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.