The Opioid Epidemic

[Old_Trapper70]

And while Trump, and Republicans, cut funding for treatment programs so they can pay for the 1.5 trillion given to the wealthy in tax cuts, and Democrats remain hamstrung by their lack of numbers, and unity, 170 people a day, or 64,000 a year, die. We know the major suppliers of this drug, and its generic versions, are China, and through Mexico, yet no one wants to do anything that will not benefit them politically such as sanctions against China:

http://time.com/james-nachtwey-opioid-addiction-america/

"It is hard to fathom, and bitterly ironic: the depth of the suffering caused by drugs whose ostensible purpose is to alleviate pain. Statistics offer a partial view of the wreckage. In 2016 alone, nearly 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses—roughly as many as were lost in the entire Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. The U.S. is the world’s richest country, and yet its life expectancy declined in both 2015 and 2016. More than 122 people die every day from syringes of heroin, gelcaps of fentanyl, an excess of oxycodone. Far more come close, but are revived by naloxone, a lifesaving antidote that has become nearly as critical to a cop’s job as handcuffs.


But numbers aren’t neighbors, and it is far too easy to become numb to their scale. We are in the midst of a national emergency that affects every state, every income group and virtually every age. While the burden has fallen disproportionately on the least-educated Americans, tens of millions of us are no more than one degree of separation from someone struggling with addiction. As Walter Bender, a deputy sheriff in Montgomery County, Ohio, put it, “It reaches every part of society: blue collar, white collar, it reaches everybody.”

Pharmaceutical companies helped spark this epidemic by aggressively marketing opioids as low-risk solutions for long-term chronic pain. We now know that they’re anything but low-risk—and yet drugmakers have continued to push opioids and reward doctors who prescribe them. Attempts to crack down on prescriptions have helped, but Americans are still prescribed far more opioids than anyone else in the world—enough for almost every adult in the country to have their own bottle of pills.

Political efforts in Washington have also been insufficient. In October, the White House declared a public-health emergency but did not grant any additional money for the crisis. The position of drug czar remains unfilled, and a limit on Medicaid reimbursements for large facilities remains in place, though the President’s own opioid commission suggested that lifting it would be “the single fastest way to increase treatment availability across the nation.”

 

[PLC1]

And while Trump, and Republicans, cut funding for treatment programs so they can pay for the 1.5 trillion given to the wealthy in tax cuts, and Democrats remain hamstrung by their lack of numbers, and unity, 170 people a day, or 64,000 a year, die. We know the major suppliers of this drug, and its generic versions, are China, and through Mexico, yet no one wants to do anything that will not benefit them politically such as sanctions against China:

http://time.com/james-nachtwey-opioid-addiction-america/

"It is hard to fathom, and bitterly ironic: the depth of the suffering caused by drugs whose ostensible purpose is to alleviate pain. Statistics offer a partial view of the wreckage. In 2016 alone, nearly 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses—roughly as many as were lost in the entire Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. The U.S. is the world’s richest country, and yet its life expectancy declined in both 2015 and 2016. More than 122 people die every day from syringes of heroin, gelcaps of fentanyl, an excess of oxycodone. Far more come close, but are revived by naloxone, a lifesaving antidote that has become nearly as critical to a cop’s job as handcuffs.


But numbers aren’t neighbors, and it is far too easy to become numb to their scale. We are in the midst of a national emergency that affects every state, every income group and virtually every age. While the burden has fallen disproportionately on the least-educated Americans, tens of millions of us are no more than one degree of separation from someone struggling with addiction. As Walter Bender, a deputy sheriff in Montgomery County, Ohio, put it, “It reaches every part of society: blue collar, white collar, it reaches everybody.”

Pharmaceutical companies helped spark this epidemic by aggressively marketing opioids as low-risk solutions for long-term chronic pain. We now know that they’re anything but low-risk—and yet drugmakers have continued to push opioids and reward doctors who prescribe them. Attempts to crack down on prescriptions have helped, but Americans are still prescribed far more opioids than anyone else in the world—enough for almost every adult in the country to have their own bottle of pills.

Political efforts in Washington have also been insufficient. In October, the White House declared a public-health emergency but did not grant any additional money for the crisis. The position of drug czar remains unfilled, and a limit on Medicaid reimbursements for large facilities remains in place, though the President’s own opioid commission suggested that lifting it would be “the single fastest way to increase treatment availability across the nation.”

Drug addiction is far more complex than simply people making money selling addictive substances. Given the right circumstances, addicts can kick the habit. The problem is, the government can't solve the problem, and much of what it does is counter productive. The so called "war on drugs," for example, has been a total and quite expensive failure.

Ever hear of the Rat Park Study?

While not giving any simple answers to the highly complex problem of drug addiction, it does raise some interesting questions of just why people become drug dependent. Forcing addicts to get their fix from illegal underground suppliers has a total negative effect on anyone who would like to get back to a normal life, and also is more dangerous from the standpoint of not knowing exactly what it is that they're using. While well regulated medications have known doses and known additives, street drugs have neither, making overdoses much more likely.

 

[Old_Trapper70]

Drug addiction is far more complex than simply people making money selling addictive substances. Given the right circumstances, addicts can kick the habit. The problem is, the government can't solve the problem, and much of what it does is counter productive. The so called "war on drugs," for example, has been a total and quite expensive failure.

Ever hear of the Rat Park Study?

While not giving any simple answers to the highly complex problem of drug addiction, it does raise some interesting questions of just why people become drug dependent. Forcing addicts to get their fix from illegal underground suppliers has a total negative effect on anyone who would like to get back to a normal life, and also is more dangerous from the standpoint of not knowing exactly what it is that they're using. While well regulated medications have known doses and known additives, street drugs have neither, making overdoses much more likely.

Four of my brothers, two of whom are now dead, were alcoholic/drug addicts. 3 finally quit two of whom are still alive, and doing fine. Since all of them did quite well financially it was the culture they became involved in that presented the challenge to them. When they finally got "smart", and left that culture, it became easy for them to quit the drugs/alcohol. AA was another source that helped.

 

[PLC1]

Four of my brothers, two of whom are now dead, were alcoholic/drug addicts. 3 finally quit two of whom are still alive, and doing fine. Since all of them did quite well financially it was the culture they became involved in that presented the challenge to them. When they finally got "smart", and left that culture, it became easy for them to quit the drugs/alcohol. AA was another source that helped.

Yes, it tends to be the culture they become involved with. With a good strong support group they, like the rats in rat park, can quit the drugs.