[Newsbot]

Title: GP man charged with trying to import Oxycodone
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: wildrosegirl
Date: 2014-08-03 12:06:10
Canadian

[wildrosegirl]

Are real estate agents becoming more and more involved in the drug business everywhere, or are we just lucky?

[raydan]

He's a real-estate agent AND a drug dealer... how low can you go.

[wildrosegirl]

I know of about 4 others as well...

[Jabberwalker]

I spent the second half of June in a post-surgical,Oxycodone fog. I was able to walk away from it, cold turkey at the end and that was that. That is also the experience of most people who are prescribed it, as well. Anyone who still desperately requires it has a medical condition that should be properly treated by the health care system that gave it to them in the fist place. If they started taking it for recreational giggles, that is more like a criminal act ... more like taking heroin but probably still treatable (behind bars, maybe). Lets reduce the demand and the supply end blows away in the wind..

[wildrosegirl]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Lets reduce the demand and the supply end blows away in the wind..

If it were truly that simple, drugs wouldn't rule the world.

[Jabberwalker]

wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Lets reduce the demand and the supply end blows away in the wind..

If it were truly that simple, drugs wouldn't rule the world.

Yes ... true ... but ...

Oxycondon is a little different. It isn't smuggled in to this country inside of condoms in people's stomachs. It is not cooked up in illegal labs. It is not marketed by the Taliban to finance their wars. It is manufactured by licenced pharmaceutical makers and it is distributed by the formal health care system. You are dead right. That approach won't touch heroin consumption but this particular epidemic has been caused by the legal, official health care system here in North American and they have both the responsibility and ability to fix the problem. This is a little different, this particular drug epidemic.

[andyt]

Actually the only hope of reducing any drug consumption is to work on the demand side. Many heroin users started out on prescribed synthetic opioids. They just are in a different situation than you and so couldn't overcome their addiction.

But criminalizing use hasn't worked. What's needed is a focus on prevention - for all drugs, including alcohol.

[wildrosegirl]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Lets reduce the demand and the supply end blows away in the wind..

If it were truly that simple, drugs wouldn't rule the world.

Yes ... true ... but ...

Oxycondon is a little different. It isn't smuggled in to this country inside of condoms in people's stomachs. It is not cooked up in illegal labs. It is not marketed by the Taliban to finance their wars. It is manufactured by licenced pharmaceutical makers and it is distributed by the formal health care system. You are dead right. That approach won't touch heroin consumption but this particular epidemic has been caused by the legal, official health care system here in North American and they have both the responsibility and ability to fix the problem. This is a little different, this particular drug epidemic.

I totally see what you're saying, and in theory, I agree.
The problem we face is we're dealing with humans. We have weakness (users) and we have greed (dealers) and they will continue to feed each other until the end of time. We can put all the laws in place that we like. They'll simply continue underground. All we can really do is protect ourselves and try to protect our children through education and smart decision making. And then hope they listen.

[Jabberwalker]

The medical system that prescribed these drugs in the first place should be treating those addicts as they are there because they are a side effect of treatment (mostly).

[andyt]

The medical system should be treating all addicts. And it does, but with insufficient resources. And, not all addicts want treatment.

[Freakinoldguy]

My doctor tried to prescribe them to me a couple of years ago for chronic pain and when I politely informed him that I wouldn't take them he became quite indignant and asked why. I told him they were likely the most addictive prescription drug out there and to my surprise, he was genuinely surprised?

I guess the Rush Limbaugh story hadn't broke yet and that's why nobody noticed that they were addictive. Anyway long story short. My wife broke her ankle a couple of years later and guess what her surgeon prescribed. Yup Oxycontin. She of course didn't get the prescription filled despite my suggestion that we could supplement our pensions off these idiots and unlike this clown realtor we wouldn't have had to ship it into the country.

No wonder the College of Physicians and Surgeons has posted new rules and regulations regarding the issuing of narcotics and pain medications. Not because the people are the problem it's the doctors and their habit of giving out pain meds like they did with valium in the 60's.

Now people can only get a one months supply of mild pain meds like T3's FFS because according to the College, Canada is overrun with drug addled idiots who are hooked on prescription drugs that other idiots prescribed to them.

[Yogi]

The 'genuine demand' is not genuine at all. Some pain is inevitable. Live with it! Drs. have to quit handing out these drugs like they are M&Ms.And when they do prescribe it should be in minimal amounts, 2-3 days with a reduction to T-3s down to over-the-counter extra strenght tylenol etc. Nothing should ever be prescribed without a dire warning from the Dr. Instead, the Dr.s leave the warning up to the little 'written warning' that the pharmacist puts in with the scrip.

[Delwin]

I agree. Pain killers are way over prescribed. I would never take them except in the most extreme circumstance.

With body injuries, it is a horrible idea. Pain signals are our brains way of minimizing the pressure on damaged or inflamed areas, eliminating this warning system only exposes the areas to further injury.

Also, in my experience, our brains start to tune out chronic pains over time.

[andyt]

Some people have intractable pain. They can't live with it, because with it they have no life at all. So what if they get addicted to opioids. Doctors have even refused to prescribe opioids to terminal patients because they might get addicted. So fucking what.

They'll have much better quality of life being addicted that being in agony. These are medical drugs of known dosage with no unknown contents the way street drugs are. Taken as prescribed, they are quite safe. In fact heroin should be made available medically to them if it works better than the synthetic stuff.

If the patient at some point wants to try to withdraw from these drugs, see if the pain has lessened, then great, help them with the withdrawal. And whenever a doc prescribes strong pain killers s/he should follow up with the patient to make sure they've stopped when it's time. Thing is, if they're really addicted they will likely lie and turn to street heroin because it's cheaper and more powerful. That's where maintaining somebody on legal heroin would be a much better choice than the person getting into the street life to get money for the drugs, sharing needles and using drugs of unknown potency and content. Much more dangerous than being hooked on a cheap, clean supply, much more costly for society.

But I agree. Too many people taking hard drugs for pain they can probably deal with without drugs or using milder ones. There are also meditation techniques clinicians use to help people live with pain without drugs. Same with the benzodiazepines. They used to hand them out like candy, lots of people, especially women, got hooked on those.

Saw an interesting doc on comparing people functioning on pot, coke, meth and heroin. They were testing actual users, familiar with their drug of choice. The meth head was a roadie for a band, the coke freak worked construction, forget what the pot guy did. Only the heroin user, the only woman, was starting to walk the streets to get money for her addiction.

The pot and heroin users were by far the best drivers, but neither did as well as when tested sober. They did well except when an emergency presented itself. The coke and meth freaks were menaces on the road.

In a burning house simulation (ie responding to an emergency) the pot head was too relaxed, just feeling his way around the house with no sense of urgency until he timed out. The other three freaked out in one way or another and their tests had to be stopped. Gotta say tho, from my own experience, if the burning house was real, the pot smoker would get more excited and focused and likely do better. Certainly than the other three, who couldn't even handle the simulation.

For strength, only the coke freak was any stronger, muscling a 70lb fridge up a steep set of steps that he had not been able to manage sober. He said that's why he does coke, to improve his job performance. I'm sure his bosses love him.

The most interesting test was putting together an Ikea bookshelf. The pot head was not motivated, found it too boring, said he didn't do pot to put together bookshelves. The coke freak flew at it, didn't need no stinking instructions, and slapped the thing together in no time, but it was a real mess, not done properly at all. Hope he doesn't build your house. The meth freak was also very motivated, but he overheated and his heart rate went too high, from the (minimal) effort of putting the shelf together, and so had to stop.

The one that stood out was the woman on heroin. She did a perfect job, within the time allotted, with no drama, remained very calm. Seems heroin users can perform useful jobs, as long as they are not presented with emergency situations. You don't want them flying your aircraft, but by this demonstration at least, should be no problem to have them do maintenance on it.