I lost both of my parents and my sister to drug overdoses before I turned 18. My parents were addicted, my sister wasn't. My dad had overdosed once before, but came through it fine until the last time. I was 9. My mom was addicted my entire life. I remember her picking me up from kindergarten and having to steer the way home because she was passed out stoned at the wheel. My sister and I had to live with our grandparents. She tried many times to get clean and even ended up in a homeless shelter and was forced to go to Narcotics Anonymous. She was doing so well but she met my step dad-if I could even call him that. She started to fall back into addiction and overdosed many times. She died from a cough syrup overdose 5 months after my 20 year old sister took a deadly dose of a mixture of different medicines. I was 16/17. I believe my dad's death was an accident, my sister's death was a suicide, and my mom was killed by her husband. None of these drugs were illegal. They were legal prescription drugs.

My life hurts.