Cold Turkey

When I first did this piece I had my mind on the narcotics problem we face in America, especially the drug this piece is named after. Now as we face a pandemic requiring people all over the world to wear a breathing mask it takes on new meaning for me. Those who are addicted to Oxycontin and the like are suffering right now as their suppliers are facing the same unseen killer the world wrestles against.

While lack of availability is a unique opportunity to come clean, it comes at a very high risk to the addicted; physically and psychologically. Having been legally addicted to Oxycontin and a number of other pain meds over the years managing my chronic pain condition I have become personally familiar with withdrawal; the crawling of my skin and the climbing of the walls in my bathroom scared me and my family more than one night. John Lennon's song "Cold Turkey" best represented the struggle of those who go Cold Turkey, whatever the reason the experience is real and frightening.

Please remember them kindly as they face their demons and cold turkey wreaks their brain and twists their bodies from the inside; they are not the enemy, they are the weak among us. Let us love and extend a hand, anything other than sucking the remaining Oxy-gen from their room.