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Fentanyl, a stealth killer

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Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#31

Post by notyourloops »

pierrec wrote: post #28
milesf wrote: post #21

Sad that the message of this piece will likely be discounted and discredited. It amazes me the blasé attitudes towards drugs in the tech world. Hearing even high-profile tech leaders extoll the 'virtues' of getting high while ignoring the huge toll it takes on individuals and their families seems selfish to me.

I have never heard of any high-profile tech leaders defending the recreational use of opioids, nor is it a popular position on HN. What's often praised, however, is education (eg. not throwing all drugs into the same bag).

One of the top posts in here is describing how to start your own opioid business. I'd consider that praise on some level, unfortunately.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#32

Post by duaneb »

milesf wrote: post #21

Sad that the message of this piece will likely be discounted and discredited. It amazes me the blasé attitudes towards drugs in the tech world. Hearing even high-profile tech leaders extoll the 'virtues' of getting high while ignoring the huge toll it takes on individuals and their families seems selfish to me.

There are recreational drugs, and then there are addictions. I don't think I've witnessed the blasé attitude towards highly addictive substances you have witnessed, except possibly with nicotine. Certainly not in person.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#33

Post by anotheryou »

Archio wrote: post #12
ergothus wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not against legalization, but have you done the research to back this up? We have plenty of alcohol-related deaths (both indirect (traffic, etc), and direct (alcohol poisoning).

We do have tons of alcohol deaths. But the idea here is that no one dies from alcohol today because their alcohol dealer slips in unknown amounts of toxic potentiators to cut costs (which is effectively what is happening with heroin et al. today).

There was a nice article about how you survive addiction by growing it out. Addiction has also to do with the circumstance and the personality, not just with the drug itself.

If alcohol was illegal the death toll might be even higher. People might shift to something with more bang for the buck and have an even shittier and shorter life than dying with 64 from liver failure.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#34

Post by trhway »

people who get addicted should be treated similarly to the mentally impaired/disabled persons. Once addicted, a range of specific brain functions are impaired, and thus it is a medical issue. A lot of other medical issues are result of personal irresponsibility too. That doesn't stop us from treating those issues medically (though it seems it took some time, even as recently as the end of the 20th century, to accept HIV as a medical disease to be treated instead of a "God's punishment for perversion"). Yet when it comes to addiction, the patients are treated as criminals instead.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#35

Post by duaneb »

ergothus wrote: post #4
bdavisx wrote: post #2

There would be far, far fewer deaths from overdose if all drugs were legal. There may be more addicts if they were legal, I don't know - but there would be a lot fewer deaths.

I'm not against legalization, but have you done the research to back this up? We have plenty of alcohol-related deaths (both indirect (traffic, etc), and direct (alcohol poisoning).

The Swiss have had a program legalizing medical heroin, I believe. That's a starting point.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#37

Post by DanBC »

RankingMember wrote: post #36

This was a well-written story but I could've done without: A. The "MARIJUANA, THAT DEVIL WEED, STARTED HIS DESCENT INTO HELL" routine. and B. The "truth" anti-drug ad campaign-style video overlays

A ridiculous over-reaction to a bit of biographical detail.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#38

Post by imaginenore »

It probably will sound cruel, but this is natural selection at work. We can't babysit adults. If someone wants to smoke or drink alcohol, we accept it, but when someone takes drugs, people start losing their minds, even though alcohol/cigarettes are worse than many recreational drugs.

If someone wants to ruin their health, but experience something unusual, let them. The dangers are generally known.

Re: Fentanyl, a stealth killer

#40

Post by oxide »

pizza wrote: post #3

Just because fentanyl has a shit therapeutic index doesn't mean it has a high body count (it gets used just fine even in tandem with other depressants in clinical circumstances...) - I would say the problem is more in the hands of the tough-on-crime lawmakers who seem to lack, at least in my neck of the woods, remorse. Also, look up sufentanil, and once you feel you're ready, carfentanil.. Also, yes, yes, fentanyl is…

Also, consider the tried and true method of overdosing: taking your usual dose after a break in use.

someone addicted to a certain amount of heroin per day who stops using (money, access, etc) will come back to heroin with a much lower tolerance than before.

if they are sold fentanyl unknowingly, using a familiar amount can be a death sentence. if they are sold heroin cut with fentanyl, it could result in death as well.

these aren't entirely new concepts, nor are they explicitly attributable to fentanyl. addicts across the country are keeling over every day from traditional overdoses, fentanyl's presence means everyone using heroin intravenously, even the 60 year old junkie, needs to have a test shot first.

in my experience, fentanyl is good for withdrawal only. it is a cold, unfriendly high that leaves the user irritable.

it's nothing like the warm embrace of morphine.

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