Sep 18, 2015 3 min read

With September being National Recovery Month, and as a person who has developed a vested interest in the well-being of the residents of Washington County from a professional standpoint, I feel I have a responsibility to share my views on what the community has to offer to help those who are ensnared by addiction.

There are numerous resources in Washington. There are six outpatient providers and one residential treatment provider. There are three halfway houses, one for men and two for women. There are 13 recovery houses, seven for men and six for women. There is a recovery clubhouse, and a robust community of recovering people who live and work in Washington County.

In addition to this core infrastructure, there are people in key positions who are developing an appreciation of the fact that we, as a society, have criminalized a public health crisis. We have marginalized good, hard-working, loving people, and that is a form of undeserved discrimination based in ignorance.

It is regrettable to see the positive media coverage of Washington County over the past few years being marred by spiteful online comments. It is regrettable that those of us working toward progress are regularly reminded that many still cling to the false belief that drug addiction is a choice and is predicated upon some moral delinquency. Addiction, by definition, is not a choice.

As the criminal justice program specialist at the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission, I can tell you many stories of decent, hard-working people who have become drug-addicted in adulthood. Their road to recovery is made all the more difficult when employers won’t hire them due to criminal records and their involvement with substance abuse. They don’t need to endure the scorn of their neighbors in addition to their other hardships. Many of these folks did nothing more than sustain an injury at work or in a car accident. In some cases, they did no more than give birth.

What statistics will also show is that it is only a matter of time until every family in America is directly affected by addiction, unless we shift gears and change our course.

As a person who is celebrating 10 years being clean this month, I can tell you that the negativity that I am certain will follow the publication of this commentary only spurs me on, reminds me that there is still much work to do. The drug war is over, we lost, and the few remaining defenders of that ill-advised approach will go the way that history always demands of those who hold too tightly to practices that have only proven to make things worse. History doesn’t suffer fools for long.

Erich Curnow is the criminal justice program specialist at the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission.