Very sad, indeed. The government's ills at trying to cure the 1960s and 70s. A childhood friend of mine got into heroin; told me years later that if she'd known how addictive methadone was, she'd just have suffered the withdrawal of heroin.
Sadly, I doubt she's alive today. She'd be 51.
I dunno, the guy I know people would have called hopeless... he's about 50, married, sober for over 5 years. Daughter just had a baby within a month of him (his wife) having a baby, so his daughter and grandaughter will be the same age.