an open letter to every addict
I know this world isn't kind to us and would like for you to believe otherwise, but you are so valuable and your life matters. You deserve to be treated kindly and compassionately, and most of all you deserve to have your needs met, and your wellbeing viewed as equally important and treated with the same sense of priority as anyone else's. You are important and worthy. And you matter just as intrinsically as anyone else, regardless of if you are in recovery, regardless of if you are able to even work towards recovery at the moment, regardless of if your addiction has hurt or is hurting those around you, regardless of which substances you're using, regardless of whether your use impacts the state of the medical and legal systems; regardless of whether you present as the "perfect" storytale addict a capitalist, inhumane society only seems to concern itself about. You matter regardless of any factors involved in your struggle with this, because it is just that; a struggle. Addiction is not something you choose, it is something that befalls you and your worth is not defined by it, your illness and circumstances do not take away from that. You deserve better, and i see you, and i love you. I care about you and i know it is often tough to believe but your continued survival matters. You deserve to have a good life just as much as anyone else, your story does not have to end in some twisted form of "karmic relief" for the oppressor just because you are an addict. Addiction is not a bad word, it is a struggle that deserves to be treated with the same compassion as any other, and i hope tomorrow treats you more kindly. You are not disposable nor the smear on society people frame us as, and for all of you i hope for universal access to safe use and decriminalised medical care. Your use does not take away from whether you deserve your basic rights, nor your value as a human being, no matter what.
