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Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

richmond.com

101–110 of 246 posts

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to be clear for those coming to this after the fact: the reaction was not violent and immediate. Your comment was not nuanced. And it was very much not sensitive. You attempted to claim that such overdoses are in part due to Reddit (and society in general) ostracizing neo-nazis and members of hateful groups. Not only is this just wrong, it implies that many affected by the crisis are members of such groups, whic…

I claimed no such thing. My point was solely "A certain subreddit got banned. Those people seem to have very few options, and maybe they were using it as a support group. They might turn to drugs now." The reaction violent and immediate: within 5 minutes of posting the comment, you're now trying to imply some very strange things about me. You're even going so far as to "clarify" things for readers by posting somethin…

> I have a family member affected by a similar crisis, though thankfully not quite as intense. I'm sorry that the comparison annoyed you, but I was just searching for answers.

Sorry to read about your family situation. That said...

There is an entire field dedicated to this. In the spirit of DRY, let's not spin our wheels with hackneyed theories, thinking we'll do better than the individuals that dedicate their lives to rigorously testing hypothesis and formulating therapies.

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its not a cop's job. Its a social worker's job. I do recognize that cops are just "trying to help", and that no one cares about social workers. Cops are in an advantaged position in the USA because they are relatively well respected by most mainstream members of the population. So the fact that they want to help is good. But Cops aren't given the right training to deal with medical problems or other problems (ie: Fir…

Drug users usually turn violent and can be a hazard to themselves or others. Somebody trained to deal with such situations is required. This is, a cop.

As do people who are infected with Rabies. Or rare forms of violent schizophrenia. Indeed, violent offenders are often not users of drugs, but from my understanding: the cutthroat underground distributors.

Which is why cops should continue to focus on the violent distributors of drugs. But social workers and hospital workers should step up their responsibility and start treating drug abusers better.

Or perhaps, more programs need to be made so that hospital workers / social workers are paid to fix this drug problem.

Hint: throwing drug USERS in jail, where they only get more underground connections and better learn to become a criminal, will start a cycle where they have to end up in jail again. Jail is just about the worst place you can put a person.

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#103

> Local jails have been overrun with people locked up and in need of treatment Why. Do. People. End. Up. In. Jail. Seriously this one is beyond my comprehension - they need treatment, not jails filled with hardened criminals, rapists and probably more (and nastier) drugs than on the street.

In SF and some surrounding areas, all those arrested have their case reviewed prior to arraignment by an agency that will try to place them in a program for recovery; an alternative to jail. SF is doing an OK job funding this effort, and it does make a difference both in outcome and burden to taxpayers (less expensive than jail bed days)

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#104
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not recreational use.

That's just the problem isn't it? People are prescribed a drug for medicinal purposes that is so addictive and so readily distributed for minor ailments that medicinal use inevitably turns to recreational use after the prescription runs out. Louis Theroux's "Dark States: Heroin Town" is a good account of how these addictions progress in the US, and some of the reasons for the growing numbers we are seeing.

[deleted]

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#105
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not recreational use.

That's just the problem isn't it? People are prescribed a drug for medicinal purposes that is so addictive and so readily distributed for minor ailments that medicinal use inevitably turns to recreational use after the prescription runs out. Louis Theroux's "Dark States: Heroin Town" is a good account of how these addictions progress in the US, and some of the reasons for the growing numbers we are seeing.

No I get that but I get the impression those aren't the circumstances the parent was interested in hearing about.

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#107
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to hear. Partaking in heavy drugs to any degree invites those dark unknowns. The number of hands these drugs pass through to reach the end-user is more than a couple. I recall on average it's 8 different turnovers. Each time, likely being cut down. They operate a margin business without concern for where it ends up. It's likely safe to say that a vast majority of drugs are cut these days. A friend I grew up wit…

I can see how people move to something like heroin after being on pain meds and getting addicted, but who really just 'tries' heroin? At this point, the mix danger and addiction danger is well known and publicized. I'm asking, because I cannot mentally put it together, particularly if someone has life going in the right direction.

There are people that do base jumping that are otherwise well adjusted adults. It’s very dangerous and no level of expertise reduces that danger.

Some people are just attracted to the crazy unknown. Many can’t believe they could become addicts because they’ve never been addicted. Others still don’t care because they’re just one step removed from suicide.

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drug users usually turn violent and can be a hazard to themselves or others. Somebody trained to deal with such situations is required. This is, a cop.

As do people who are infected with Rabies. Or rare forms of violent schizophrenia. Indeed, violent offenders are often not users of drugs, but from my understanding: the cutthroat underground distributors. Which is why cops should continue to focus on the violent distributors of drugs. But social workers and hospital workers should step up their responsibility and start treating drug abusers better. Or perhaps, more…

> Hint: throwing drug USERS in jail, where they only get more underground connections and better learn to become a criminal, will start a cycle where they have to end up in jail again

What is: the most profitable outcome you can hope for when your prison system is privately owned?

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I delete my comment and you can't respond, that's a feature, not a bug. This kind of comment is best left to an email. The reason I backed out of this subthread is very simple: the first few replies were vaguely insinuating I might somehow be sympathetic to neonazis. That was enough for me to hit the "forget this" button.

> the first few replies were vaguely insinuating I might somehow be sympathetic to neonazis. Please stop being so defensive. People dog-piled on you because they thought you said something dumb. They're not being "hateful" or "violent". Those words have meanings, and their meanings are actually directly related to why Reddit banned those subreddits. If you can't tell the difference between me saying "Yo your opinion…

If you don't feel confident defending your opinions in such a space

The point of HN is to be a search for the truth among colleagues, not a verbal barfight. The fact that you wanted to get into one immediately says a lot about both sides of the conversation.

your comment did not do enough to distance whatever you were talking about from them

You didn't even briefly pause to question whether I might be associated with them. Why should I need to distance myself from them when I'm merely talking about them? The causal linkage is backwards here.

Maybe you feel bad about reacting so harshly and are now backpedaling. Either way, you shouldn't get to force the conversation into a private message:

If you want to have a conversation about such a thing, I'm happy to engage over private message. But you bringing it up was so tangental, so unrelated, and so odd that I could not resist calling you out on it.

If I bring up a topic substantively, honestly, and in a way that's a search for the truth, it shouldn't matter whether it's done in public or in private.

Re: Nineteen people a week overdose in Richmond, dozens are dying, hundreds revived

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to hear. Partaking in heavy drugs to any degree invites those dark unknowns. The number of hands these drugs pass through to reach the end-user is more than a couple. I recall on average it's 8 different turnovers. Each time, likely being cut down. They operate a margin business without concern for where it ends up. It's likely safe to say that a vast majority of drugs are cut these days. A friend I grew up wit…

I do wonder how fentynl is getting in, or is it being made here? If a chemist is reading this, I would love your imput. I was under the assumption fentynl complicated to produce. That said, my wish is the government would provide generic bupenorpine to any person that wants the drug. It needs to be easily available to anyone. No b.s., just give out the drug. Save all the drama. Give them a long half life drug that wi…

> I do wonder how fentynl is getting in, or is it being made here?

Imported from China. Wasn't regulated at all there until recently, then the producers started messing with the formula.

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