Poor. Rich. Young. Old. Educated. Ignorant. White. Black. Brown. Red. Famous. Unknown. All are subject to succumb to our addictions to drugs or alcohol.
Something like 750 people died just from opioid overdoses in 2017 in Arizona. And depending upon who's counting, between 25,000 and 40,000 people died in the United States last year from opioid overdoses.
And then there's the issue of alcohol and other prescription drugs. They take thousands of more lives randomly, without discriminating.
Is there a solution to this epidemic? And the answer is yes. New medications are coming out all the time. Some of them take away the craving for opioids. Others block the desire to use opioids and alcohol. And of course, these solutions require insurance and money. There is one solution however, that's absolutely free to all, plus it's been around for over 70 years.
And that's a solution offered by the twelve-step programs. And this came up for me this morning as I sat in a meeting with about 20 people. I thought about how wonderful the program is because it's open to all, welcomes everyone - discriminating against none.
The speaker was a Native American from Arizona. A doctor sat in the front row. A young mother was in the room with her child. Also in the room were laborers, businessmen, technicians. People of all ages, colors, backgrounds. All united by a desire to stay sober and clean and rebuild their lives.
Anyone who wants to get sober can do it in the 12-step programs because they welcome all of us. We just have to walk through the door.
