I have friends that still smoke tobacco. They are all productive, tax paying, law abiding citizens but they just can't run very fast and they smell like a cigarette. I don't have any friends that are heroin addicts. They steal, they lie, and everything they do is based around getting their shot. They aren't good people to be around, and most of the people they do associate with are also sketchy addicts.

To get into the head of an addict I would reccommend the novel Junkie by William S. Burroughs. It was published in 1953, and opiate addiction has been a problem in America since the 19 Century. The only cure for an individual addict is that they stop using. There are no magic words, potions, or government programs that can make that happen.