A Faithful Response to Opioid Addiction

For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
 Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.

Therefore the people turn and praise them and find no fault in them.

                                                   Psalm 73: 3-10 NRSVue

I Iistened to CBC Radio's Q with Tom Power and a sobering interview segment with Peter Berg, the creator of a new docu-drama called Painkiller. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-50-q/clip/16006302-peter-berg-aysanabee

It's about the opioid crisis, with a focus on the evil empire of Purdue Pharma,  producers of the highly addictive OxyContin which was marketed as a safe painkiller even though Purdue knew it was highly addictive. 

Purdue was eventually convicted of fraud and agreed to pay fines of billions of dollars in a deal that meant that none of the Sackler family went to jail even though at least a million people have died in the United States from opioid overdoses. Here in Canada tens of thousands have died and a dozen people perish every day in this country, with numbers on the rise. While OxyContin is not a contributor to all of these deaths it created the tsunami of opioid addiction. 

Why do the wicked prosper? This is a question which recurrs in scripture and for which there is no ready answer. We hope that the God of justice will give them their come-uppance but too often it seems that wealth and power shields them from the consequences of their actions. 

I've written before about another excellent drama called Dopesick which tells the grim story extremely well. It demonstrated how difficult it was for prosecutors to bring the perpetrators to any form of justice and the reality is that the Sacklers are still billionaires. While they have become social pariahs and lost prestige there are no broader consequences for the deaths of those who were loved and lost. 

The COVID epidemic affected the elderly the most, but the opioid epidemic is a scourge of the young. Many parents ask why various levels of government appear to be relatively indifferent to this crisis. They tell stories of beloved children whose addictions often developed covertly or were known but timely treatment was unavailable. These people are not simply grim statistics and they ae not disposable. 

 I have wondered many times how communities of faith could take a stronger role in raising the issues and getting involved in practical response. There have been a couple of deaths, likely drug-induced, literally outside the doors of Bridge St. Church, the last congregation I served before retirement. Excellent work with the poor and marginalized is being done out of this facility yet these losses are haunting. 

Apparently some churches observe Opioid Addiction Sunday as an opportunity to raise awareness and to pray for the afflicted. Perhaps we all should. 

Prayers of the People for Opioid Addiction Awareness Sunday 

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to remove all the conditions that lead people to despair: homelessness, limited access to health care and education, un-employment or poverty level wages

For we already have the power to enfranchise “the least of these” and to give hope If we would only use our power justly. 

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to root out blame, prejudice, and stigma of every kind: 

For we already have eyes with which to see the good in all people If we would only use them rightly. 

We cannot merely pray to you O God, to end epidemics of all kinds, For we already have the resources to treat, and the knowledge to prevent the spread We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end addiction 

For Jesus has already entrusted us with forgiveness and compassion to share in His name 

Therefore, we pray instead for Your strength, determination, and the faith to risk stepping out, 

To DO, as your way of “giving hands and feet to our prayers.” To become instead of merely to wish.