Campaign Collects Stories of Drug War Damage and Loss During the Holidays

Families ACT! in Santa Barbara, A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) in San Diego and moms from around the country are sharing their stories of loss during the holidays to speak out for an end to the war on drugs, which has been so disastrous to our families. Many of the moms leading this campaign have been personally impacted by the war on drugs, including having family who suffer from addiction, have been repeatedly incarcerated, or have died from preventable drug overdoses.

It was six years ago that Ian Bezman disappeared on November 9th in Santa Barbara. His body was found three weeks later in a drainage ditch under Hayward’s on State Street. He was referred in a News Press article as winter’s first homeless victim of the year. He was instead a victim of Santa Barbara’s version of the “Revolving Door”. His mother, Suzanne Riordan, co-founder of Families ACT!, has vowed to create alternatives to this cycle for persons young and old who struggle with mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders. She is joined by mothers from all over the country working to redirect resources from punitive policies to prevention and treatment.

“My son’s only crime was self-medication. He felt tracked by probation and the D.A. who held the threat of prison over his head if he relapsed. This is no way to treat our most tender and sensitive young people! No wonder our jails and prisons are filled to the breaking point! No wonder the Supreme Court has ordered California not to send any more of these non-criminal “offenders” to state prison! America has spent at least $1 trillion on the drug war. It cost U.S. taxpayers at least $51 billion. Just imagine what we could do with but a fraction of that in terms of prevention and treatment. ” Suzanne Riordan