Welcome to the second post of our Moms for All Paths to Recovery blog!

What MAP is, and what it isn’t

Thanks for joining me for our second post!  In this post, I’d like to talk about what our group is, and what it isn’t.  

Education! 

We are primarily a group for information.  As I said in my introductory post, I founded the group because there is no single source of reliable information for moms whose children are suffering with substance issues.  I spent years looking for good information, finding a lot of terrible information, and searching the literature and news for myself.  We want to make it easy for moms to find information they can trust.  So for the most part, we post evidence-based research and articles of interest.  For example, what are other countries doing about drug policy?  Why is it best not to let your children become unhoused or incarcerated.

We provide education from subject matter experts, and we also share our own lived experience in the comments.  

Why we are not a support group

There are many excellent support groups, but there is no other central place to get education and news related to addiction. We have a complete listing of all support groups in our files- but I tend to gravitate towards those that are based on the principles of  CRAFT which is based on Science and Kindness. For those who want a support group, we recommend these Facebook groups:  

Thrive Family Support

Allies In Recovery

We support all paths

As our name says, we are for all paths to recovery.  We bubble up information on a daily basis on any and all pathways,  Harm reduction respects that the individual is the expert on their own experience.  We have moms whose children are in all stages of recovery, including many who are still using chaotically.  We do not push abstinence or any particular program.  I don’t care what path you take.  I’m in favor of any positive change, and I want to provide information on any avenue that might help any loved one. Even for moms who have lost their children, we provide information that can help. We welcome these moms, who have suffered incomprehensible loss, to our group.

Some posts contain difficult subject matter, or opinions that some moms may not agree with.  I ask moms to just scroll past anything they don’t want to read, and keep reading!  The most important thing is to stay in the group and continue to educate yourself.  That’s how we help each other and our children. 

Why we oppose drug induced homicide laws 

One thing we do take a stand against is drug induced homicide laws.  These are laws that make it a crime, often equivalent to murder, if a person sells or gives someone else drugs and the person who receives the drugs dies as a result.  We oppose these laws.  

I understand how a mother who lost her child could want vengeance on anyone or anything that could have caused such a tragedy.  Many of us have lost our own children.  But we aren’t into vengeance here.  There is so much research on how drug induced homicide laws make things worse and cause more deaths instead of preventing them.  My own daughter was with a friend when she overdosed, and the friend was terrified of being criminally prosecuted, so they left the scene.  The only reason why my daughter is alive is that her dog started barking so loudly that a janitor heard and called 911.  I don’t blame her friend - these laws make it dangerous to help someone who may die.  My daughter now carries a card: that says that if she dies as a result of drug use, she does not want anyone who had anything to do with the drugs that killed her arrested or convicted.  I don’t know how that would hold up in court, but that’s how strongly she believes that these laws are dangerous and wrong.

We understand as mothers that most of our own children have sold drugs to supply themselves.  I’m all for taking out the big drug cartels, but drug induced homicide laws have nothing to do with the big picture.  They punish drug users, while helping no one.  They even put Good Samaritan laws in danger, laws that are supposed to protect anyone who helps someone in danger at the scene of an injury or overdose from criminal or civil liability.  

It comes down to this: drug induced homicide laws will mean that people who could help will have to leave our children alone to die in order to protect themselves.  We want to keep everyone alive: our own children and the children of other moms who may sell our children drugs. 

Calling all moms! 

We want all moms to join the group, educate themselves, ask questions, and be open to new information.  I hope you will subscribe to this newsletter, forward it to anyone you know who could benefit, and spread the word that there is a source of reliable information for moms!  

In the coming weeks, we will be bringing you interviews with our members and with subject matter experts who share their knowledge with us.  Please let me know in the comments or in the group what you would like to see covered in our blog! 

Please follow us on Twitter at @MomsAllPaths.

And if you’re not already a member of the Facebook group, please join us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/momsforallpaths