More Addiction

Russell Brand published a very moving essay about his friendship with Amy Winehouse and the nature of addiction, and how the way addiction is treated needs to change. It can be found here at The Guardian, an English newspaper. It's a good read, even if you weren't a fan of Amy's or Russell's; the emotional honesty is refreshing and the portrait of addiction is accurate. 

I wonder what the tipping point will be, what it is that finally convinces us to take a serious look at how we treat addicts. It's terrifying, though, knowing that more people are going to lose their battle before that happens. 

Things like this make me wish I were in a position to change things. I consider politics every once in a while, and I know my dad is all for it. So much so, in fact, he occasionally suggests I join the military and I generally respond by staring at him with a look that says, "You're batshit insane, man." I could never, and I would never. I don't drive a car because I'm too afraid of killing somebody, and my dad thinks I would be able to tolerate being trained to kill?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the incredibly brave and selfless members of our military in any way, shape, or form. What they do for us is incredible. I'm just saying I couldn't be one of them. 

I also don't think I could handle basic training in any way. 

Not the point. 

I'm not even sure of my point, actually. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I were to run for office I would try to influence change in how addiction is viewed and handled. Our current plan of attack is clearly not working and something needs to be done. 

According to a little noticed January report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), drug overdoses killed more than 33,000 people in 2005, the last year for which firm data are available. That makes drug overdose the second leading cause of accidental death, behind only motor vehicle accidents (43,667) and ahead of firearms deaths (30,694).

Stop the Drug War - this article includes the quote above and some very interesting information regarding current addiction treatment. 


And yes, as a person with chronic pain, I am 100% for the legalization of marijuana.