give themselves to harmful things. They can spend two years going down into the gutter and the rest of their life clawing their way out. It is a dangerous time, and they can be murdered if they owe money. In Liverpool I would guess about 1 in 100 drug addicts are murdered.

The women usually shop-lift. The men either shop-lift or are into burglary or steal cars. Addicts in Liverpool go all over England to shop lift, and it is fairly well organised. I suppose they get between a third to half the price in the shops. The women get six months if caught, (and are out of prison in four months), and the men get much more for burglary or stealing cars , because it is more damaging.

A woman who sells herself almost every day is called a ‘Common Prostitute’. There are less than 100 Common Prostitutes in Liverpool, whereas there are thousands of female drug-addicts. A Common Prostitute only does it to get money for heroin. There is no other reason. If she were not on heroin she would not prostitute herself. It is easy money and ruins her life quicker because she buys more heroin. Prostitutes, themselves, are disgusted by what they do. It is dangerous, because they often carry over £100 and are easy prey to be mugged by other drug addicts, if they are on their own. Even schoolboys mug them. They get VD, risk Aids and, sometimes, continually itching. Most Common Prostitutes only sell themselves for less than two years before they have had enough of it and move back to shoplifting. Addicts can occasionally prostitute themselves to pay a bill.

If you are a prostitute and are reading this, then if you are able to find Jesus, He will more than renew all that has been lost and spoilt. Even the tragedies of the past will become victories with you, because by them you would have found the God that loves you so much. Once you have found this Saviour, could I give a word of caution, ……that you be careful who you tell about the prostitution side of your past. If people know that you have been a prostitute, for some reason they find it hard to forget it, and their careless comments can hurt you years later, when it should have been forgotten. Leaders of Churches can tell their wives, and wives tell their best friends, and before long everyone knows. Find out who can be trusted to keep a confidence, and tell them. People are very cleaver at adding two and two together and getting four, so even if a leader of a church half covers a piece of gossip, the truth can come out, and careless comments will hurt you years later. I wish I did not have to tell you this, but it is true.

Heroin addiction effects the body, soul and spirit. It changes the emotions (soul) and it breaks the spirit. Although it is a very powerful thing it is not too powerful for Jesus. If a heroin addict or alcoholic, with great sincerity, comes forward to an ‘Alter Call’ although it will not stop the addiction it will severely weaken the power…..so much that the addict will notice it. He will not be craving for the heroin as much. It seems as if we need more than one time when we give our lives to God, and this is just as true in the case of a drug addict. Sometimes God comes down and the drug addict surrenders to God with great sincerity. When he goes away after the meeting there is a huge crack in the stronghold of the devil that the drug addict senses, to his delight, but that crack can get repaired. They need to come back as regularly as possible to redo their commitment, until the devil has GONE. I am sure that God is patient enough for that, but are we?

For a Christian to get involved in the culture of the drug addict is very thrilling and very demanding. You will shine so brightly. The parents will get so much encouragement from you. You will be bowled over by the degradation and the need. There will be teenagers giving birth on their own, mothers near a nervous breakdown, windows broken, doors smashed, children and grandparents all needing you. To get involved in the downtown life of a city must be one of the greatest thrills on earth….It is like bringing God into hell.