Been doing a lot of thinking lately about this whole debate on Narcan and the heroin epidemic that is currently plaguing Ohio and other parts of the country. I've read the headlines about all the overdoses, dead bodies filling up our morgues, parents overdosing with young children in the car with them, I mean, it's like complete chaos all around us these days it seems.
I've heard people say, "Stop giving them Narcan, let them die and do the world a favor"....I've heard it said "They must WANT to die, why else are they doing it?" Some people say addiction is a disease, others say it's nothing more than repetitive poor life choices....and the thing is, I don't know WHAT to believe.
Compound this kind of confusion with fear....the kind of fear that comes when two people in your small community are stabbed in their own home during a home invasion, and next thing you know you're shopping for home security systems, sleeping with a loaded gun next to your bed and you're somewhere between joining those who say let the junkies die, and those who say lock em all up and throw away the key.
Americans, from the inception of this country have the reputation to be a little rough and tumble so to speak. We are known to be gun toting, government overthrowing, civil war inciting, pursuit of happiness kind of people. At least that's how I understand it from the history I know of our country. So I can see where people are coming from when they say things like, "let em die"....because it's really hard to have sympathy for someone who knows, that doing heroin in today's day and age is basically like playing Russian roulette with your life. I mean, why do it? And the answer is, only someone addicted to heroin can tell you the real answer to that....
Have I been mad about the epidemic that is plaguing us? Yeah. Have I been frustrated? Yeah. It's easy to become hardened and say things like...NO MORE NARCAN, let em go down. Especially when you read news articles about ONE addict alone overdosing 20+ times and receiving Narcan so they can go on to overdose another day. It's frustrating to see so many people IMPLODE the way they are, with seemingly no respect for human life.....NO RESPECT FOR THEIR OWN LIVES! THINK ABOUT THAT, they have NO RESPECT FOR THEIR OWN LIFE.
But anytime I have had that hardened approach cross my mind/lips/heart, I stop in my tracks and immediately feel bad, I think about God and I think about how we aren't supposed to Judge others. And I think about "What would Jesus Do" and I think to myself, would he ever say, "be still my child, and die because I don't think you should have narcan?" I don't think he would. Clearly people addicted and willing to die the way they are...they are hurt, broken, lost souls, wounded, hopeless, sad souls. Souls looking for escape....from whatever it is that has them feeling so lost and wounded. Is that an excuse, I don't think so. I think it's just what it is.
Don't get me wrong, I HATE what this heroin/drug epidemic is doing to so many of my fellow Ohioans. I hate that it's brought violent crime into our little community, and I pray that they find the person responsible for stabbing those two Delphos citizens who did NOT deserve to be victims of someone else's poor choices and/or drug addled behavior, but I personally cannot go out into the streets and start taking the drugs out of the hands of addicts. I don't know any heroin dealers to go put out of business. And that helplessness in times like these may be the most frustrating of all. Watching the little town that you grew up in, turn into something you sometimes don't recognize as "home" because of what is happening here.
So I went in search of what God says about addiction in the bible. And for those of you who are non-believers, or you're Jewish or Buddhist, or whatever your preference is in the way of religion, I do not pretend to be the authority on religion, that my way is the only way, or that my God is not your God, but here's what I found. I found this prayer, and I think I'll start praying it.
Most loving God,
we ask your blessing upon all
who suffer from addiction.
Strengthen them to reach out for help.
Enable them to take the first step to recovery.
Bless them with the persistence to persevere
in the fight to be free.
Give courage and hope to their families,
drawing them close together
in the power of your love,
which alone can transform our living.
Amen.
Until there's something "I" can physically do to make the world a better place, to make Delphos safer, to make bad things NOT happen to good people, take the knife out of the hand of a home invader, or the needle out of a heroin addict's arm, I will say this prayer, and have faith that it's being heard.
If you feel like saying it too, please do.
No harm ever has come from praying for help.
Having Faith,
~HeatherLynn~
Dang! Sorry to hear about the heroin thing. We have that in Chicago too. That and the murders. It's a damn shame too.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask you Ken, are you a born and raised Chicagoan?
DeleteYeah, born in western suburbs and in Chicago proper for around . . . 15 years, I think?
DeleteI was so very glad to see this article today, as I have too, been pondering this epidemic. While some think drug addiction is a "choice", I can assure you that no one started out doing drugs to become an addict. It may start out as a choice, but it does become addiction. I am clearly distraught over what it has done, not only to Delphos, but to all small towns in the midwest.
ReplyDeleteI live with an addict, he has 23 years clean, and heroin was his drug of choice, but he did not choose to be an addict. We are fortunate in the State of Florida to have good recovery programs, in our little town, recovery programs are often hard to find, and don't accept you unless you have insurance, no drug addict I know has a steady job, with good insurance.
Now the question that I have been pondering is should we save them with Narcan every time they overdose? What is the consequence if they are "saved", there has to be a consequence, and certainly not death, but I feel there must be a consequence, maybe a court program, maybe jail time, and in order for those things to happen there has to be a Narcotics Anonymous program in place for those seeking recovery, if they have a change at getting clean and staying clean. In Allen County or Van Wert County, I just don't see good recovery programs, and I feel we could learn from the bigger cities.
Then the bigger question, how many times do we revive them? 15-20? that makes me think....are we playing God????
I obviously don't have any of the answers, I sure wish I did, but much like you, I will say a prayer for the still sick and suffering addict, because if they continue to use, their options are certainly going to be jails, deaths and institutions. I sure hope we find these answers quickly and I sure hope the victims of the stabbing recover. Thank you for addressing something that has been on my mind alot lately. It is very clear we have lost the war on drugs..... Furthermore, the bigger question is why are we legalizing pot when it is still a Schedule I drug??? makes no sense to me.....still pondering.....thanks Heather, love your blog
Cindy - Can I ask you this: What made your addict get clean? Was it his family's urging? Police intervention? Court Ordered Rehab? Near Death Experience?
DeleteI'm just so curious as to what it took for him to get clean. Maybe there's insight there to helping others.
Also wanted to say "thank you"....your comment may be one of the longest comments I've ever received and that makes me smile, because normally nobody comments at all! lol But in all seriousness....I couldn't agree with you more, I do believe we've lost the war on drugs. Did you know, in CANADA, they have "heroine clinics" where you can go and shoot up, they provide you with needles and a safe place if you're going to overdose. They have nurses on duty equipped with Narcan to revive you if need be, and I watched a big debate between on the news debating what's better, helping them with clean needles and a "safe space" to do heroin, or starting to lift the amnesty of people who overdose, start charging them with a crime. Again, I have no idea what the right answer is, but I'm guessing opening up heroin clinics probably is making it a little too easy to make the choice to CONTINUE to do heroin, wouldn't you think?
I do agree with you though 100%, there's got to be a consequence. I think someone who overdoses 20+ times and is revived repeatedly over and over again and they have NO consequence for that behavior, what's their incentive to stop? If someone's family begging them to stop doesn't do it, if near death experiences isn't going to do it, it's hard not to think that JAIL time or court ordered inpatient treatment is mandated, but at this point, I don't think our courts, hospitals, mental health facilities can handle the influx of people that would suddenly be at their front door. The morgues can't handle the influx of bodies anymore than our courts could handle the amount of people it would be sentencing, jails would be overflowing....it's just a mess.
But I feel like, and I could be wrong, as long as their are people out there praying, who CARE about the situation, we're not all sunk, there's hope that SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE might find a solution to all of this. Perhaps the answer is out there, we just haven't got our hands on it yet.
In the meantime, I'll pray with you Cindy! {{big hugs}}
Heather
My addict needed to get clean to gain custody of his son ~ his son meant more to him then his dope. (His child was either 2 or 3) and momma was also an addict....and he was also sick and tired of being sick and tired.....he still goes to meetings to give freely what was given to him, and to be an inspiration to others! But addicts have to chase recovery like they chased dope...
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