The "war on drugs" is a strategic fallacy. There is no fighting against a drug. Declaring a substance a deadly weapon will not deter its use by someone with an addiction. If it's a war at all, it's a war of greed. Any way you look at it, at every level, there are individuals deliberately choosing money over the lives of others. The actions of Purdue Pharma, the failures of the FDA to protect us, and the willful disregard of the opioid crisis by health care providers and public officials has made our children casualities in a War of Greed.

Dan Schneider, the pharmacist featured in the NetFlix docuseries The Pharmacist, has likened our children to soldiers, heroes of their time. I have to agree. I see them as casualties in the War of Greed. They deserve to be honored and recognized as such, and finally released of the shame they carried. And we deserve to openly celebrate them. Someday, society will come to fully understand the disease of addiction and those suffering will no longer be viewed as moral failures. They will be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve and the catalyst for this change will be those of us who spoke up, and the true heroes will be recognized — our children who suffered in silence, who paid the ultimate price.