There's no excuse for poor needle hygiene.
But as for whether addicts have choice of not ... well, it's probably not as simple as some of you would think.
People get into drugs for all sorts of reasons. And they usually start with something as "harmless" as a few drinks here and there. Addiction is one of those things that sneaks up on you. And it's ususally got you by the balls before you even know it.
Once you have become an addict you are in the grip of a two-fold problem. You can call it a "disease" if you like. A more judgemental person might prefer to regard it as a state of sin.
But whatever label you put on it ... it's a two-fold problem ...
It's a PHYSICAL ALLERGY coupled with a MENTAL OBSESSION.
The PHYSICAL part of it means that once you have become an addict it only takes ONE drug to trigger off a binge. An addict may be clean and sober and feeling allright. Then a friend might say, "Let's go up the pub for A DRINK OR TWO". So the addict goes to the pub, has a drink or two with the friend ... the friend goes home ... but the addict has set off the craving. So next thing you know, the addict has a few more drinks, meets up with someone who got some smoking dope, has a couple of bongs, starts feeling pretty good and then, next thing you know, he's on the blower to his dealer trying to score some smack. Within a couple of days he's climbing through some poor bastard's window to steal the video machine.
And it all started from going to the pub for a DRINK OR TWO.
The addict is PHYSICALLY ALLERGIC to the first drink or drug. The rest is beyond their control.
So the addict is faced with a choice ... once they know the score ...
To choice is: to use the FIRST drink or drug ... or NOT to use the first drink or drug. It seems a simple choice. Life over death. Good over evil. Sanity over madness.
And yet, addicts keep on making the wrong choice .... day after day after day.
Why?
Well, that's where the MENTAL OBSESSION kicks in. Addicts are not sane people. Their insanity wins out.
Insanity is making the same mistakes and expecting different results.
Did you know that an addict can stay clean for YEARS and YEARS ... and yet, they are still an addict. And an addict who has not used any drug for several years, can trigger the whole addiction scenario off simply by having a social drink at Christmas.
I haven't used for nearly 6 years. But I can guarantee to you that if I have a social drink on Christmas Day, I'll be lying in a gutter in my own vomit by New Year ... either that or in jail.
GUARANTEED.
So why would an addict CHOOSE that?
To use the first drink or drug KNOWING that the result would be misery.
ANSWER: because of the MENTAL OBSESSION ... this belief that, in spite of all the previous evidence in their life ... somehow it is going to be different this time. In other words, the addict has decided to make the same mistakes and expect different results.
INSANITY.
I guess, whether you dispose of your syringes appropriately or not will probably have a lot to do with how out of it you are at the time ... and that is really a bit of a lottery. When you're in active addiction (as distinct from recovery) there are some days when you'll have your act together and other days when you won't ... depending on what you're using and how much of it you're getting. I don't think I've ever dropped a syringe in the street or on the beach or in someone's backyard ... but it's possible I might have. When you're an addict in full flight, you really don't think about it. All you're thinking about is getting stoned.
Sorry ...
But that's the truth.
And I'm sorry I didn't die, Play On.
I found RECOVERY instead.
Ah, well ... at least as long as I'm in recovery I won't be dropping needles in your garden. So let's be thankful for that at least.