On Sunday an obituary was published in a local newspaper for a young man, and a friend of our son, who had died, a victim of addiction. Having lived with the ongoing trauma that is inherent to watching a close family member struggling with addiction, I was horrified to see that someone I had met and liked, had died because the disease that is addiction was simply too big for him to defeat.
This is not a moral judgment because addiction is a physiological condition, being no different than any other potentially terminal disease, such as diabetes or cancer. My own family continues to see and feel the ravaging effects of substance abuse that is the result of addiction, is a treatable disease, but for which help is often out of reach.
We, as a society, must begin to prioritize research of the killer that is claiming lives from the young and old alike. Substance abuse and addiction are represented across socioeconomic, generational and ethnic societal sectors. How many more victims have to die before we as a society educate ourselves about this treatable disease and find effective treatment? Let us come together to prevent tragedies like this one, because any wasted life represents a waste for everyone.
Melissa McKay
Lynnwood
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