Letter: Opiates are a trap

Editor,

I don’t like traps. I don’t appreciate an ambush.

Right now millions of Americans, some say up to 5 million, are trapped and being ambushed by the opioid crisis.

I listened to a woman tell her story the other night. She spoke about how she moved into the world of drugs much the same way we see depicted on television. It seems glamorous. It seems like all successful people do it. They drink and smoke and eventually take drugs.

That’s when the trap is sprung, of course.

She told us about the pains and loss she had in her life, including the loss of a child, her mother and her father. A hard life, punctuated by what seemed to be relief provided by drugs and escapism.

It didn’t last long. It doesn’t work. It’s hard to see from the inside, but eventually if someone works hard they can see what’s wrong.

In her case, she didn’t want to live in a car, take shelter in abandoned buildings or hang around tortured individuals whose next move might be her last.

She has escaped for now. The trap is carefully rigged. Many people who are addicted and who are hiding it started out with a prescription. Some don’t even know they are addicts.

Check your medicine cabinet. Check your kids. Check yourself.

If we work together we can solve this. I am glad I met that woman. She’s a great public speaker. Go beyond the pain.

Alfred Brock