Christopher Christie, Drugs

Chris Christie's Plea For America To Change How It Deals With Drug Addiction Includes Story About Biglaw Partner Who OD'd

Addiction can happen to anyone. No one is immune to this disease.

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Addiction is often a topic of conversation, but not many people know what it really is. Not many people have been forced to get up close and personal with it. Those people are extremely fortunate — they haven’t had to watch their friends and loved ones slowly kill themselves.

In medical terms, addiction is defined as “a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.” In human terms, addiction is defined as something that destroys relationships, something that tears families apart, something that makes it all but impossible for those whose lives it’s touched to ever forget the beast within. If you’ve never experienced life with an addict, and if you’ve never had an addiction yourself, then you should count yourself as among the truly lucky.

For members of the legal profession — where 18 to 20 percent of lawyers abuse drugs or alcohol (compared to 8 to 10 percent of the general population) — addiction hits uncomfortably close to home. One or two drinks to get you through the day can easily turn into keeping liquor bottles hidden in a filing cabinet in order to maintain a constant buzz to blur what ails you. One pill to relieve pain can quickly turn into hundreds of pills to numb every thought, every emotion. Once bright lawyers disintegrate into nothingness.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, knows this all too well. During a recent town hall-style campaign meeting, Christie — a “recovering lawyer” — took the time to speak about addiction and the reasons why the U.S. should change the way it deals drug addicts. Rather than jailing them, he said, we should focus on assisting them with their recovery. To make his point even clearer, Christie told his audience an emotional story about one of his closest law school friends, one who he describes as “the smartest of all of us,” who was lost to drug addiction.

Christie’s friend worked at a “big prominent law firm” and was “the first among us to become partner at his law firm.” After sustaining a running injury, his friend became addicted to Percocet, a prescription pain medication. Christie’s friend was later disbarred and lost all of his money. At 52 years old, Christie’s law school friend was found dead in a motel room, with an empty bottle of Percocet and an empty quart of vodka.

Watch this video to see Christie’s plea for the fair treatment of drug addicts:

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Christie then acknowledges what most of us are afraid to admit: “There but for the grace of God go I. It can happen to anyone.” For those of us in the legal profession, it’s a resounding truth. Addiction can happen to anyone. No one is immune to this disease.

If you are suffering from addiction, don’t be afraid to seek help. There are friends, family, colleagues, and organizations that you can call. You can get in touch with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s referral and support hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357), or the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs hotline at 1-866-LAW-LAPS (529-5277). There is a way out, and we are confident that with help, you’ll be able to find it and conquer your addiction.

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