Quote:
Originally Posted by NHartphotog
How many documented deaths, and how do those numbers compare to the 445,000 deaths every year from tobacco?
Yes, government would like you to think that anyone can go to any doctor and be given any drug for the slightest complaint. If you have ever dealt with a health issue that causes chronic pain, you would know this is simply not true. You could go to a hundred doctors for pain that would drive most people to suicide, and chances are very few would give you an effective pain Rx. None would give you anything without seeing you--every single month. This is how they make their money, and there is simply no reason to give out pain prescriptions (and risking being set up by the DEA) without collecting your $250 "fee" for the 30-day Rx.
The anecdotal case of a doctor writing "massive" prescriptions for people they have never examined is, in all but the rarest cases, simply government trying to get all the sheeple behind their Drug War. We all know government is insatiable in its need for more power and more money. And when drugs are involved the government can easily confiscate private property and cash: "Beginning in 1970, Congress enacted legislation to permit government to seize property of Mafia organizations and big-time drug smugglers.[1] In succeeding decades, other forfeiture laws were enacted, and federal agents can now seize private property under more than 200 different statutes.[2] From 1985 to 1991, the number of federal seizures of property under asset forfeiture laws increased by 1500 percent—reaching a total of $644 million.[3] State and local governments have also seized hundreds of millions of dollars of property in recent years.[4]" Seizure Fever: The War on Property Rights | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty
I agree that abuse of drugs can be a problem, which is exactly why it should be treated as a medical problem and not driven underground by criminalization. Do the cash and assets confiscated by government go to drug treatment? Of course not. It goes to more and more government staff and high-tech toys, just like speeding fines pay for more traffic cops to hand out more tickets. Has the Drug War had any effect on stopping or limiting drug abuse? No. Is is incredibly expensive? Yes.
The Drug War does absolutely nothing to address the causes and treatment of drug abuse, because it forces people to hide their problems from law enforcement AND everyone else. If you think drug abuse is a problem, you should want to address it rather than use people's problems as a cash cow to make government even bigger and more intrusive. |
I was just browsing various categories and came across this thread. The post quoted above is one of the BEST I have ever read. IMO every word is true.
I have two chronic pain conditions that are often so bad that thoughts of suicide have entered my mind, just to escape the pain. Those who have never suffered from severe chronic pain have no idea what it is like. Imagine the worst toothache you ever had in your life and imagine it being like that all the time. Only all over your body.
I have been on a narcotic medication for many years now. Without it, I probably would not be here writing these lines. For a while, it drops the pain level to where, for a few hours, I can actually get some things done. Some days, though, it barely touches my pain level. Even as I type this, my hands are almost screaming in pain (voice recognition software is looking better all the time).
It has been shown that 70% of people with one of my conditions (RSD) have contemplated suicide several times and of those about 17% have taken their own lives. Chronic pain is indeed a real killer. And since many times the person looks "OK", it is not recognized for the major illness it is.
I'm not saying that there are no docs out there who are glorified drug dealers. But they are in the minority, despite what the media, which loves sensational headlines, would like people to believe. In most cases, IMO the government should butt out of the medical business. Only when a lawmaker or his/her family member is stricken with a chronic pain condition do they come to the realization that these medications are keeping people alive.
When I take my pain meds my actions and appearances are those of normal person. This is because there is some pain relief and I can function, even if at a reduced level. But take them away and then people would see the full effects of being in chronic pain.
It bugs me that the deadliest drugs of all--alcohol and cigarettes--are acceptable to our society. Both cause devastating physical and psychological effects, yet are available everywhere, to everyone over a certain age. At least I get a prescription for a certain amount of pills. Anyone can go into a liquor store and buy cartons of booze, and nobody blinks an eye.
BTW, marijuana has been available for many, many years already as the pill Marinol. It is prescribed for people with glaucoma. Marijuana has become a political football--something for the politicians to trot out when they want to show how anti-drug they are. It also is a mild relaxant, unlike alcohol, which reduces inhibitions and can cause very aggressive behavior.
Thanks for just reading this. We who suffer from chronic pain for which there is no real cure have been looking for understanding, not sympathy, from the general public. I hope that those who would want to make it difficult, if not impossible, for us to obtain the pain meds we need never have to experience what we live with every day.
Sorry but I just had to vent.
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