Taking a look back at entire drug series

When the drug series was first conceived, it was supposed to be a five part series, examining the pharmacology and psychology of addiction and treatment. Along the way it grew, as it became obvious that there was more to this problem than just the physical addiction of drugs.

Yes, we know that opiates create a physical dependence, that addicts crave the drug to keep from feeling the symptoms of physical withdrawal. But it’s more than that, because when addicts are put into jail or rehab, and suffer through those withdrawals, they no longer feel that sickness of withdrawal.

However, despite no longer feeling that sickness, and knowing full well that if they take drugs again that sickness will come back, many addicts return to their old habits. Their psychological dependence and craving for the drug can be as deep as the physical pain they feel when going through the withdrawal process.

It could be because of returning to an environment filled with the same social stressors that caused them to seek escape through drugs in the first place. It could be bad influences, in the form of old friends, returning to their lives and encouraging them to “party” with them “just tonight.” Regardless of what causes it, it is there, and it is a problem not just for the addicts, but all of us.

Not one of us is immune from or unaffected by this problem. If you haven’t succumbed to addiction yourself, someone you know and love has. Or someone has stolen from you to support their habit.

As a community, we suffer under the weight of the stigma this plague has brought upon our towns and families. Instead of being seen as a region of hardworking people, with a history of industrial innovation stretching back to the earliest days of our nation, the national news media paints pictures of Appalachian Ohio that focus on pill mills, overdoses and criminal conspiracies. While this may be unfair, in truth it isn’t completely unfounded. An ongoing lament of employers, for example, is that they can’t find enough qualified employees who can pass a urinalysis screening.

We know that this is only one small part of who we are, though. It’s a sad and tragic part of our story, true, but not our defining characteristic. However, the national media is not generally in the business of telling the complete story. They are, first and foremost, a business. Just like any other. And they sell what the customer demands. Too often what the customer demands is the drama, the titillation, and the tragedy. An example of that can be seen in the fact that, of all the entries in this series, the one piece to be picked up by the national press was the one that focused on overdose stories and the role of our EMS in preventing overdose deaths.

That’s where we, the people of Appalachia and the readers of this series, come in. It’s up to us to change that story. Many in our communities are already doing that. Their stories don’t always get the same attention, but they are important, and it’s important that we continue recognizing and supporting their good efforts.

Whether these are the EMS workers who save lives, rather than allowing our people to die, so that one day they may recover as well, the judges and prosecutors looking at the revolving door of addiction, prison and relapse, and deciding that something new must be done to break that cycle, the churches and faith based organizations helping folks find a new community to replace the bad influences in their lives, the doctors who treat the whole person, rather than simply throwing replacement drugs at the problem, or the employers who are willing to hire former addicts and give them a chance to put their lives back on track, we must support them and tell their stories to counter the negativity that threatens to drag our communities down.

Great things are on the horizon for Lawrence County, and Appalachia as a whole. New jobs, new opportunities, and a chance to bounce back from the poverty and unemployment that work hand in hand with addiction and those who exploit it to make a quick dollar, are there on the horizon.

The past is the past, and there is nothing that can be done to undo it. But we can determine what the next chapter in our region says. Will it be a story with a tragic ending, or one with a hopeful future? It’s our attitudes and willpower that will determine what our legacy will be.  The story isn’t finished yet, and it isn’t too late for that happy ending.

No matter what happens next, though, we will be there to cover those stories. This is the end of the series, but it is not the end of our coverage. It is not the end of the stories. And as you all help write the next chapter in our county’s story, we will be there with you, as a partner in recovery.