Opinion: Mike Rogers refuses to answer for his role in the opioids crisis

My name is Derrick Jackson, and I’m a police officer with a background in social work. For the last 15 years, I have served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. 

In my work, I often wear multiple hats and have a unique lens on the issues we face. Years ago, as a former social worker, I worked with families torn apart by addiction. I remember the 14-year-old who was an athlete, got injured, was prescribed pain medication, and before long, became addicted. Not long after that, they were addicted to heroin. 

I remember, as an officer, being the person who had to deliver the devastating news to a mother that her son had died of an overdose and was never coming home again. Sitting in that living room and hearing the scream of a mother who had just lost her son to addiction is an experience I can never forget.

I know what it looks like to see our deputies regularly called because there’s a loved one unconscious on the bathroom floor, with family members standing above our deputy, begging them to do something. Thank God we have Narcan now. But before, we’d just have to sit and wait as that person slowly slipped away. 

Personally, I know what it’s like to love someone battling addiction—my wife is in long-term recovery from an opioid addiction. So for me, this isn’t about politics, it’s personal and it means something.  

So when I read that Mike Rogers had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies, it upset me. And then when I read that he refused to take any responsibility, it angered me. 

Beyond the money, when I learned of the organizations he worked with and the policies that were being pushed, it was clear to me that Mike Rogers played a role in this epidemic. 

To hear Rogers, who wants to be our elected leader, refuse to acknowledge his actions and say, “I had nothing to do with it,” is unacceptable.

As a leader in my community, the one thing I ask of our elected leaders is to learn from their mistakes and do better. Someone who’s unwilling to acknowledge their mistakes, to me, is unfit to lead.

My wife and I have two beautiful girls, a one-year-old and a two-year-old. We call them our miracle babies because we know what could’ve happened, but they’re a reminder of what did happen—that recovery is possible. 

Our officers are out there every day getting drugs off of our streets. Our social workers and our families are doing all they can to provide multiple pathways to recovery. Even our courts are holding our pharmaceutical companies accountable. But what about our elected leaders who put this framework in place? 

Just imagine if we were to go back to when Mike Rogers was accepting that money and pushing legislation to increase access to opioids—if he was to take a balanced approach.

Maybe then I wouldn’t have had to have that conversation with that mother, saying her son was never coming home. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to sit countless times with my wife consoling her because another friend or person in her life had died from addiction. 

I want to ensure that our next senator is focused on what’s best for the future of our families and country. Unfortunately, it’s clear that Mike Rogers cares more about his own pocketbook than fighting for Michigan.

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