Hello! Welcome to Overdosed a newsletter on drug policy and people who use drugs by me, Diane Roznowski.
December 3rd marked three years since my older sister Emily experienced a fatal overdose after receiving fentanyl. Emily’s death was completely preventable. At the time our family was in survival mode, and we didn’t know many of the things we’ve learned since Emily’s death.
In the last year of her life, Emily really found her voice and started speaking out about her challenges with opioids. She starting having hope for her future and started talking about wanting to help other pregnant women who were using drugs. For me, that’s one of the hardest parts of the timing of her death.
I know Emily could have helped many people herself. I wish she could have.
Three years later, I realized that Emily is helping people. She’s the reason our mom and I have become so determined to create meaningful changes that prevent other families from experiencing what our family has experienced.
I hope you will take a few minutes to listen to Emily talk about her experiences with a substance use disorder.
Current Reading
There have been many great stories I’ve read recently and wanted to share:
The Class of 2000 ‘Could Have Been Anything’ - The high school yearbook is a staple of teenage life. But for some, it reflects the devastating toll of the opioid crisis.
Hooked: A Love Story From Vermont's Opioid Crisis - "When she died I thought I had been wrong about love. I thought heroin was stronger and fentanyl far more powerful. I thought endocarditis, the infection she contracted through injection drug use and ultimately died of, could defeat anything. But as I researched and reported the six stories in this series, as I talked to people across the state and learned of public health approaches being implemented around the world, I realized I wasn't wrong about love; I was unaware of the science and research, the evidence-based versions of love that actually could have saved my sister's life and the lives of hundreds of thousands of others who have died of this disease.
These are some of the what ifs that haunt my memories: What if I'd known how long it takes to achieve remission from opioid-use disorder? What if I'd understood how effective medication is in treating it? And the one I'm most ashamed never occurred to me while Maddie was alive: What if instead of focusing solely on helping her get sober, I had talked openly with her about how to protect herself when she was not?"
All 56 State and Territory Attorneys General Ask Congress to Permanently Classify Fentanyl-Related Substances as Schedule I Drugs - All of the 56 US state and territory Attorneys General signed onto a letter supporting Senate Bill 2701 the Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting Fentanyl Act. This bill would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drugs meaning they have no acceptable medical uses and high potentials for abuse. Fentanyl has many acceptable medical uses including in anesthesia and for treating severe pain. This bill is attempting to cut back on the many fentanyl-related substances that keep being created in labs in places like China. It’s hard to tell whether or not this bill would be helpful at curbing the prevalence of those substances without harming the very real medical uses of fentanyl
America Unraveling: How Women Are Surviving the Opioid Crisis - ELLE did this series on eight women who survived the opioid crisis in one way or another.
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Until next time,
