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October 24, 2004

Time for a PSA

I just read a heart-wrenching series of posts over at Letters to Nowhere This woman's younger brother just died... apparently of a drug overdose. She is understandably grief-stricken.

This hits home for me. See... I used to be an addict myself. In 1988 I was diagnosed as dually addicted to cocaine and amphetamines (we called it "crank"). I've been clean ever since. But, it could easily have been me who put his family thru such profound grief. I didn't realize it until after I'd been clean a year or so and heard another cocaine addict describe her own overdose where she ended up in an ER. It chilled me to the bone to realize that the symptoms she described were ones that I had experienced once. Except she'd been where somebody could call 911. I was driving myself around all night, stopping now and then to do my coke. There was nobody there for me to tell about the chest pains... about the dizziness... about the racing heartbeat... But for the grace of God, I could have been the one putting my family thru the kind of intense grief that this woman exhibits on her blog.

Although it's not "fun" or entertaining... I would encourage all of our readers to go read what this woman has posted on her blog. If you or someone you know has a problem with drugs... don't pretend that you can safely ignore it and it'll get better somehow. It almost never does!

I have a pretty strong libertarian streak and believe that adults ought to be able to do pretty much what they want with their own bodies. And simply using hard drugs does not make one an addict. An addict is one who has lost the power of choice at some point in the game, and is no longer able to stop on the basis of willpower. Berating them for their lack of willpower is about as effective as standing outside a burning building complaining that the stupid people inside shouldn't have worn flamable clothing. Both approaches are equally effective in saving lives.

If you are unsure what to do about a friend or family member (or even yourself...) who might have a problem. Look up Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or Cocaine Anonymous in your local phone book. All have help hotlines in most areas. If the person answering the phone can't help you directly, they should be able to direct you to someone who can. Or you can find their websites online and seek info that way.

Posted by Kevin at October 24, 2004 12:08 PM