Recently a famous and heralded actor died from a heroin overdose. Several days later this news is still blaring from my television; and the internet is buzzing about it. Social media was on fire for a day or two with the usual rants. Some saying what a shame; others saying oh well another dope fiend gone. That type of thing. It sturck me how little has changed about the way people perceive drug addiction. That is the shame. Especially in a country that is known for it's so-called "war on drugs". A war that accomplished little except putting many relatively harmless people in jail for years; while leaving the real perpatrators free to roam and prey on our youth and other vunerable people.
The death from drugs of an accomplished person who had everything and more to live for, may help change attitudes. Possibly some day people will see addiction as a disease. Hopefully, one day the desparation of a heroin addcit will be seen for what it really is....Maybe, at some point hospitals, doctors, elected officials, and everyone will understand that the addict had a predisposition to a terrible, terrible disease. That when the disease took it's grip on that person, they were in need of help. Their choice, be it alcohol or heroin, or prescription drugs, may have been almost accidental. But the choice isn't anything they can escape without medical and psychological help.
In the mean time, people will continue to die unnecesarily.. Our children, our neighbors, our friends. Some of the best and the brightest. Many just ordinary people who are loved.
2 comments:
I just got out of hospital after 3 1/2 weeks and surgery. Went thru a number of roommates, one of which was a woman about 70 signing up for no resuscitation orders and signing a new will, despite her sons' reluctance saying she didn't have to do this. She had 17 admissions since July and whatever the first one was for, the subsequent ones were for drug addiction. Poor thing didn't want to live with it, or try to recover from it, and didn't want to die. She'd tried a mental health facility, but didn't do at all well there either. She has one of the sons, the one who spends every night with her and tries to control her nighttime meds as much as possible, literally banging his head against a wall. He can't stand the wandering around crying and begging.
That's so sad BC.
SO glad to hear from you after all this time! I thought perhaps you had stopped reading.
Hope all is going well for you.
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