Thedewsperspective

For as long as I can remember, Baltimore City has suffered from a drug epidemic.  There isn’t a home that I know which hasn’t been impacted by drugs. I’m old enough to remember Baltimore being a town synonymous with heroin.  Before dimes, people were selling halves and wholes.  Tester lines looked like a gathering of autograph seekers around their favorite entertainers.  I was introduced to the Carter before New Jack City.  Cocaine was a rich man’s high.  Dope boys snorted dope as an aphrodisiac.  Then crack made the escape of ones reality affordable to everyone who was seeking it.  Now fentanyl, or Fenty Wop, is straight murdering people.  For as long as I can remember, Baltimore City has suffered from a drug epidemic.

I wish there was a magic wand to be waved to rid the streets of illegal narcotics and cause all addicts to get clean.  I wish so many hadn’t fallen victim to societal ills, destroying lives, fracturing homes and destabilizing communities.  The Just Say No Campaign was a solid slogan, but obviously wasn’t a viable response to the impact drugs were having on cities like mine, Baltimore.  The immediate feelings of getting high or the rush of selling drugs was apparently greater than the avoidance of it all.  Especially to people who are trying to escape what they deem an unpleasant reality.     

A few days ago, I watched a video entitled “A Day in The Life of an Addict: Real life stories from the streets of Baltimore.” The video was recorded and posted by a team called Heart of The City.  They document real life stories of individuals who are presently trapped in the pitfalls of hell.  You can view their stories on their Heart of the City YouTube Page. Where they have more than 82k subscribers. When I saw the video I was moved.  I watched the entire series.  And I noticed a common theme throughout the videos.  Each person expressed a desire to be clean.  Unfortunately, their desire to be clean has yet to surpass their need to get high. 

For years I refuted the idea that addiction was a disease.  I was wrong.  We were wrong.  Addiction is a disease and it encompasses the same aspects and contributing factors as other diseases.  Addiction is a complex brain disease that impacts behavior and can have serious health and social consequences.  That’s apparent.  I used to be ignorantly dismissive when loved ones would say, “I’m trying to stop.”  I didn’t want to hear it because I didn’t understand it.  And all I knew was how their decision to get high was negatively impacting our family.  I wish I knew then what I better understand now. 

This morning, I woke up to a news clip of our distinguished Mayor Brandon Scott. He was talking about a plan to decrease opioid overdoses in our city.  I applaud Mayor Scott’s commitment to address a decades old problem in our city.  And prayerfully, we will see a decrease in opioid overdoses. Additionally, more people will get the necessary help they need to battle the disease of addiction.  I know that there are many facets impeding the vitality of our community, though, if we take a serious and intentional approach to address the drug epidemic that we’re immersed in, we could then potentially change our community for the better.