The Good Life – September-October 2017

Although this was not the case with Chaney,
many people become addicted after taking opioid
pain medication. Morse describes her own
experience with pain medication after a back
surgery: “I had to wean myself off of it because
I found that my body started really ‘needing’ it.
My body ached for it. People think that it’s okay
to take pain medication because they’ve got a
prescription. But they need to be careful. Some
of the doctors just prescribe too much. I have
heard stories of dentists prescribing a month’s
worth of medication for their wisdom teeth.
Nobody needs that. It’s dangerous. Who in their
right mind wants to become an addict? Nobody.
But it can easily happen.”
While Morse is thankful for the police’s efforts,
she finds the judicial system lacking. She
called for follow-up: “What is happening to the
dealers, the people who are selling it? What
kind of sentences are they getting? Why aren’t
we dealing with this? We have to do something.
I won’t sit still while this happens in our town.”
She is frustrated that in the case of one of her
son’s friends who overdosed, “they had the
people responsible” but they are “all back in
Minneapolis and not in jail.”
She appealed for community involvement: “For a
while, we had some community action, but what
is happening now? How many more have passed
away this year? We need a better community
dialog. We need to keep it in the news... It’s
everywhere and is affecting everyone.” She
supports naloxone training to reverse overdoses:
“Anything that can be done to save someone’s
life should be done.”
Morse’s main message resonated: “I think one
of the most important things is that this can
happen to anybody, to any family, and that people
need to stop judging. You never know when it
will be you who gets that phone call or come
to the realization that someone in your family
needs help. We are losing very wonderful, smart
young people that are loved — too many young,
intelligent people.”
And the loss of young life continues. According
to Morse, “at least three or four of Tyson’s good
friends who were at his funeral have died from
drug overdoses since his passing.”
In the next article, we will focus on another
family’s story, community resources and ways to
be a part of the solution. •
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