As the boys grew, I saw less and less of them but would occasionally ask Hutch how they were doing. I remember vividly the conversation we had when he first told me he thought his oldest son Matt was abusing drugs. Having dealt with my brother Jim’s addiction, I immediately related to his pain. I had experienced all the worry, lies, manipulation, broken promises and the constant underlying fear of getting a phone call in the middle of the night saying your loved one passed away from a heroin overdose. I’m not sure what fueled Hutch’s son’s addiction, but I know for a fact what started Jim’s. An on the job injury lead to a criminal doctor over prescribing pain killers. After almost a year and a half of supplying Jim more than a 100 pills per month that doctor went down, and so did Jim’s connection. A quick check of Jim’s medical records and no doctor within a hundred miles would issue Jim a prescription, so with no place left to get his pills Jim turned to the street. Only after Matt’s death did I learn that two other members from our garage had lost sons to opioid addiction. A total of four fathers including Hutch and my father, have lost sons and two other members are taking care of their grandchildren. And I would not be surprised at all if there are others. This is an epidemic and enough is enough! While I understand that people make choices of their own free will, I do not and will not believe that Jim, Matt or anyone else woke up one morning with the goal of becoming a junkie. Addiction is a disease and many opioid victims are the direct result of legitimate patients trusting their doctors. We must hold the greedy pharmaceutical companies and unscrupulous doctors accountable. They knew how addictive these substances are, and they fed this epidemic in the name of profit. My heart goes out to Hutch and any other individual whose life has been affected by this scourge. I want ATU members to know that they are not alone, help is available, not only for those addicted but for their loved ones as well.
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In solidarity, Mike Harms
January/February 2019 | IN TRANSIT
Resources and organizations to help with opioid addiction PROJECT KNOW https://www.projectknow.com/
PARENTS OF ADDICTED LOVED-ONES https://palgroup.org/
ADDICTIONS AND RECOVERY https://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/
HAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/addiction/types-ofaddiction/opioids