61–70 of 78 posts
I wonder how many death could be prevented by legalizing and regulating opioids and other drugs and educate users on different opioids and safe use.
Are you talking about drugs like heroin? Otherwise lots of opioids are legal but regulated now.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're massively downplaying addiction. Sometimes it is physical pain at first, but you get hooked on it. Not everyone does heroin because they actually need that level of pain medication. They do it because it feels amazing. They get dependence on it, and then keep doing it. Read the Heroin diaries by Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue if you want a good look into that. I don't know where you're getting that morphine…
>> They do it because it feels amazing. Heroin doesn't feel amazing. People say it does, but most of the time, it just knocks you off. I took the stuff maybe a dozen times or so, many years ago. I remember stumbling about town and falling asleep at cafes and bars, completely oblivious of what I looked like (an accomplished idiot, off my tits and completely ridiculous). I remember a friend who was a full-on junkie, wh…
> I don't understand how it hooks you
> If something hurts, I guess that feels "good"
Some people hurt from within. People with troubled childhoods or deep problems numb their mental pain with drugs. It works for them.
The other factor is that there's a genetic component to addiction. Some people enjoy certain drugs more than others, while being more susceptible to addiction than others. You might be one of the lucky ones who can try heroin, not feel anything and not feel addicted either. Good for you.
Whether that happens or not doesn't matter. My point is that if people are getting hooked on these drugs and overdosing, the fault lies with who gets them the drugs and no one else.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're massively downplaying addiction. Sometimes it is physical pain at first, but you get hooked on it. Not everyone does heroin because they actually need that level of pain medication. They do it because it feels amazing. They get dependence on it, and then keep doing it. Read the Heroin diaries by Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue if you want a good look into that. I don't know where you're getting that morphine…
A substance's addictive ness does not equate to lethality. The reason it's dosed incorrectly is because it is manufactured and sold in an unregulated environment. That is the cause of its lethality. Also I'm not referring exclusively to physical pain, but trauma or lack of emotional and social connection.
> The American Council on Science and Health is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are fully tax-deductible. ACSH does not accept government grants or contracts, nor do we have an endowment. We raise our funds each year primarily from individuals and foundations. Hmm.
The whole "opioid" shit fight can be summarised as: Pharmaceutical companies needed a way to profit from developing alternatives to morphine so they developed a bunch of dangerous bullshit then convinced everyone it was safer than morphine even though it's not. Morphine is awesome and has as its only long term side effect constipation. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Prescribe morphine, including to heroin addicts w…
> Drug policy is so stupid. In a nutshell, yes. The solution isn't as clear-cut as you'd make it out to be unfortunately. > Morphine is awesome and has as its only long term side effect constipation. That's sugar coating it. Morphine is a great solution to many things, but it's extremely addictive, and has more side effects than constipation (shallow breathing for one, which combined with alcohol can make for a nasty…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Morphine is awesome and has as its only long term side effect constipation. Honest question.... Long-term morphine use will not dull the mind?
Nothing I have ever read suggests any mental impact of morphine use.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A substance's addictive ness does not equate to lethality. The reason it's dosed incorrectly is because it is manufactured and sold in an unregulated environment. That is the cause of its lethality. Also I'm not referring exclusively to physical pain, but trauma or lack of emotional and social connection.
The addictive nature of the substance combined with the body's growing resistance to it leads to users of the substance to use larger doses to achieve the same high, in some cases not exercising any caution about dosage, leading to overdose.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you need to keep increasing the dosage? Or have you found a long-term dosage that despite tolerance, it still maintains a reasonable degree of efficacy?
No, I've been on the same dosage for years. I mentioned in another comment that I take magnesium, which is an NMDA antagonist, and there is a lot of evidence that these prevent the buildup of tolerance. I don't know if that's why I can remain on the same doseage, or if it's simply that I always stick to the prescribed dose.