America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
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America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
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Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#2[deleted]
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#3If you're looking for a go-to book on America's opioid crisis- Dreamland by Sam Quinones.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22529381-dreamland
The devil is absolutely in the details and it seems like it's gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#4Given that this article only touches on the supply of these drugs, is there a tacit assumption that the demand for opioids is driven by unemployment? If so, what can be done about the demand for these drugs in the long term? "Bringing back jobs" to those people whose comparative advantage is no longer manufacturing by taxing robots or imposing tariffs is a temporary stall, and to the degree it does work it amounts to a fat, inefficient handout.
Fighting the "epidemic" at the supply level seems like a losing battle, as it is for the hard drugs that plague inner cities. Addressing it at the demand level has to be the answer, but I don't see any possible answers floated.
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#5If you're looking for a go-to book on America's opioid crisis- Dreamland by Sam Quinones. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22529381-dreamland The devil is absolutely in the details and it seems like it's gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.
Haven't read the book yet but Sam Quinones was on EconTalk recently and it was pretty enlightening:
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/01/sam_quinones_on.htm...
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#6Given that this article only touches on the supply of these drugs, is there a tacit assumption that the demand for opioids is driven by unemployment? If so, what can be done about the demand for these drugs in the long term? "Bringing back jobs" to those people whose comparative advantage is no longer manufacturing by taxing robots or imposing tariffs is a temporary stall, and to the degree it does work it amounts to…
[Apologize for the back-to-back EconTalk plugs, but I really enjoy the show!]
This EconTalk episode on Narconomics goes into a great deal of detail regarding exactly how structurally broken the supply-side attacks are; I found it quite fascinating!
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/02/tom_wainwright.html
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#7Given that this article only touches on the supply of these drugs, is there a tacit assumption that the demand for opioids is driven by unemployment? If so, what can be done about the demand for these drugs in the long term? "Bringing back jobs" to those people whose comparative advantage is no longer manufacturing by taxing robots or imposing tariffs is a temporary stall, and to the degree it does work it amounts to…
Decriminalization and an expansion of social programs to help addiction recovery. It's hard for people to get help when they fear legal troubles.
Unfortunately neither of these will happen in the next 4 years; and likely the opposite will happen, so we're in for a worsening.
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#8Hard to believe there is really an "epidemic" beyond typical fearmongering and political noise. People have always used drugs, this is nothing new. Unfortunately all the hype and noise is having significantly negative consequences to the medical community, doctors, and patients who actually need these things.
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#9This guy Sackler (and his family) have helped kill 100,000 people a year, by pushing Oxycontin onto vulnerable communities. You will never see anything about it in the news.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Sackler
http://www.castlemedical.com/blog/full/On-Average-How-Many-P...
They've managed to worm themselves into the establishment by using their vast murderous wealth to buy into various museums and galleries:
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/articles/tag/serpentine-sack...
https://designmuseum.org/learning-and-research/design-museum...
(and many others)
No surprises that they were heavy Clinton donors.
Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening
#10So what is the answer here? Like another poster said, there's a demand problem. How do we as a society address this? I've seen a lot of mumbles about dealing with supply problems, dealing with overdose problems, but it'd be good to head the problems off at the pass before they descend into major trouble.
I should also note, this is a burgeoning problem in the Puget Sound/Seattle region. It's not just rural people dying.
Can someone knowledgeable about drug policy / sociology provide some insight in this thread?