From the Editor's Desk: Substance use disorder is a community problem

How bad is substance use in the Jewish community? Well, it is worse than many people think. And that’s probably because substance use — whether recreational or prescribed pain medication — is so commonplace. Not to mention, getting drunk or getting high on pot or other depressants or stimulants is considered (by many) as fun. What many do not realize is that some of these people are genetically programmed to take the “high” further. Prescription pain pills can go from “needed for the pain” to “needed.”

B’ri’ut held an excellent meeting, sponsored by the Jewish Federation, last week about substance use disorders. Five panelists spoke of their own personal experiences with drugs and alcohol. It was eye opening to the 70-plus viewers on Zoom and the 25 or so in-person attendees.

I know I learned more than I knew (and I thought I knew a lot). And I am much in agreement with Michal Osteen, a panelist, who said that she wished she knew then what she knows now.

My husband died of what I thought was a heart attack in 2007. He was 53. It was later that I learned, when the coroner called me, that a very small amount of heroin was in his system. I was shocked … and ashamed. I knew he was struggling with addiction. He’d been to rehab twice (in my nine years with him). I know, from “fighting on the frontline,” that he really wanted to conquer his “demon,” as he called it. I was the one in denial. He could lick this, I thought Pollyanna-ishly. After all, he’d go six months to a year clean. Or so I thought.

From the meeting I learned that this disease (yes, it is a disease) feasts on denial — especially among Jews. One of the speakers, Dr. Biff Kramer, shared that he went to a relative who was a doctor and asked for help. Kramer told his uncle that he was an alcoholic and wanted help. “No you aren’t,” his uncle reply. His reasoning? “Jews don’t get addicted.”

Substance use disorder is partial to no one. And it is a family disease because the family goes into denial and become enablers. This can cost someone his or her life.

Rick (my husband) was a charmer. He could manipulate me and all of our friends into thinking he was clean. Because we love the person who has a substance use disorder, we want to believe them.

One person out of less than five now suffer from this disorder. That is a high percentage. Recreational? Osteen shared that death can happen after just one use of a drug. Kramer said that all of those recovering on the panel started out using drugs or alcohol “recreationally.” Now there’s food for thought…

However, in today’s world, recreational drug use can be lethal because many drugs today are laced with fentanyl. Panelist Sheriff Leman of the Seminole County Police Department stated that fentanyl is everywhere and a very small amount— only two milligrams, that’s like 8 grains of salt, you can’t even see it — is lethal. It can get into marijuana unintentionally. An example he gave was that a person cutting fentanyl might clean the area and start dividing marijuana on the same table, unintentionally lacing the pot with fentanyl. Just to give you an idea of how bad fentanyl is, it is 50-100 times stronger than morphine.

Where is all this fentanyl coming from? ABC News reported on May 18 that Customs and Border Protection seized more fentanyl so far in 2021 than all of 2020. The report stated that as of April, 6,494 pounds of fentanyl were seized by authorities at the border, compared to 4,776 pounds in all of 2020. Remember, it only takes 2 milligrams to kill someone.

One of the panelists, Jonathan Lebron, has been sober for two years. He was a good friend of Ari Osteen, whose death was a wakeup call for him. But not everyone accepts that wakeup call. He explained that addiction runs in his family. There are signs — obsessive thought patterns and unbalanced emotions, all of which progress. Substance use is not because of a lack of willpower.

Kramer shared that those with a substance use disorder are not responsible for the disease, but are responsible for recovery and maintaining freedom from substances.

The last panelist to speak, Houston Spore, shared how good it is to hear this conversation. “Nothing is going to stop this until we have conversations like this,” he said. Talking opens doors. Also a recovering addict, Spore started Project Opioid, an organization that educates leaders on how to build a coalition, launch a regional overdose initiative, and do high-level advocacy to transform and save the greatest number of lives in their communities. That is B’ri’ut’s goal as well.

One last important detail of this meeting was the discussion of Narcan. I wish I’d known about this life-saving medication when my husband was dying on our living room floor. Narcan sprayed in the nostrils will give a person who overdosed 90 minutes of life. Time enough to call 911 and have EMTs take over. It is not harmful to people who aren’t having an overdose — so giving it without knowing for sure won’t hurt the person.

Those who attended the meeting were given two free doses of Narcan. Pharmacies sell Narcan without a prescription. It’s good to have on hand.

If you missed the meeting, it was recorded. Bart Neuman, founder of B’ri’ut, said that after it is edited, the recording will be available for anyone who wants to learn more about substance use disorders. Contact the Jewish Federation for more information, 407-645-5933.

And if you know someone who is having a problem, please call JFS Orlando, 407-644-7593. Their counselors are excellent and discreet.

I am not an expert on substance use disorders. I only know my own experience, which I hope never to go through again. If you have questions, please call JFS Orlando.