Sara, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. It's dreadfully sad to hear of someone being taken so young.

A lot of the world's heroin supply comes from Afghanistan and a lot of production was halted by the Taliban. Under the new regime, heroin production is increasing, becoming cheaper again and a lot more potent. Maybe your friend got caught by a strong batch - an awful price to pay for one mistake, especially when he was trying so hard to give up. I hope his family is dealing with this OK.