In response to “300 attend opioid awareness event in Waddington” which appeared in the Sept. 14-20 issue of North Country This Week: I’d like to preface by stating that I think this was a wonderful and necessary event in our community.

Events like this are so important to not only “Shred the Stigma” but also to raise awareness and promote education. Addiction is very much a disease, and the effects on our local community, and nation, are devastating.

With that said, one cannot simply ignore the fact that the handling of the current opioid epidemic bares a stark contrast to the handling of the crack epidemic in the 1980’s. The crack epidemic was not treated with nearly as much sensitivity or understanding.

Whereas opioid addicts today are met with forgiveness, community programming, rehab, etc., crack addicts in the 80’s faced judgment, fear, and massive criminalization. Today, our nation’s reaction to the opioid epidemic is a public health campaign (see The Opioid Crisis Response Act), humanizing addicts, showing them acceptance and giving them tools to recover.

In the 80’s, our nation’s response to the crack epidemic was the “War on Drugs”, a campaign focused on criminal punishment which lead to a massive increase in incarcerations, resulting in a mass incarceration issue.

The reality is that statistically, opioid addicts today are largely white, whereas crack addicts in the 1980’s were predominately black. You cannot disregard this fact. As a nation, we must acknowledge that we set forth policies which created criminals out of African-American drug addicts, causing a devastating impact on an entire generation of families.

Today, our handling of drug addicts is much more appropriate. Events such as the recent one in Waddington are a testament to that. Empathy, education, awareness, de-stigmatization, these are all things that drug addicts deserve. After all, they are human beings suffering from a disease.

In watching our current opioid epidemic unfold, and especially if you have a loved one who is an addict, let’s just be aware that these same resources, programs, events and classes were not available to our fellow American’s just 30-40 years ago. In fact, many of those addicts are still sitting in prison hoping for their freedom and a second chance. This is just one example of systemic racism in America. One example of white privilege in America. Let’s at least acknowledge that.

Erin Corbine

Ogdensburg