My family member in law enforcement (urban, northeast) recently pointed out that there is NO such thing as “recreational drug use” anymore.
Dealers will cut anything with anything. So antifreeze in a small dose of cocaine which can kill you. Fentanyl in EVERYTHING. Heroin addicts (long term addiction) being in near death situations because the dose “just to stop the shakes” is a small dose- but it’s combined with something else.
And the “victimless crime” of supplying marijuana “just to friends”-- nobody knows what’s in it, where it came from, and worst of all- which other horror shows are being financed with the proceeds- trafficking minors, child porn, selling arms to some of the worst people on the planet.
Time to take this epidemic seriously (again). Nancy Reagan is rolling in her grave.
Yes part of the talk was how cartels are using drugs to fund all the other mind numbing horrors like sec-trafficking. The federal government needs to do something!
That’s not always the case whereas drug use is voluntary (and illegal). My sister died of cardiac arrest due to an unknown genetic heart defect. She was 39, thin and lived a very healthy lifestyle.
Maybe we should expect people to take more personal responsibility for their decisions to use illegal drugs. If there was no market for illegal drugs there wouldn’t be a thriving fentanyl industry.
This article gives helpful background. The awful thing (only touched upon briefly here) is how much of the overdose crisis seems to be with people that got hooked originally on prescription meds.
It is devastating for the families. Many things need to happen to get this crisis under control- as there are many causes. Has anyone watched Dopesick? Or Take your pills? Both on Netflix. Both eye opening. And worth watching!!!
Some in Congress have suggested utilizing the military at the border to fight the cartels. But I don’t think there is much point in attacking the supply so long as the demand is present.
Ultimately there may not be much we as a society can do for drug addicts. Many of the rehab programs do not appear to work. We have tried drug education programs in schools. Civil liberties override involuntary treatment. Families can try to intervene on behalf of their own loved ones.
I think until the federal government declares the drug cartels terrorist orgs. there will not be a way states can truly fight back. The biggest problem I see right now is fentanyl. It is deadly, even the size of a pinhead can kill. In our area several police/ law enforcement officials have been hospitalized because of inadvertent contact. Two of the five kids we know were not drug abusers. They made a bad decision and it cost them their lives…. These days there is really no margin for trying anything.
The cartels aren’t at the border anymore. They came right over our open borders. They have set up shop all over the country with fentanyl supplied by China to be made in Mexico. The supplies are so large that it could kill everyone in this country. The problem is that fentanyl is being laced into everything in doses that kill. It truly is a war on our kids.
They need to cut off the supply chain. Period. Agree - unfortunately some people can’t be helped. But having ready and available drugs all over certainly isn’t helping.
That’s not a real thing. Though I believe that they believe they had absorbed it. They don’t pass out, they panic, and narcan doesn’t help. Which is the opposite of what would happen in a true overdose. If that were really possible, the occupational exposure risk would be enormous. Doctors and nurses and researchers would be dropping dead and they’re not. I’ve used fentanyl in my laboratory research. It’s no big deal.
I don’t want people to be afraid to assist someone who is overdosing. The good samaritan will not absorb fentanyl.
There are many such stories. They all just quote the police departments, and not medical professionals. The physical reactions are real, but they are psychosomatic.
You can look up all the police/news reports… since these are law enforcement issues I would expect them(the police) to be commenting on hospitalizations. I am trusting that people who are hospitalized actually had a medical condition requiring treatment. Lots of experts out there but the bottom line is this drug is particularly lethal… maybe casual exposure will not kill you but it can make one ill.