Drugs are a National Emergency

The following letter has been sent to President Trump, Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, Representative Collins, State Senator Ortt, Assemblyman Hawley, and the Orleans County Legislature. It is raw, straight, and to the point. Leigh and I seldom mince words - this is not one of those times. This is the first in a series of letters about the national emergency - the opioid crisis.

Our son, Mark David Kinsey, died unexpectedly on Saturday, June 1, 2019 from a lethal drug overdose. We mourn his loss and have seen the grief and devastation his death has caused to us, his parents, the entire family, friends, first responders, and the entire community.

We hold you responsible for his tragic death.

Mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers mourn the death of their loved ones because of this poison, and the horrible disease of addiction. Addiction is a national, state, and local problem. There is not enough allocation of budgets for treatment beds, community resources, first responder resources, prosecution and long term research into the chronic physiological effects of addiction. How many more of our children need to die, have to die, before there is a change in our public policy? Children have died, are dying, and will die from your inaction. Their blood is on your hands. You pay lip service to the dire nature of this problem, yet do nothing. This is a national emergency, and action is required.

We hold you responsible for Mark’s tragic death. 

Sincerely yours,


Charles and Leigh Kinsey