The opiate epidemic and personal responsibility

Discussion in 'Drugs, Alcohol & Tobacco' started by Bridget, Jan 2, 2020.

  1. Bridget

    Bridget Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2017
    Messages:
    2,227
    Likes Received:
    1,702
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I keep hearing about the opiate drug epidemic and my best friend's son died of an overdose, so it has touched my life, indirectly. It seems like everything above all blames first the pharmaceutical companies, and secondly, doctors. I am not pro-big pharma, or pro-doctor necessarily, but it does seems to me that the patient has to take some responsibility for themselves. I mean, if the pharmaceutical people are actually selling these drugs on false premises, ok; but I think everyone has known pain killers are addictive for a very long time, so it seems like a cop-out to say "well they didn't tell me." And it's hard to believe that a lot of doctors are deliberately over-prescribing to kill people, especially with the liability situation. I just think that a lot of folks are not taking the pills as prescribed. I mean, granted, if someone has a 30 day prescription and they are back in 10 days for more, no doctor should be giving it to them. So perhaps in some cases, that could be blamed, in part, on the doctor.

    I was in a serious accident recently and was prescribed pain killers and I was extremely careful how many I was taking. I always considered whether over-the-counter something would suffice before taking the prescription stuff, etc. And guess what? I didn't get addicted.

    I saw a documentary a while back about people in prison "simply for prescription drug use", and it seemed like the narrative was that these people were all blaming their doctors for their problems, but turned out they weren't in jail for using prescription drugs, but for buying drugs on the street or for collateral crimes to obtain money. It just seems to me that it doesn't help drug abusers (of any type) to give them an out to abdicate responsibility. Does anyone else feel that we are all, in the end, responsible for taking care of ourselves?
     
    Quasar44 likes this.
  2. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,608
    Likes Received:
    11,196
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I personally believe the cause is economic, as much as it was other factors. I have made multiple threads about this subject.
    The pharmaceutical companies were only one of the logs on the fire that caused this.


    These are some of the related threads I've written touching this subject in the past:
    Why 'Deaths of Despair' May Be a Warning Sign for America
    Pain in Middle America
    Rising number of overdoses amid dim job prospects for Millenials
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2020
    Bridget likes this.
  3. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,608
    Likes Received:
    11,196
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Responsibility can be a difficult and complicated thing to assign. This sort of question almost rises to the level of a philosophical question.

    I personally feel that those with drug addictions have at least some responsibility for their own situation.
     
  4. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,608
    Likes Received:
    11,196
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Some people are much more prone to addiction than other people, especially if they are in certain life circumstances, or have certain personality traits.
     
  5. Bridget

    Bridget Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2017
    Messages:
    2,227
    Likes Received:
    1,702
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I understand and agree. The information I have heard suggests that the pharmaceutical company did state that these drugs were not addictive, after they knew that wasn't true, so they must bear some responsibility, but there seems to be a movement to make them totally responsible. And to enable the addicts to somewhat believe that they had no responsibility whatsoever in their addiction. I feel that you can't solve a problem if you take no responsibility for your part in it.

    I really needed these medications after my accident and when my mom had cancer, she probably couldn't have stood the pain without these. I guess I worry that the manufacturer's will be forced to stop making these and doctors will be afraid to prescribe them for fear of the liability. Pain killers do have a place in life, but should be prescribed, I believe, for acute illnesses/injuries, and perhaps not for chronic ones, and time limited of course.
     
  6. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,608
    Likes Received:
    11,196
    Trophy Points:
    113
    The issue is, almost anything that numbs physical pain also numbs emotional pain.
    Hence the conundrum.

    Conventionally, in the US, addiction has been a problem that mostly plagued minorities in inner city areas, particularly young adult minorities, but this opioid epidemic that swept the country in the wake of the Recession was different. It mainly hit white more rural communities, and many older retired people became swept up in it.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2020
  7. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2020
    Messages:
    2,939
    Likes Received:
    915
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    At the end of the day ..you ultimately decide your own actions
    Sorry to hear about your sons friend
    Was it H ?? What was he like ??
     
  8. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2020
    Messages:
    2,939
    Likes Received:
    915
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Drugs have destroyed the white communities as the blacks
    So many millions dead
     

Share This Page