Poem: Nowhere Left to Turn

I didn't get to post my usual weekly post last week because I've been dealing with some stuff. I can't write when my mind won't cooperate. So since I still haven't gotten around to finishing a post I thought I'd share a poem that I've been working on. This is the rough draft, the poem obviously needs some work but it does explain a little bit about what I've been dealing with. 

Stop Stigmatizing Recovering Addicts!!

It makes me extremely sad to see how much discrimination and stigma recovering addicts have to face. We have to overcome stigma all the time when making friends, at the doctor's office, when having a baby, and even more so in the workplace. How can it be so pervasive in a society where no one is left untouched by addiction? 

Each one of us have been addicted to something or care about someone who has. Whether it be an addiction to alcohol, cigarettes, internet, sex, porn, being in love, eating or anything else. How can we lack compassion and understanding as a society when we are all affected by it one way or another? I don't get it, having been addicted has made me very compassionate and understanding.

Why Alcohol in Grocery Stores is a Stupid Idea

It was announced recently that beer will be sold in grocery stores where I live. I know this might not seem like a big deal because it's common in a lot of places, but I disagree with it. We already have beer stores and liquor stores to purchase alcohol from, so why do we need alcohol in grocery stores. We never have before so it's not like we are missing the convenience of it. We are used to going to a specific store to purchase alcohol.

It's not like our society doesn't have enough problems with alcohol addiction so lets just make alcohol more accessible because going to the beer store is just darn inconvenient. I'm sorry, but if you want to drink I think you should have to get your butt to the beer store.

Why Addicts Hate Cops

I'm not a hateful person and logically I know they're just doing their job, but my instincts tell me to avoid cops like the plague. This dislike has to be a common thing among addicts, right? Whether it be buying or selling drugs, stealing or making bad decisions while under the influence, we often break the law when we're addicted. We don't even trust them enough to call them when we need them because we believe we'll be treated like a criminal.

For me, my dislike of police officers continued even after I got clean over 6 ago. I never felt like I could trust cops. My past experiences and the bad publicity they get in the media certainly doesn't help. There's always a new story about cops doing something wrong lately. Just last week I heard a police station worker in my town was fired for having child porn on his work computer. Fucked up, right and that's just one example out of hundreds, if not thousands.

5 Reasons Why We Should Give Up this Useless War on Drugs

I already knew the war on drugs was causing more problems than it was fixing, but I never considered legalizing all drugs as the answer to this problem.  Even though I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of legalizing drugs, this video below made a pretty convincing argument as to why it would make more sense to just legalize drugs. The 5 major arguments I got from this video were:

1. If we can't keep drugs out of jails, we certainly can't keep it off the streets. It's a losing battle. Some places deal out executions for drug offenses, and drug use is still happening in those places. It's just not working.

Really! Powdered Alcohol, Has the World Gone Mad!!

I heard this rumor going around that powdered alcohol might be for sale in the States this summer. Hmmm, hello? Anyone else here think that sounds like a terrible idea. The Palcohol website went so far as to state that the powder could be snorted, but that people shouldn't snort it. Really? Then why even mention that it can be snorted (number 7 on the picture below). I'm on to you Palcohol people, I'm on to you. Updating your website to remove that tid bit of information to look more professional hasn't fooled me, and apparently hasn't fooled a lot of people.

Pregnant Drug Addicts Should be Treated like Criminals

According to Time.com a woman was charged last year after Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that allows pregnant women to be criminally charged if drug use harms their babies. The bill says a pregnant woman may be prosecuted for an assaultive offense if her child is born addicted or harmed by the narcotic drug. She can even be charged with homicide if her baby dies because of her drug use. Sadly, this isn’t just happening in Tennessee, it’s also happening in Texas . This law needs to be nipped in the butt before it goes any further.

If a woman uses during her pregnancy she is to be charged and treated as a criminal for harming her baby. Yikes!! Now this isn't going to end well. Does anyone else see an increase in "garbage can babies" because I do? Pregnant drug addicts will refuse care for the fear of getting charged which will only cause the baby more harm. What about fetal alcohol syndrome. That doesn’t count? This law is doing nothing to help addicted mothers or their babies, but will probably increase abortion rates. Not to mention that any mother that gives birth to a child with a birth defect will be put under scrutiny.