Remember your first set of
friends growing up? Mine just so happened to be my cousins. Derrell and Daniel
were my best friends. When I was about five years old and my dad would say,
“Hey, we are gonna go to Derrell and Daniel’s house”, it was the equivalent of
going to Disneyland. I can’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, but I can
remember going to my cousin’s house at a really young age. Derrell was one year
older, and Daniel was one year younger than me. My grandmother (Mama Scott)
lived there, along with my Aunt Darlene (Derell and Daniel’s Mom). This was on
the Southside of Chicago in a complex called Parkway Gardens. It’s gone now,
but back in the early 80s there was a seesaw out front that I loved.
One of the main reasons I
loved going over there is because of my Aunt Darlene. Ahh, she was (still is)
the most beautiful woman. I’m telling you; she would walk in any room and would
command attention. I don’t remember eating anything but fried chicken when I
was there. Let me be specific…she would make me chicken wings, and always tell
me how handsome I was, and how much she loved me. To this day when I have
chicken wings, I think about Aunt Darlene.
My heart goes out to any of
you that have lost loved ones due to drugs. I’m sure it’s not easy. My hope and
prayer is that there is a dramatic increase in drug treatment facilities.
Individuals struggling with addiction need access to quality treatment
programs. PERIOD! While we treat those that are fighting, we also need to improve
education. There needs to be more education about the harms and risks of drugs,
and I’m not talking about the one annual school assembly. It needs to be put
into our school curriculum. There has always been a battle (war) on the supply,
but not on the demand. We address the demand by more education.
Here we are present day and
one of the problems that exist in our country is our drug problem. According to
the CDC, drug overdose deaths rose from 38,329 in 2010 to 70,237 in 2017 and
has remained steady through 2019. Then, in 2020 we saw a significant increase
with 91,799 reported deaths.
From 1968-2020, 1,106,859
have died from drug overdose in the United States. Wait, how does that happen?
President Nixon declared a War on Drugs in 1971, so you’d think we wouldn’t have
the problem that we have today.
Let’s check the receipts.
In 1972 there were 6,622 overdose deaths. Then in 1980 there were 2,492
overdose deaths. That’s when the increase continues. So, if there was a War on
Drugs, why didn’t that stop the problem? Well let’s look up what the word “War”
means.
War: a state of usually
open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations
: a period of such armed
conflict
: weapons and equipment for
war
: a state of hostility,
conflict, or antagonism
: a struggle or competition
between opposing forces or for a particular end
So was the war on the
problem, or was the war on the people? I’ll let you answer that. Also, what is
it about war that brings in so much money? The US spent $56B a year, spending
over $1T in 50 years. All that money spent, and we are really slim with the
amount of drug treatment services in this country. Then I hear folks say, “Well
why don’t they get help?” Well, most of the time it’s financial reasons,
stigma, and sometimes geographic location.
Another problem is how
outdated we are with the discussion centered around drugs. For the most part we
are still repeating what Nancy Regan said, “Just say no!” Yeah, so how’s that
working? It’s not. And for over 50 years, the inaction by our Federal
Government has us where we are today.
Drug treatment shouldn’t
just be accessible to those that are financially able. Drugs touches all of us,
whether we use drugs or not --our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or
acquaintances.
Let me take this time to
apologize right now. I’m sure some of my family will be upset with this next
part, but this is what’s on my heart. If you’ve listened to me on the radio,
then you’ve heard my stance on this drug issue. What you don’t know is why I
speak on it this way.
I never saw my aunt use
drugs. I was a kid, so how would I know? Well, I knew by listening to what
adults were saying. It must have been pretty bad cause anytime I would hear her
name, it was always connected to discussion about drugs. Back then it was
crack.
I was really confused
though. I was confused because every time I would see her, she would always
say, “Hello, my handsome nephew.” I always felt so much love. As a matter of
fact, I remember she was dating this guy by the name of Derek. He worked on the
radio. Well one night he said the names of my cousin and I, and I thought that
was soooo cool! Maybe the seed was planted then that one day I would be on
radio myself.
Through her addiction, she
still loved everyone. That was my lesson on drug addiction. Sure, there’s a
drug addiction, but inside there’s still a beautiful soul. A soul that’s
fighting something that needs so much help.
I speak passionately about
this for the love of my Aunt Darlene. Do you know that no matter what, she
makes sure to text me on my birthday? And she was the first to text me this
year.I will continue to use my
platform to help with the drug problem in this country, and I will also use my
platform to remind my Aunt Darlene how much I love her. You are still the most
beautiful woman in the world, and I love your heart. I know you love me and
everyone else auntie.
Until next time,
Gee Scott Sr.