Joe Adipietro’s Son
Dear Mrs. <strong>Murphy</strong>, My name is Joe Adipietro, I am an ambassador <strong>for</strong> the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall, and I lost my son, Brian, to an accidental overdose/poisoning on June 22, 2019. He was 38. My story echoes too many other similar stories. When Brian was 12 years old, he was injured on vacation and was prescribed pain medication. From that point <strong>for</strong>ward, he struggled with addiction/Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Upon his death, there was enough fentanyl to kill five people was found in his system. Brian was an amazing, kind and compassionate person, and left us with many gifts that we continue to share in his memory. Advocating <strong>for</strong> desperately needed change to help save lives is our mission, and I am asking <strong>for</strong> your help in this endeavor. Brian showed kindness and compassion to all people and animals. Even when he had few material possessions, he gave what little he had to others in need. After his passing, I was told by a few people that they felt he saved their lives. That brings me pride and tears of joy. In his honor, I continue to spread kindness. The landscape of blame is vast, from Brian not reaching out <strong>for</strong> help, to myself <strong>for</strong> not seeing the signs of his struggles, to big Pharma and the media <strong>for</strong> its continual promotion that we need a drug or a pill to feel better, to look better or to be happy and healthy. Our society, with hurtful and harmful stigmas, outdated laws and our unjust treatment of people struggling with a proven disease is culpable, as well. Why are we still punishing those who suffer from SUD's with incarceration, isolation and stigmatization? Separating them from society is the exact opposite of what they need. Like every person struggling with a disease, they need our love, our support and our help. Beyond blame, how do we fix things? Every day, I wake up knowing 300 or more innocent people in this country will die the same way Brian died. Synthetic drugs are getting stronger and stronger. We must act now. Awareness is the first step, and you can help in a very impactful way. We have created two Drug Epidemic Memorial Walls, one with photos and one with names. Our children and loved ones are victims. The were lied to and used by Purdue Pharma. Today they are victims of the Chinese criminal networks and Mexican Cartels, as well as insufficient government action.