Recovering Opioid Users Discuss Experiences in 'Mobile Policy Forums'

The Middlesex district attorney is continuing her effort to combat the opioid crisis that plagues Middlesex County and beyond.

Marian Ryan moderated a panel discussion with recovering opioid users at Lowell General Hospital on Thursday, Sept. 17, as part of the Lowell Opioid Task Force’s event, “Crafting a Solution from the Inside: A Public Policy Dialogue Forum.”

The panel consisted of six recovering users, founder and president of Middlesex Recovery Doctor Brian O’Connor, and District Court Drug Court Coordinator Marie Burke, and addressed numerous topics including how the panelists began using opioids and the steps they took towards recovery, said the announcement.

This forum marks the launch of District Attorney Ryan’s “Mobile Public Policy Forum,” during which recovering opioid users talk about their personal experiences and offer recommendations on how to improve critical services and access to care.

“For too long the opioid crisis has been an analysis of the numbers: number of overdoses, number of deaths, number of arrests,” said District Attorney Marian Ryan in a statement. “This event was evidence that the opioid crisis is not about statistics – it is about the lives that drug use impacts. Opioid users, their families, their friends, are all victims of the devastating effects of drug use. The opioid crisis spreads across every socioeconomic class and every level of education. I thank our volunteers who shared their emotional life stories and their struggles to combat this disease. From these very personal stories we can now trace the beginnings of these courageous speakers’ descent into addiction and better understand how they have taken steps towards successful recoveries.”

The next “Mobile Public Policy Forum” takes place in October in partnership with the Eastern Middlesex Opioid Task Force and participating partners including Hallmark Health, Lahey Health, and Cambridge Health Alliance. The Task Force’s mission is to bring together leaders from law enforcement, health care providers, and policy makers to propose unique and innovative solutions to the opioid crisis.

“Opioid deaths and overdoses in Middlesex County have skyrocketed in recent years,” said District Attorney Ryan in the announcement. “Now is the time to admit that our current practices are not working as quickly or as effectively as we need. To address this rampant problem our office and its community partners are now reexamining conventional approaches to drug addiction in order to address not only the legal ramifications and health risks of opioid use, but also prevention and care. Moving forward we plan to use these inspiring stories to create policy changes in the Commonwealth.”