Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 195 posts

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#181

Post by [deleted] »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #180
logfromblammo wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate on how you perceive the two phrases to differ in their meanings?

To me, decriminalization of personal use means that I can smoke weed, or maybe even meth or shoot heroin, and not be punished for it. This would minimize the harms that come directly from the government enforcing drug policy, for something that typically is not going to hurt anyone but myself. Whereas legalizing it would mean that I'm free to manufacture meth and heroin and market it, and sell it to others; I would s…

[deleted]

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#182

Post by HeroOfAges »

smogcutter wrote: post #153

Anyone else notice that a common theme in the recent wave of handwringing over heroin and opioid addiction is that the victims we're asked to consider with compassion and understanding are almost always white? The tough on crime drug war rhetoric disappears so easily when the victims are "regular people" who fell prey to the pharma industry, not "junkies". I'm not saying that we shouldn't treat these people with comp…

As a Black man in his late thirties, this is one of the most difficult things for me to accept. I'm from Dayton, OH. I grew up on the west side of Dayton, which is the side of town where most Black people in the city lived. My bitterness at seeing the way things are being handled now compared to the crack epidemic that swept through African American communities in the 80s has made me very spiteful. It's even more of a slap in the face because a large number of addicts (who are almost always white) come to the West side of Dayton to use their drugs. As a child, I hardly ever saw White people on the West side. Now, when I come back to visit, and I see a White person on the West side, I have a pretty good idea why they are where they are. It is a very difficult thing to come to terms with. My resentment over this situation has gotten to the point where I have decided not to offer help (other than a call to 911) to an addict who may have overdosed.

edited to correct grammar

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#183

Post by sctb »

toymachiner62 wrote: post #138

Maybe i'm an insensitive Mofo, but let the dumbasses OD and educate how dangerous these drugs are. Then maybe the next generation will be smarter.

Please make your point civilly and substantively or don't post.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#184

Post by _acme »

kortex wrote: post #78
_acme wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it that you mean by a 'non-addictive' opioid? They're all roughly equivalent in their addictive potential. Even those that are used to treat addiction, such as buprenorphine, cause physical and mental dependence.

There are a few ways to make opioids less addicting. The most common strategy is to slow down absorption rate, which reduces the conditioning associated with drug-taking behavior. This can be done mechanically (sustained release pills or polymers) or chemically ("tie" the active molecule with a deactivating group which the body hydrolyses) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702116...

Do you mean to suggest that OxyContin (extended-release oxycodone) is less of a problem, or less addicting, than Percocet (instant release oxycodone + APAP)?

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#185

Post by drspacemonkey »

smogcutter wrote: post #175
drspacemonkey wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you happen to have a link to the LA Times series to which you're referring?

I'm thinking of this in particular: http://www.latimes.com/projects/oxycontin-part1/ EDIT: also I want to be clear that I don't think journalists are sitting at their desks saying "Uh oh, white people are in trouble! Sound the alarm!". This is great coverage, and it's a complicated issue.

That is an excellent report, thanks!

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#186

Post by FullMtlAlcoholc »

meddlepal wrote: post #6
diogenescynic wrote: post #3

The drug war has failed. Legalize all drugs and tax them. Spend the tax money on rehab, schools, and public universities. We are just propping up drug lords in Latin America to feed our insatiable demand for drugs.

How does legalizing fix or reduce addictions? I understand it makes acquisition less taboo, and perhaps makes treatment a less taboo subject too, but it's not like legalization is a pancea for addiction. Booze is legal and we still have a massive alcoholism problem.

This has probably been beaten to death, but I've found the tv series The Wire to be one of the best portrayals of the actual costs, both acute and diffuse, of waging war against your own people.

You are right in your hunch that it makes treatment a much less taboo subject. The real difference in outcomes comes from treating it as a health issue and not a criminal violation.

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#187

Post by msmm »

baldfat wrote: post #163
smogcutter wrote: post #153

Anyone else notice that a common theme in the recent wave of handwringing over heroin and opioid addiction is that the victims we're asked to consider with compassion and understanding are almost always white? The tough on crime drug war rhetoric disappears so easily when the victims are "regular people" who fell prey to the pharma industry, not "junkies". I'm not saying that we shouldn't treat these people with comp…

I agree with your point 100% BUT there is one point to be made. Prosecute the Pharm Execs, Doctors who broke the law. There is a smoking gun! Look at West Virginia and the pills that were prescribed. I am talking about 780,000,000 pain meds. In a state of 1.84 million residents, the shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia. The death toll for this 5 year time between 2007-201…

It is not going to happen, because they have politicians in their pockets and nobody will investigate that.

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#188

Post by tmp-20150107 »

kingkawn wrote: post #19
S_A_P wrote: post #8

This is a tough problem with no easy answer. Ive 2 friends with heroin problems that I fear may never fully stay clean. I don't think that jail is the right answer though.

If jail was structured around rehabilitation of the roots causes that led the individuals into the anti-social behavior that requires their isolation then it would be the proper place for someone who has been overcome by problems like this. Instead jail is punitive hell, meant to further isolate and devastate the individuals it consumes to intimidate the rest of the population.

So you're suggesting that anyone who is addicted to heroin should be jailed, as long as the prison system is trying to rehabilitate them from this alleged 'anti-social behaviour'? Surely a better system is to treat the addicts symptoms with programs that provide methadone or buprenorphine replacement and management, and also provide therapy or counselling as required.

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#189

Post by gozur88 »

DeBraid wrote: post #127
throwaway2016a wrote: post #44

This is probably pop psychology but it always struck me that if you legalize marijuana you go a long way to solving the problem. My thoughts are... 1. It is reportedly a better pain killer in some cases than opioids so it keeps people off of the prescription opioids 2. It is nowhere near as addictive (possibly not addictive at all) 3. When people are already criminals (because they smoke weed) I think they are more l…

> ... between 1999 and 2010, states that permitted medical marijuana had an average of almost 25 percent fewer opioid overdose deaths each year than states where cannabis remained illegal. Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-medical-can...

It could just be that states with bigger opiate problems are less likely to ease restrictions on marijuana.

Re: The Heroin Business Is Booming in America

#190

Post by posterboy »

graphitezepp wrote: post #63
throwaway2016a wrote: post #44

This is probably pop psychology but it always struck me that if you legalize marijuana you go a long way to solving the problem. My thoughts are... 1. It is reportedly a better pain killer in some cases than opioids so it keeps people off of the prescription opioids 2. It is nowhere near as addictive (possibly not addictive at all) 3. When people are already criminals (because they smoke weed) I think they are more l…

I am pretty much with you. To add, 1. As far as I know, it doesn't actually kill pain, people just report that they no longer are bothered by the pain, or able to ignore it and still function. Which is probably better. 2. Fairly sure its not addictive at all in the pharmaceutical sense, and quite positive it can be in the way say World of Warcraft or other entertainment can be. 3. I actually buy the "gateway theory",…

1. How can one still function if you don't care about most basic emotions like pain? Trickquestion, one can't.
Post reply on HN