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opiates are insidious in their addictive abilities and how they impact the brains chemistry.

Of that there is no argument whatsoever.

I had a friend that broke his leg severely in a sledding accident. He was in the hospital for 6 months. They had to insert a metal pin in his leg that had to be at least 12 inches long. When he got out he had to spend another 6 months in a cast. When he finally got out of his cast his right leg looked like he was a Biafra famine survivor while his left leg looked normal. During his 6 month stay in the hospital they gave him morphine whenever he requested it. He later became a heroin addict. But that was well beyond the 6 month period. At least as far as I know. He may have gotten on the heroin kick and I just never knew it until years later when we visited in California. This sledding accident had happened while we were in high school and we were best friends that lived in the same neighborhood. So had he gone to heroin I would have thought I would have found out. My point is that like any addiction it is a lifelong struggle to remain straight. Those who do remain straight, do so because their desire to remain straight overrides their desire to return to a life of addiction.

The other problem is that it usually only takes one fall off of the wagon to be right back to the addiction, and then the whole process to kick it has to be repeated all over again. Because that brain chemistry quickly remembers the pleasures and ignores the negatives.

I'm not trying to discourage, but rather inform that the struggle will be an extremely long one. Hopefully your daughter will continue on with great success. I have personally known several who have successfully overcome it, but the temptations lasted for years. All it takes is for one to give up on themselves. The fact that she has two years under her belt is definitely a very positive sign.

This is why I could never agree with those that say it should be legalized. They really have no idea what they are advocating. While it may sound like the right thing to do, in the long run they will realize that it will negatively impact them sooner rather than later. It has already grown to such proportions that dealing with the increasing problem is almost beyond a remedy.

As for the mother she apparently was too weak to fight for life. Always a shame, especially when it was brought on from an event such as an accident, rather than a conscious choice. Unfortunately the struggles remain the same regardless.

Yes, prayers are how all should approach addiction problems, and I contend they help. Because without hope the struggle is amplified even more.