N/S Josh Gordon stepping away from Patriots.

If only it were that simple.

I have a family member who struggled with drug use. Her mistake? She trusted her doctors to care for her with her best interests in mind. That led to a dependence on pain medication. I've witnessed the battles others have fought, and have noted associations to mental health concerns.

We have a long history in this country of failed drug policy and in no small part, our failings have been rooted in misguided messaging about being strong and responsible. Drug use is often a symptom of something else going on, and we've wrongly taken a criminal justice approach to a health problem.

I highly doubt that if Gordon in fact is continuing to struggle with substance use, that it's not as simple as he just isn't responsible enough.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

My cousin was an all world pitcher coming out of high school in Miami in the 90s, and was headed for the major leagues. He messed up his arm falling off his families trampoline, and they gave him pain killers. That was the end of it. His arm was “always hurting”, and the doctor didn’t mind writing him a script for it because he was getting a kickback. It was a bad relationship which he died from.

It’s an ugly situation, and smarter heads need to come up with something do to about this problem.