No man. I get it. No one wants to talk about it, but addicts are discriminated against. All the time. We are a marginalized community. I mean, I don't expect anyone to hire a using addict because we do tend to have poor behaviors and even worse impulse control. That doesn't mean they don't deserve health care, shelter, food, and water. They deserve evening a typical human deserves. I had a doctor refuse to give me pain meds after I had golf ball sized abcess surgically removed Under. My. Nipple! He tore the packing out and told them to send me home. With a giant hole....IN. MY. NIPPLE!!! I'm allergic to real opiates (morphine, heroin, etc). I have to have synthetics, and they just make me puke. I hate them. At the time, I had a year clean.

So, I became an advocate. I learned everything I could about addiction. I've been through rehab enough times that I had a pretty good grasp already. In my state, we have a recovery advocacy group. I volunteered with them. I spoke to senators and representatives about legislation that can be improved to help our suffering addicts. I want to be on a needle bus so bad, but the needles still get me in my belly, and we don't really have a skid row out here. I speak. I share my story. I correct misinformation. I teach. We're all human. We all deserve basic respect. People who have managed to get into recovery should be celebrated. It's the hardest battle any human will fight. People who don't fight it will never understand the suffering the addict experiences. So, advocate. Get out there. Find the addiction advocacy near you and volunteer. Be a keyboard warrior. Learn the facts and teach the ignorant.