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To mark International Overdose Awareness Day, families who have lost loved ones to overdose held a press conference on Aug. 27, urging lawmakers to prioritize health-based solutions that prevent these tragic losses. They called to halt and reverse the wave of harsh drug laws and criminalization, which they say will not reduce overdose deaths but will continue to fill our prisons without helping those struggling with substance use disorder.

As parents and family members who have lost loved ones to overdose, we know saving lives requires health solutions. Please join with more than 700 people who have signed our letter in urging lawmakers to oppose more punishment and instead embrace lifesaving health responses to the overdose crisis.

Mother’s Day evokes joy for many; it carries a deep and painful significance for me. I lost my son Eric to an overdose on Nov. 23, 2022, just three weeks shy of his 32nd birthday.

Mother’s Day is a day that evokes joy for many, but it carries a painful significance for me. I lost my son Eric to an overdose on Nov. 23, 2022, just three weeks shy of his 32nd birthday. 

Sunday is Mother’s Day, a holiday that can bring much joy for some but incredible pain for some families. In 2012 I lost my child Michael to a drug overdose.

As people who have experienced the profound pain of losing loved ones to overdose, we understand that addressing this crisis requires compassionate and effective health solutions. We believe that punitive measures only exacerbate the problem, pushing individuals further into the shadows and away from the help they desperately need. That’s why we are calling on you to join us in advocating for a more humane and lifesaving approach.

Broken No More’s Pre-Mother’s Day Press Conference opposing punitive drug laws and supporting health-based policies was moving and powerful. Mothers who have lost loved ones to overdose urged lawmakers to halt the influx of draconian drug laws that will not reduce overdose deaths but will instead fill our prisons without helping those struggling with substance use disorder. If you want to understand the harms of punitive drug laws and how policies based on public health, Harm Reduction, and science will keep our loved ones safe and alive then this video is well worth your time.

This powerful poem, “Dump Truck,” was written by Jeff Cullen, the late son of Denise Cullen, one of the founders of Broken No More. Jeff’s words offer a raw and unfiltered glimpse into the struggles and inner turmoil he faced. We share this poem to honor his memory and to provide insight into the painful realities that many who suffer from substance use disorders experience.

Republican state Senators Sally Turner and Sue Rezin recently introduced a bill that, if enacted, would double down on the failed war on drugs by imposing harsh penalties for the distribution of drugs that contain fentanyl.

There is a belief that those of us with an opioid addiction, that we are powerless over our addiction. That is a myth. We are not powerless. But we appear powerless because the prohibition laws of this country rob us of our power. The following article originally appeared on Medium I began shooting heroin and […]