Grief

When a loved one dies of an overdose—and when we worry about protecting our families and communities from the ongoing overdose crisis—it is tempting to divide people into innocent victims and dangerous (often outsider) perpetrators. But such stark lines are inconsistent with the realities of how people acquire and use drugs.

The Black community is being hit hardest by the overdose crisis. The loss of her family members and the continuing loss of life in her community motivates Joy to save lives through Harm Reduction and to fight against punitive drug laws. She knows that these laws destroy lives, devastate communities, and cause more deaths. As Joy states: “The War on Drugs is just the New Jim Crow.”

My son Michael was a pioneer in Harm Reduction in New York City. In many ways, he was my teacher. He taught me about Harm Reduction, that people like him need respect and compassion, and that if something happened to him, he wanted her to continue his work in Harm Reduction to help others like him. This is our story.

There are politically motivated people who attempt to co-opt the grief of a parent who has lost a child to overdose to implement more punitive drug laws. Susan knows these laws cause only more harm and more deaths.

A powerful video from Broken No More with support from Vital Strategies of three women who have lost loved ones to overdose. In this video, they describe the pain and grief of their loss compounded by the unwarranted stigma associated with death by overdose.

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.

Denise Cullen, of BNM, joins Perri Peltz on SiriusXM radio to discuss the opiate epidemic and the development of BNM as a supportive community for those affected by overdose and the stigma of substance use.

Grief, in all the forms it takes; stages as some call them, is mostly seen as a negative, painful thing. A process we go through with ups and downs. Grief is loss and loss is part of life. We have all lost things throughout our lives, big things, little things, important things and so on.