It's a very confusing feeling losing a patient to an overdose. As an employee at a treatment center, we often find ourselves fighting harder than the patients for their recovery. We beg and plead with them to follow our suggestions. But isn't that strange? It goes against what...

Dear Mr. President, the more I listen to you speak about how you are going to handle the opioid crisis plaguing our country, the more I realize that your knowledge regarding the disease of addiction is nonexistent. You first spoke about building a wall to keep drugs out of our...

My name is Michael Koch and I was a police officer for 19 years. In 2000, I promoted to undercover narcotics detective for a term of 4 years and transferred to property crimes for 3. I went back for a 6- year term as a narcotics detective until my life changed forever on...

When I was 12, my stepdad handed me a beer. When I was 13, he handed me a joint and started sexually harassing me. He made lewd remarks and even offered my virginity to his friends at a party once. Right before I turned 15, I was date raped at a party. I had been a virgin. I...

September is national recovery month. I never, as a kid, dreamed that I would become addicted to drugs and alcohol. No, I dreamed of becoming an attorney. I dreamed that I would be somebody in the world. I never dreamed of being an adult and getting in trouble with the law. I...

Hello world, My name is Jessica Hall and i am a young person in longer term recovery from substance use disorder. I have not found an excuse or reason to pick up and substance since Aug. 3rd, 2014! For me this is a miracle because I didn't think I was going to live to see 21...

"Life on life's terms." I use to mock that quote, I hated hearing it. "I made my own decisions". I'd never been more wrong! I thought recovery would be easy, "you just get clean". Well that was the easy part. Staying that way was the tough part, it was a struggle. A daily...

In June of 2010 I was supposed to judge a children’s talent competition at the State Fair in Kentucky. The winner would be the child lead in our theatre’s company’s production of A CHRISTMAS STORY. The only problem was that the night before I blacked out while driving home and...

Before drugs I was involved in every sport. I was active, free spirited, and an A+ honors student. I used drugs because I was bored and it was a way to escape. I didn't want to feel. I escaped ALL feelings; good and bad. A vicious cycle of a nasty disease. I craved that drug,...