INTERnational Overdose Awareness day

Today, August 31st, is International Overdose awareness day. You may be wondering why I keep emphasizing "Inter" by now. The reason is pretty simple, but also extremely sad. The reason is that overdoses have now become a worldwide pandemic. Here are the stats on the picture on the left if you are unable to read them (Please note that all these stats were taken from http://www.overdoseday.com/facts-stats/) :

"• It is estimated that globally there were 183,000 (range: 95,000-226,000) drug-related deaths (mostly overdoses) in 2012, with opioid overdose the largest category.
Source: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2014 World Drug Report.

• Drug overdose was responsible for 41,340 deaths in the US in 2011. US overdose deaths have increased for 12 successive years. In 2011, and for the fourth year in a row, the number of US citizens whose deaths were drug-related exceeded the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents (33,561). Almost five people per hour died of overdose in the US in 2011. More information here.

• In 2012, overdoses in the UK (3,256) exceeded the number of deaths in road accidents (1,832).
Sources: www.ons.gov.uk; www.gro-scotland.gov.uk; www.nisra.gov.uk and www.gov.uk

• Drug fatalities increased in Scotland between 2005 and 2012, from 336 to 581 cases. In 2012, the drug most frequently contributing to overdose was methadone (40%) followed by heroin and/or morphine (38%) and benzodiazepine (34%).
Source: National Records of Scotland.

• In Ontario, Canada, there was a 242% increase in fatal opioid overdoses between 1991 and 2010; from 12.2 deaths per million people to 41.6 deaths per million in 2010. Source: The burden of premature opioid-related mortality, Gomes et al. More.

• It is estimated that more than 70,000 lives were lost to drug overdoses in European Union countries in the first decade of the 21st Century. European Union nations reported 6,100 overdose deaths in 2012.
Source: EMCDDA. Perspectives on Drugs: Preventing overdose deaths in Europe.

• In 2011, the number of people in Estonia whose deaths were drug related (123) exceeded the amount of fatalities caused in road traffic accidents (101).
Source: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

• Countries in South America, the Caribbean and Central America reported between 4000 and 7300 drug-related deaths, with a mortality rate well below the global average, according to the The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)  World Drug Report 2014.

• Drug-related deaths in Asia are tentative because of poor regional coverage and reporting of mortality data. However, it is estimated that there were between 11,400 and 99,600 deaths in 2012 in Asia, according to The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2014 World Drug Report.

• Oceania, which includes Australia and New Zealand, has a higher than average drug mortality rate.The UNODC said there were between 1,600 and 1,900 drug-related deaths in 2012.

• Nearly four Australians die every day from overdose. Overdoses out-numbered road fatalities in Australia in 2012. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics overdose deaths totalled 1,427 in 2012, while road deaths, which have been steadily declining, ended the year at 1,338. (Data provided to Penington Institute by Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). "

Isn't it sad that overdoses have taken SO many lives? Just how long are we going to sit by, pretend nothing is happening, whilst numerous people--every day-- from all over the world are dying because of overdoses? How many more lives do drugs have to ruin for us to stand up and say "NO MORE!"? When will we finally decide to claim our nations back from the clutches of addiction?

If you or someone you know has had their lives impacted by addiction and/ or an overdose, pop on over and check out this website: www.Overdoseday.com. There you can find ways to support the war against overdoses ranging from donations, volunteering, learning the signs of an OD, to even seeking support if you have an addiction to drugs, and are ready to seek help and actively participate in changing your life for the better.  It's never too late to change, but no one can force anyone else to change. It must come within.

This post is written in honor of my brother Sean M. Arnett who was 21 years old when he fatally overdosed on Heroin.

Iκαρος ( Icarus)

     Hey all, I am most definitely still around even though I haven't published a new post in awhile.  I could go into the mundane details as to why I haven't but I shall spare you ( and myself as well haha) time and brainpower by just touching briefly on the highlights. While I do not know if I am completely healed yet, or if I will ever be, I have definitely had to face a lot of my pain and "skeletons in my closet" since I have last written. During this time of absence I have been through the one year anniversary of Sean's death, numerous arguments with my parents in desperate attempts to try and figure out who I am, I have wondered about and exhausted all the whys, and ultimately have realised that I really am, in many ways, still quite lost.  I guess, for me, writing has always been my way of thinking through and sifting all the gunk out of my mind and life...not only that but I have realized that writing makes it real for me. I have to face the pain straight in the eye and think through it. The simplest way to describe it is while it is very therapeutic for me, it also is very, very painful. I dont want to face the fact that my brother is gone. Nor will I ever want to, though sadly, I can't live in a dream world.  Life isn't like that.  Maybe it is best that it isn't easy to live in a dream world. Reality, while harsh, makes us humble and thankful for the blessings we do have. Have you ever heard of Icarus?  The boy who soared too close to the sun? The Sun's radiance melted the wax, loosed the feathers from their frame, and he fell into the sea to drown. Maybe that ancient tale has more to it than meets the eye....

     What if our struggles make us who we are? What good is a dull knife? What can be cut with shapeless metal? Nothing. What can grow from soil that has not been introduced to a little bit of rain? What is a human without pain...what are we to say if all we have known is joy but no pain? We wouldn't be able to know what joy is without the unpleasant experiences in our past. How would we know just how amazing this gift of salvation is without experiencing the hopelessness human depravity brings? Is not too much of a good thing detrimental? I guess my point is, yeah, I have been through so much and on nights like this, I just want to curl up and shield myself from the world and all the pain it brings...but I am also grateful.  I have not been spending as much time in the presence of the Lord as I should be, in fact, I don't think that I have spent some quality time in His word in months. How wretched I am...how I take for granted this amazing gift of salvation that I so utterly do not deserve. Yet, tonight, I found myself back in the presence of the Lord, back in His word, back thirsting for Him. Pain keeps us from soaring too close to the sun, and ultimately, if payed attention to, can be just what we needed to save us from life's overpowering radiance....