National Overdose Day - We have a lot of work to do

Long before there was facebook or twitter, I lost my first friend to an overdose. I was a sophomore in high school when Ross Shalenberg passed away after mixing alcohol with valium. Today, I remember him for the carefree, fun loving kid that he was. He was too young to drive, but not too young to use. He grew up in a family where neither his mother or father was sober. His father was mean when he drank, and I can remember us talking about that while using together. He was trying to numb himself from the abuse he received daily, while I was using to try and escape abuse that had happened earlier in life. I do know that the only times I would see him laugh was when we were using. 

A Call to Action for CARA 2015

CARA 2015 is the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015. It is the most expansive bipartisan federal legislation for addictive support services to date. It will save the lives of countless people by designating between $40 and $80 million to advancing treatment and recovery support services in state and local communities nationwide. The bill was first introduced in September of 2014 and reintroduced in February of 2015. It needs your help in order to pass. We will talk about how you can help in a bit, but I would like for you to know why it is important first.