Opinion: My son died of an opioid overdose. I'm running for Congress to end this crisis
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The overdose crisis is among the most pressing public health emergencies of our time and for my family, it's deeply personal. In 2017, my husband Bruce and I lost our only son, Max , to an overdose. It was a devastating loss—one no parent should endure.
Tragically, we are not alone. The year Max died, 70,237 families lost a loved one to an overdose and in 2023, that number was 107,543. I could have said over 70,000 or over 107,000, but the 237 and the 543 at the end of that number matter. They were brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, mothers and fathers and beloved friends.
This crisis has continued to devastate communities across the U.S. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for adults aged 18 to 45 . In Tennessee, the situation is especially dire: Nashville ranks second among U.S. cities for overdose deaths per capita, and our state ranks second among all states .
At its core, the overdose crisis reflects a public health failure — a deficit of mental health care and an unwillingness to treat substance use disorder as the disease that it is.
Bipartisan cooperation is the way to tackle the opioid crisis
Washington has done little. Lawmakers, like my opponent U.S. Rep. Mark Green , have failed to support meaningful effective legislation to put an end to this crisis and offer hope.
I refuse to stay silent. If elected to Congress, I'll prioritize ending the overdose crisis.
I'll push for federal funding to ensure naloxone (Narcan), the overdose-reversing treatment, is affordable and widely accessible.
Though it's available over the counter, high costs and limited distribution remain barriers. No one should die simply because they can't afford naloxone.
In rural Tennessee, where healthcare access is already scarce (largely due to our state's failure to expand Medicaid), this crisis has been particularly devastating.
I'll co-sponsor the Save America's Rural Hospitals Act to provide support to more critical-access hospitals and the Rural America Health Corps Act , sponsored primarily by U.S. Rep. David Kustoff in the House and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in the Senate, which provides loan repayment for healthcare workers serving in rural areas.
I'll co-sponsor the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act , which expands access to life-saving medications like methadone at pharmacies, not just treatment centers. This would be particularly impactful in rural areas, where care is already limited.
My opponent is not rising to the fentanyl challenge harming Americans
The overdose crisis doesn't exist in isolation. It's tied to broader issues of mental health services, affordable housing, and economic instability. That's why I'll co-sponsor the Mental Health Justice Act , which provides federal funding to ensure people in crisis are given access to life-saving resources.
Notably, each piece of legislation I have named thus far enjoys bipartisan co-sponsorship, yet not one has earned co-sponsorship from my opponent.
There is no single cause of addiction - the issues are complex, but one of the biggest barriers to treatment and recovery is shame and guilt. I know this firsthand, and I know that we need to go beyond just enacting policy.
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One of the most important things I can do in Congress is to use my own experience and lend my voice to help destigmatize substance use disorder. By speaking out and advocating for policies that treat substance use disorder as a disease and not a moral failing, we can save lives.
Too many people have died, including our beloved child. It's time for leaders in Washington to stop playing politics. I'm running for Congress because I believe we can do better. We owe it to the families throughout Middle Tennessee and across our great country to act now.
Megan Barry is a wife, mother, business owner, former at-large Metro Council member, the first woman mayor of Nashville, and the current Democratic nominee for Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District.
