Today I was reminded of something that happened when Brian was about 11 years old. We were living in Hamburg Germany and it was the Christmas season. If you’ve ever been in Germany around Christmas it is a truly festive time. They have these wonderful Christmas markets and we were taking advantage of Hamburg’s biggest one which is downtown. It was a lovely day and we were walking around and out of nowhere this five year old boy came up to Brian and held his hand. He walked with him a bit as we looked around for the boys parents. The parents had their eye on the boy the whole time but let him wonder because it wasn’t something he normally did. Brian had that effect on kids. They were drawn to him. It is a testament to his nature. He was a gentle soul who had a big heart. He loved kids and they loved him.
This week the president signed an emergency directive declaring that the country needed to address the opiod problem. While I am thankful that this crisis is finally receiving the attention it greatly deserves I am fearful that again nothing will change because we keep trying the same solutions to an age old problem. Washington DC lacks the courage to truly address the problem.
The biggest thing that needs to happen is that the national narrative, as it relates to drug addiction, needs to change. Brian didn’t decide to become addicted to heroin. He didn’t want to live in chains, always chasing the next fix. He didn’t want to do bad things. All those things ran counter to his nature. And yet, he and so many like him are labeled criminals and social rejects. It’s wrong and results in injustice perpetuated by a society that really doesn’t want to fix the problem. And the reason – the drug war is big business. We are talking billions and billions of dollars across many different economic sectors: prisons, big pharma, federal organizations (DEA, DoJ, ATF, DoD etc…), local law enforcement agencies, insurance companies, health organizations, and the list could go on and on. While individuals are committed to fighting the scourge of the drug business the system is hugely corrupt and the system is interested in continuing our failed strategies. Why? Because it ensures the flow of dollars.
So what should the narrative be? First and foremost it needs to reflect that addicts are people who are suffering in ways that most of us can’t understand. They need help and they need not to be labeled as criminals and societal rejects. They truly do need a safe place. Second we need to acknowledge that the drug war is big business and we need to analyze where the problem is systemically advanced because of business decisions rather than socially beneficial reasons. Biggest example of this is our prison system. Another aspect of the narrative is the honest assessment of who is dealing the drugs. Then those people need to be brought to justice and it needs to be harsh. We are proportionally harsher on addicts that we are on dealers. We need to give our judges more leeway when dispensing justice so that they can better punish dealers.
Brian didn’t want to have to fight every day with the demons that haunted him. He had no choice. He was a good man and dearly loved his family. He enjoyed sports and playing games with his cousins. He was social and the life of any party. Brian represented a huge percentage of addicts. They have been abandoned by society. They deserve better. Join me in changing the narrative.
Beautiful Blue Sky 