Santana told Citizen Cope to “stay away from the two H’s” - heroin and helicopters - both having fatal results with people in music. Cope saw this reflected in the current epidemic of addictions that plague our world – conflict, handheld devices, social media, and the lure of not having to work hard to get places fast. Heroin And Helicopters tackles personal struggles with institutional religion, political manipulation, hollowness in the entertainment world, and spiritual enlightenment. It’s less a condemnation of others and more an acknowledgement of the part played by himself and the system that we’re forced to participate in.