Opioids

[Griff]

By selecting health I have exposed my own bias.



However, nobody was happier than me last week when the local police departments rounded up a bunch of NY/Philly mother-fuckers who've been playing gang-banger is our once quiet rust belt towns.

[footfootfoot]

Never liked them, never will.

[Gravdigr]

Opioids, or them NY/Philly motherfuckers?

Cause, I could like opioids. I mean, I could reeeeeally like opioids.

Wannabe gangbanger motherfuckers, not so much.

[elSicomoro]

Opioids are fun times, but if you get hooked, it's bad stuff. It seems to be worse than meth now.

[Pico and ME]

I'm lucky that I'm missing the addiction gene, or whatever. Cuz I have to take it every day and I only take the minimum. If I don't take it, there's pain, and I don't like pain, so I am very judicious with how I use my meds.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Pico and ME

I'm lucky that I'm missing the addiction gene, or whatever. Cuz I have to take it every day and I only take the minimum. If I don't take it, there's pain, and I don't like pain, so I am very judicious with how I use my meds.

See, that's how much I hate the feeling of opiods, I'd rather have the pain, and I'm not a huge fan of pain either. After my surgeries I usually stop the happy pills after a few days.

I'm not 100% sure that living with chronic pain has been a good long term plan for me though.

[Pico and ME]

I take 100mg tramadol extended release. I like it because I don't get high from it, I don't have side effects (like constipation), and it gives my mood a real boost, probably because I'm not suffering through achiness/soreness and the subsequent deep fatigue. I work a very physical job that pays well and has great benefits. That little pill makes it possible to keep working.

[footfootfoot]

I hear you. I'm not without my chemical helpers.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Griff

By selecting health I have exposed my own bias.



However, nobody was happier than me last week when the local police departments rounded up a bunch of NY/Philly mother-fuckers who've been playing gang-banger is our once quiet rust belt towns.

Hey Griff, thanks for the thread. I share your bias in this regard.

I hear the most heartbreaking stories about this topic. One part of an interview with someone who'd recently been rescued with medical intervention lamented that they'd rather have been let to die. Another person talked about the cost of his habit. He said he had a $1000 / week habit. Wow. And then I did the math with another tidbit from the same series of programs I'd heard earlier. The upshot was that a dose of heroin went for about $9. That's 16 injections a day, every fucking day. 16 x 9 = $151 / day, just for dope. Jesus.

I've heard stories about people, people who weren't born addicts of course. But circumstances in their lives resulted in addiction. I hear how passive that voice sounds. But I can't believe anybody wants to be an addict, I just can't. I get the sense that people don't want to feel pain, don't want to feel sick. That's not wrong, that's normal. But they have bad, unhealthful, illegal methods to reach those normal ends. That's where the law enforcement aspect often overlaps.

And the legal system, by itself, is woefully ill-equipped to sort out the causes behind the symptom at hand. It's like direct pressure on a gaping wound. It doesn't sew it shut, it doesn't offer any ongoing treatment. The is not law enforcement's fault. They have a job, and they're doing it. But the problem persists, and it continues to be a problem for the addict, for the victims of the crimes committed in the name of getting money to score drugs, for the police, for everybody. Who fucking benefits?

There has to be a better way.

In Seattle, there's an open discussion about a safe consumption site. Yep, a place where people can come and do their illegal drugs in a supervised and safe and clean environment. It's highly controversial, and the discussion is very active. But it's a creative idea that offers a lot of solutions to lots of the horrible side problems of addiction.

And another quick note before I go about naloxone and buprenorphine, one to stop overdoses and the other, like methadone, to stabilize addictions. Not enough time now, but food for thought.

Thanks again Griff.

[footfootfoot]

I think your injection math may be off. Professional users develop a tolerance and would be taking fewer, bigger injections.

Timothy Leary, in his autobiography, was talking loosely about the differences between psychedelics and opioids and he categorized the former as saying YES to life and the latter saying NO.

He was also not a fan.

[BigV]

In Seattle, there's an open discussion about a safe consumption site. Yep, a place where people can come and do their illegal drugs in a supervised and safe and clean environment. It's highly controversial, and the discussion is very active. But it's a creative idea that offers a lot of solutions to lots of the horrible side problems of addiction.

This idea has just been unanimously approved by the city and county government leaders. A state Rep from away from Seattle has declared he'll introduce a bill to make this illegal in Washington.

We'll see.

Boat's docking, got to go.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I've done lots of drugs over the years but always drew the line at anything injected, unless it was in the hospital/Dr's office. That isn't always enough care, like the eight college students near where I lived, snorted Draino they were sold as coke.

My cousin married a girl who was addicted to heroin. She went through his inheritance and sold all his guns before he discovered it. He's not very smart. They got a divorce and now she lives with him so he can drive her to her Methadone clinic. Told you he's not very smart.

A friend had a 16 year old boy on heroin, got busted, went through detox, clean for six months. When he didn't come down for breakfast they found him eight hours dead with the needle still in his arm.

I could go on and on because I've seen a lot of drug culture over the years. Maybe that's why I'm the last man standing out of thirty people younger than me.

[glatt]

Do any users actually want to go to some brightly lit sterile place where the MAN will watch them inject?

[Gravdigr]

Some are really concerned with overdosing. Because of the unreliability of each purchase of heroin, overdosing is a real problem. So some people look for a safe place to fix. This could be a friend's house, a public restroom, any place you are likely to be found relatively quickly if you od.

So, yeah some shooters would go to such a place.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Especially if the place had the ability to test the shit for potency.