Persistence!

My work on drug policy, especially trying to navigate through the opioid epidemic, has allowed me to become close to many families who have lost loved ones. I would never pretend or try to understand their pain at having lost someone so close. Many turned their loss into purpose and they have achieved much! They changed policies and laws making it easier for others to get help, and they were leaders in the efforts to make opioid manufacturers and distributors pay for their reprehensible behavior. Yet these family members now tell me about their frustration and anger at government because they have lost interest in continuing to make progress. The funds from the settlements of the opioid litigation go unspent or are misspent by government. Insurers continue to find new ways to prevent their members from getting access to treatment that these families fought for and government lets it happen. Others who are also supposedly on the same side of the fight for policy change tell these families what language they should use in describing their loss and how they should feel!