Are you part of the Opioid Crisis? My family is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My best friend got huge supplies of Oxy while dying of cancer. She had addict neighbors coming to "help" who stole it from her.

This is actually not uncommon. It is also a way that teens get a hold of oxy, usually from the less than vigilant adults in the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You would never know it. The media makes it sound like the Opioid Crisis is just heroin overdoses and doctors writing too many prescriptions.

But the Opioid Crisis is everywhere, is families, including upper class, middle class families, your friends, families like me. Professional, "high level" Ivy league elite, living in nice houses in suburbia.
My husband has been in treatment for three months for addiction to prescription opioids. He lost his job because of it -- a professional position.
This isn't something just happening in flyover country to people with bad teeth.
It's happening on your block, to your neighbors, to your friends.

And it can happen to anyone.

My prayers go out to you and your family. I had several major surgeries after a devastating car accident (thank God no one else was hurt, I hit a tree on a rainy night when the car slipped on some leaves). Anyway, I think many of us do not realize the extent that opioids have infiltrated our society. I was given a few weeks of Vicodin and percocet. But knowing addition was very prevalent in my family, I had my spouse and kids keep a journal of every pill I took. I remember being prescribed 2 pills every 8 hours, after 4 hours the pain was excruciating. So I took 1 pill every 4 hours and was able to manage, although the doctor did not discuss this with me as an option. Luckily in my case, I had no high from those drugs only "fogginess" and pain relief. But your post opened up a discussion, which is important. I discussed some of these threads with family and friends. So, Thank you for the post. And I wish the best for your DH and your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start with the drs who prescribe opioids. Most people don't need opioids u less they are late stage/hospice care. Hold drs and the manufacturers responsible and the prescriptions are going to drop dramatically.

This is what the drugs were initially marketed for. But small market so Purdue convinced doctors that addiction was really rare with these drugs. Why executives at some of these pharma companies and distributers are not in prison is beyond me. The pain and suffering caused by these drugs is horrific.

+1
They are criminals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am actually glad that this current crisis is listed as a "health" crisis and not a "criminal" one. A decade ago, if someone was on crack or an opiates, they would label them a criminal and throw them in jail. So the new tone is a good thing. Now I know the demographic reason why that tone changed, but I am still hopeful that this will be the tone of the discussion moving forward.

sounds like your point is, we need more bad shit to happen to white folks so that the nation will give a fuck. got it, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am actually glad that this current crisis is listed as a "health" crisis and not a "criminal" one. A decade ago, if someone was on crack or an opiates, they would label them a criminal and throw them in jail. So the new tone is a good thing. Now I know the demographic reason why that tone changed, but I am still hopeful that this will be the tone of the discussion moving forward.

sounds like your point is, we need more bad shit to happen to white folks so that the nation will give a fuck. got it, thanks!

Stop this already. Crack, associated with AAs, got the same attention as meth, associated with whites.

The addition of fentanyl to heroin and attendant skyrocketing death rates is what has focused attention on heroin. Almost no one dies from a crack or meth overdose. Again, not to minimize the problems with long term crack or meth use--just a different order of challenge than what heroin poses.

Nobody cared about heroin either when overdoses were not so common, even though the fatality numbers even then were way higher than deaths from crack or meth.