The first 72 hours

The decision is the hard part. The next three days have a plan.

Three windows, in order — safety first, honesty second, medicine third. Nothing in this plan requires spending money or giving your name, and none of it asks you to be sure yet.

1. 1

   Day 1 — today

   Make today safer before you change anything

   Get naloxone — free at most pharmacies, no prescription; ask at the counter and they'll show you how in five minutes. If you use, don't use alone: the National Overdose Response Service (1-888-688-6677) stays on the line. And one hard rule: if benzos or alcohol are in your picture, do not stop cold — that withdrawal can cause seizures. Safety first, quitting second.

2. 2

   Day 2 — tomorrow

   Tell one trusted person, out loud

   Secrecy is the engine of the whole thing. You don't need a family meeting — you need one human who knows the true picture, not the softened one. It doesn't have to be family; it has to be honest. Saying it out loud once takes most of the power out of it, and it gives tomorrow a witness.

3. 3

   Day 3 — this week

   Book the medical door

   Call your family doctor, a walk-in clinic, or your province's addiction-services line and say the words: 'I want help stopping.' Ask about withdrawal management and — if opioids are involved — about starting Suboxone or methadone, which can often begin the same week. You don't need to have picked a program; you need one appointment on the calendar.