I wrote this in response to a new law my city has passed. It targets those with drug paraphernalia through city (municipal) law, and is touted to make criminalization and incarceration easier and quicker.

No one wakes up one morning and says to themselves, “Today, I am going to choose addiction, homelessness, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, or be abused.” 

I am writing regarding the new municipal Fentanyl ordinance.  I have been an RN for 14 years, working bedside in a hospital for the majority of that time and the past 2 years as an opioid treatment nurse at a substance abuse clinic.  Before becoming an OTP nurse, I had worked with hundreds of patients with addiction disease. However, my time at the clinic has added vital interactions that have helped clarify the picture of addiction and its impact on the community.

This new municipal law is a “looks good from the outside” type of law.  We can now arrest, charge, and jail a person who is in possession of drug paraphernalia, and we can do it faster than state and federal law enforcement because the law is municipal (city) based.  Per the city prosecutor, this means we will be removing drug dealers off the street immediately after arrest. It sounds pretty, doesn’t it? 

So, what is the negative of this new law?  Simply put, drug dealers rarely carry drug paraphernalia, and what they are doing, selling illicit/illegal chemicals, is already covered by multiple state and federal laws.  I am a child of the 80s and had children during the DARE school efforts.  That is 40 years of actions and laws made to remove drugs from our streets that have been ineffective.  We are living in the worst addiction history of our time, and nothing written into law has stopped drugs from infiltrating our streets and families.

However, generational trauma is like the story of The Princess and the Pea, where layer after layer is placed over that pearl of goodness and peace until it can no longer be felt, and all we see is the trauma.

Laws do not stop drugs, and they certainly do not stop, cure, or remove addiction from our society.  Only the people in the community can do that.  The person being arrested by this new shiny law is not the dealer but the chronic addict suffering a disease that has ravaged our society for decades.  It is another law of words in a war that is fighting against the wrong target. Society loves to expect responsibility for self.  We say, “Well, you are an adult now, and you make your own choices,” in a one-dimensional universe, that is right.  If the abused could only wipe away the hurt and trauma at age 18 and suddenly become an emotionally healthy adult who has the right choices in front of them, we could all be satisfied that our self-righteousness is successful.  However, generational trauma is like the story of The Princess and the Pea, where layer after layer is placed over that pearl of goodness and peace until it can no longer be felt, and all we see is the trauma. No one wakes up one morning and says to themselves, “Today, I am going to choose addiction, homelessness, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, or be abused.” 

The pain is there and must be processed, faced, explored, and healed the best it can be healed.  Only then do we free ourselves from the chains others put around us. Unfortunately, the cycle is ferocious, and once those chains wrap around us, we tend to make decisions that tighten those chains. 

Few turn to drug abuse who themselves have not suffered abuse.  Yes, there are instances where a mentally and physically healthy person becomes addicted to a substance, but they are rare.  The majority have lived through a life affected by mental, physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse.  Some are given their first drug by their mother/father/brother/sister/uncle.  Most sought out and found a way to numb their physical, emotional, and psychological pain in an attempt to function within society.  Sadly, because we as citizens would rather ignore and then criminalize, the pain and abuse may have been passed down, creating layers of generational trauma that the child (now adult) is forced to weed through.  As a nurse, I have heard personal and family history that would make your nightmares seem like happily ever after dreams.  A person can not process these abuses and come out unscarred. Unfortunately, that is not the way our minds work.

The choices of those who make decisions for us while we are children impact us for the rest of our lives.  As a society, we cannot escape the poor and even detrimental actions of the adults who care for children.  The pain is there and must be processed, faced, explored, and healed the best it can be healed.  Only then do we free ourselves from the chains others put around us. Unfortunately, the cycle is ferocious, and once those chains wrap around us, we tend to make decisions that tighten those chains.  A person who is healing from childhood trauma often makes adult decisions that cause more trauma – hence the creation of generational trauma. 

Laws criminalizing drug use do not work!  Supporting the programs that help break those chains, give us hope, and bring light to the trauma-causing behaviors of those around us is an absolute necessity.   We know without a doubt that addiction recovery takes therapy and time.  We know that people will relapse as they work through both the experienced trauma and the trauma of their own choices.  We know they do not want to be an addict, but the desire to numb overcomes everything else until the drug is all they know.  For many, a combination of medications, therapy, and support leads to remission.  Just like any chronic disease, addiction is never cured, but it can be stunted and remitted so that the person can live as complete of a life as possible as they recover from what they and others have done to their body and self.

If laws do not work, then what is our recourse?   We must care, be willing to act, and refuse to accept the continuation of trauma in our lives.  We must be brave enough to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves and stand up for ourselves and future generations to prevent the trauma from being passed on.  We must see the person trying to heal and give them the grace and support to change their lives.  We must be willing to look past the drug to the person and support the people and programs that can help them.  We must see the bravery and strength that it takes to build the boundaries that prevent our children and grandchildren from becoming victims of the generational trauma that chains so many.  We must support chain breakers and show compassion as they fight to heal.  Most importantly, we must recognize that for people with an addiction, the handcuffs, jail cells, and prisons do not heal and do not cure…and they rarely create a better person or a better life.