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Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

theguardian.com

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Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#21

Post by lotsofpulp »

fifteen1506 wrote: post #9
jdefr89 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. It’s created a system where everyone’s scared. So those who need it legitimately often cannot get it. Which honestly is a false sense of security at this point as it’s easier to get these drugs on the street rather than legitimately through a doctor and that’s what most now do. If anything, the abrupt disappearance of legitimate pharmacy grade drugs made way for the current problem Fentnyl. Taking away and re…

Don't forget pharmacy chains use a mathematic naive formula to stop selling opioids. As seen in HN a few months ago, if one kind HNer can add the link here.

That is what happens when the government hits them with nebulous liability for political points.

Government leaders do not want to clearly define the rules, but still want to pin the problem on others. If the government makes the rules clear, and the policies result in failure, then they get blamed.

If the government outsources the policing, then the government leaders can point fingers and satisfy public outrage, at the expense of the affected public which is not politically powerful enough to do anything about it.

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#22

Post by Jedd »

From TFA:

“It’s so easy to demonise Purdue and the Sacklers. I agree that what they did was terrible. I think a number of them should be in jail. But I’ve thought for some time that the issue behind it all is the structure of the system,” he said.

I really do get that sentiment, but IF the USA legal system had properly prosecuted Purdue execs from the get-go - there's a reasonable chance others would have been less inclined to also play the 'but what we're doing is technically not too illegal' card and try to run the same playbook.

The structure is doubtless a legal manifestation of Swiss cheese, but that doesn't mean the state can't react violently to a violent attack against its most vulnerable citizens.

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#23

Post by bloopernova »

I was in the care of a pain clinic when the fire hose was abruptly shut off. I wasn't being given oxycontin, but I still suffered from the sudden change. I went from sustainable maintenance to a drug that gave me serious side effects, but the doctors refused to listen. Even when a sleep study objectively showed the damage the buprenorphine was doing, I was told it's that or nothing. The doctors were terrified of new scrutiny of their prescription activity, so they just cut people off.

Do no harm was destroyed by the knee jerk reaction by the government.

Now, my poor wife is in constant debilitating pain from hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos but gets treated like she's drug seeking. While multiple joints are dislocated.

I wish everyone who made decisions that led to this mess would suffer what my wife suffers, and get treated the same way by the medical establishment.

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#24

Post by impossiblefork »

swayvil wrote: post #7

Just make high quality opioids easy to get already. It should be as common as beer. The present system is deranged.

It's a bad idea.

Opioids are incredibly addictive. At one point something like 25% of the male population of China 'regularly consumed' opium, i.e. they were addicted to it, and China has always been a country with at least a certain sense of order.

Opium is also special, even among other dangerous drugs. It takes over your brain's reward system and makes things you previously regarded as pleasurable as uninteresting compared to opium. It permanently destroys people.

Making it common as beer is a terrible idea. Rather I think it's likely that the opium sellers and everyone associated with the distribution and marketing of opioids need to be dealt with quite brutally.

Don't think of things like carfentanil as a drugs. Think of them as chemical weapons.

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#25

Post by ethanbond »

nobodyandproud wrote: post #10

I see this as analogous to the Dust Bowl, where the politicians and coastal elite ignored or dismissed the growing problem until it was too big to ignore. - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1000-mile-long-sto... - https://mallhistory.org/items/show/274 100 years and more information than ever, yet we have’t figured out this out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem.

Are people ignoring it? Or do people just not know how to solve it? What would you propose as a solution?

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#27

Post by prepend »

pierat wrote: post #2

[flagged]

I don’t think it’s puritanical at all as narcotics for painkillers are dangerous.

Imagine if handguns were really good at treating pain, but had like a 30% chance of killing the patient. Would it be puritanical to not prescribe handguns to everyone with pain?

And if patients who thought they would not ruin their lives were upset about not being able to get handguns and complained about engaging in “handgun seeking behavior?”

Because that’s the deal here. Prescription painkillers are effective and easy, but are extremely dangerous. Pain protocols now feature OTC stuff even though they result in more pain in patients because they are equally effective but have no chance of death or life ruining addiction.

OxyContin should have been used for legit pain care.

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#28

Post by mdorazio »

It ends with an effective, non-addictive alternative to opioids for pain management + more funding and care for rehab (including the drugs to wean opioid users off them, like methadone) to current addicts. [1] explains why the first part is difficult. The second part is difficult because many opioid addicts are already in marginalized areas or groups (ex. rural Appalachia) that don't get much of any support.

[1] https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/08/11/1077750/why-is-i...

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#29

Post by PaulHoule »

mdorazio wrote: post #28

It ends with an effective, non-addictive alternative to opioids for pain management + more funding and care for rehab (including the drugs to wean opioid users off them, like methadone) to current addicts. [1] explains why the first part is difficult. The second part is difficult because many opioid addicts are already in marginalized areas or groups (ex. rural Appalachia) that don't get much of any support. [1] http…

Doubly marginalized because if you point out they are marginalized some joker will come in and claim they are an overclass and don’t deserve any sympathy.

Re: Expert sounds alarm on new wave of US opioids crisis

#30

Post by Loughla »

nobodyandproud wrote: post #10

I see this as analogous to the Dust Bowl, where the politicians and coastal elite ignored or dismissed the growing problem until it was too big to ignore. - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1000-mile-long-sto... - https://mallhistory.org/items/show/274 100 years and more information than ever, yet we have’t figured out this out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem.

Bingo.

The center of this country (outside of a few major urban/sub-urban areas) is hollow.

Between the loss of agriculture as a family job, loss of industrial jobs, and opioid use after decades of methamphetamine use, it's bleak.

And no one really cares. As a general rule, we're told, "just move to Chicago (St. Louis, Kansas City, wherever)". That's not a solution, or a possibility for a lot of folks.

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