Campaign for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2026, to Reclaim our Basic Right to Nurture and Protect.
Moms from Across the Nation Propose Compassionate & Positive Solutions to the Overdose Crisis in Order to Save Lives and Heal Families
On Valentine’s Day, Moms United to End the War on Drugs is launching the 9th annual “True Love, Not Tough Love” campaign. Moms reject paternalistic drug policies that circumvent our maternal wisdom and replace them with cruel, anti-family values. With insight as moms, we are speaking out to other mothers to warn them that their children are in danger too, and to use our innate moral authority to teach unconditional and positive regard. In raising our children, we offer steady but loving direction and discipline so that they can achieve their goals and live happy and healthy lives. We are debunking the false concepts of “enabling” and “co-dependency” and reclaiming our basic mother’s right to nurture and protect our children.
Although data from CDC shows that drug deaths have decreased recently, the rate of opioid overdose deaths is rising faster for people of color and poverty. Synthetic opioids have been the main driver of overdose since 2024, according to NIDA. However, there is a lot of misinformation about fentanyl, leading to public hysteria and a misguided return to drug war tactics. It is urgent that we stop wasting time and resources fueling a criminal justice response and address what is essentially a public health epidemic. We must also expose and confront the systemic racism that is at the core of the “War on Drugs.”
Moms United vows to:
1. Promote maternalistic values and nurturing, compassionate approaches.
2. Debunk the myth of co-dependency, which isn’t based on fact or science.
3. Endorse many pathways to treatment and recovery.
4. End prohibitionist policies that criminalize our children.
5. Support community-based harm reduction services.
6. Expose the intersection of systemic racism and the war on drugs.
7. Demand tolerance, equity, and inclusion.
When Moms Unite, We Change the World!
“As a mother of two sons who had struggled for decades with addiction to heroin, who are survivors of a punitive and retributive criminal justice system, and who have survived accidental overdose, I’m deeply concerned that we aren’t doing enough to address an emergency that is taking so many precious lives across the cultural and socio-economic spectrum,” said Gretchen Burns Bergman, Lead Organizer of the Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign.
Julia Negron, a member of Moms United and Suncoast Harm Reduction Project said, “We mothers are the accidental activists, part of a club we never wanted to be in. But we are certain that true, real love can heal and stop the harm.”
The #TrueLoveNotToughLove campaign begins Feb. 13, 2026 with our seven proposed solutions posted and shared on social media along with a short video:Moms United to End the War on Drugs is an international campaign that works to end the violence, mass incarceration, and overdose deaths that are a result of current punitive and discriminatory drug policies. We are building a movement to stop the stigmatization and criminalization of people who use drugs or who have a substance use disorder. Moms United is a project of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), a 26-year-old nonprofit organization that works to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support, and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies.
Leaders of the Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign from around the country include: Gretchen Burns Bergman (San Diego, CA), co-founder of A New PATH, Moms United lead organizer and the mother of two sons who have struggled with heroin addiction and incarceration; Julia Negron (Sarasota, Florida),a mother whose son served several prison terms for drug possession; Charmie Gholson (Gregory, Michigan), Director of Michigan Moms United; Diane Goldstein (Las Vegas, Nevada, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Action Partnership; Hanna Liebman Dershowitz (NY, NY, a drug policy reform advocate & attorney); Sharon Ravert, (Atlanta, Georgia) a mother and reform activist, Karen Garrison (Washington, D.C.), founder of mommieactivist and a mother whose sons were falsely incarcerated.
#truelovenottoughlove #momsunited
