When you lose a child<\/a>, finding ways to ensure they are remembered and that the same tragedy doesn\u2019t befall other parents becomes a priority.<\/p>\n I lost my son, Tyler, to an accidental overdose in 2020<\/a>. Since then, I\u2019ve met parents grieving the loss of their children who battled substance use. It\u2019s a struggle no parent should endure, and it\u2019s made even more difficult by those in power who, in our children\u2019s name, push policies rooted in punishment over solutions rooted in compassion and public health.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), law enforcement across the United States\u00a0and our lawmakers need to consider how their actions and policies affect grieving parents. Misdirected anger and encouragement by law enforcement and politicians lead some parents to pursue retribution, like pushing for charges against their deceased child’s friends who were present at the time of their death.<\/p>\n\n Not only do these arrests often leave parents feeling unsatisfied, but they are counterproductive and fail to prevent further overdose deaths.<\/p>\n Race of cops doesn’t matter:<\/strong>Tyre Nichols killing shows that to some cops, even Black ones, Black lives don’t matter<\/a><\/p>\n\n National Drug Control Policy:<\/strong>Opioid addiction is a disease. We cut red tape so doctors can finally treat it effectively.<\/a><\/p>\n Parents\u2019 hurt and anger are too often manipulated and wielded against individuals who are themselves struggling with addiction, rather than used to dismantle the system of stigma and punishment that let our children down.<\/p>\n\n Tyler had the kindest soul I ever met. His giant smile and generous heart lit up the room when he entered. He was the first to introduce himself to the new students at school and show them around. It became common practice for him to invite strangers to our home on holidays because he never wanted anyone to be alone.<\/p>\n What many didn\u2019t know was that he struggled with crippling social anxiety and eventually experimented with substances to find relief. Unfortunately, prescription opioids were the most accessible to him and he quickly found himself unable to control his use.<\/p>\n He wanted nothing more than to live a substance-free, healthy life, but multiple barriers prevented him from getting the help he needed to stop. Tyler loved life and even with all of the darkness that came with his struggles, he was the light in the lives of his sister, Mary, and me.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve shared space with aggrieved parents, and the regret from seeking punishment only adds to their trauma and further complicates grief. When you understand that the college student who took a pill at a party is no different than the chronic pain patient who was abandoned<\/a> after finally finding relief or the veteran who found a way to temporarily suppress their triggers, we can operate from a place of compassion.<\/p>\n\n They are all the same person. The only difference between them is what may have led them to use. It is not a reflection on your parenting that your child was taken too soon by an unknown and increasingly adulterated drug supply.<\/p>\n Politically motivated grief predators prey on vulnerable parents and construct dangerous barriers in the fight to reduce stigma and save lives. The idea that people who sell drugs are intentionally poisoning us or that fentanyl should be considered a weapon of mass destruction are tactics from the outdated “war on drugs” playbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fact, fentanyl is\u00a0a<\/a> valuable therapeutic<\/a> medicine<\/a>\u00a0and fentanyl analogues, or fentalogs,\u00a0could be an instrumental source for future medications<\/a>\u00a0to treat overdoses and substance use disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n America is ready for marijuana reform:<\/strong>Biden’s pardon announcement proves it<\/a><\/p>\n Cannabis is legal in most of America:<\/strong>But federal laws still block businesses from banks<\/a><\/p>\n\n There is a better way. There are leaders advocating for real solutions.<\/p>\n Recently introduced by Sen. Cory Booker,\u00a0D-N.J., the Temporary Emergency Scheduling and Testing\u00a0(TEST)\u00a0of Fentanyl Analogues Act<\/a>\u00a0paves a legal pathway for fentalogs that could save lives.<\/p>\n The TEST Act is\u00a0supported by a wide range of civil rights and policy experts<\/a>. Because synthetic drugs are now so inexpensive to manufacture and distribute, if fentanyl and fentalogs are prohibited, there is likely another more powerful, deadly\u00a0and unregulated substitute on the horizon.\u00a0Xylazine<\/a>, a substance involved in my child\u2019s death, is already showing us how important it is to focus on the demand, not the supply.<\/p>\n In addition to the TEST Act, the\u00a0Breakthrough Therapies Act<\/a>, introduced by Sen. Booker and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.,\u00a0is a bipartisan proposal\u00a0that would enable research to reschedule substances that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\u00a0designates as potential breakthroughs for the treatment of substance use disorders, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also proud that my congresswoman, Rep.\u00a0Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., is\u00a0working to break down barriers to access promising medical treatments<\/a>\u00a0that are now unavailable under flawed FDA and DEA rules.\u00a0<\/p>\nAddiction stigma and punishment let our children down<\/h2>\n
![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/01\/25\/USAT\/54c778f2-7276-40d3-83ed-6255f2b40f33-Tyler_Mom_wedding_4.20.1994.jpg?width=300&height=375&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/01\/25\/USAT\/f54de8fa-8d75-45f7-aafc-74594b3ca647-Tyler_Mary_12.15.1599.jpg?width=660&height=495&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nThe war on drugs playbook is losing\u00a0<\/h2>\n
![\"Susan](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/06\/30\/NBCC\/389f1dbd-64d2-4652-9a09-ce312765091d-image_25.jpeg?width=660&height=448&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/06\/30\/NBCC\/38929e42-686a-4946-9d85-3bd25d14116a-image_24.jpeg?width=660&height=513&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nCompassion, not criminalization, is the answer\u00a0<\/h2>\n