IOW, the Liberals did it.

Right....people wouldn't like drugs if not for oxy.  

President Trump has is the only man capable of fixing the problem. He has a great understanding of these things.

Stop reviving addicts and there will be no more addicts.

"Crisis".......



Next will be the "Muscle Relaxer"............."crisis"!!

Then....maybe the "Anxiety RX"............"crisis".

How many died from illegal opioids like heroin and fetenal vs Vicodin?

This is why the 'opioid crisis' is fake news. Whereas how many people with chronic pain suffering have had to seek dangerous unpredictable illegal drugs (and OD'd as a result) because their doctor is now afraid to give anything to relieve real documented pain?

I just don't believe for one minute that thousands die each year from low level pain killers like Vicodin....I'm willing to bet that 95% of opioid deaths are from street drugs not Rx's a huge fact left out by the lying shitbags pushing this fake BS..

Its a lot like the 'gun death epidemic' fake crisis....BS hype meant to make people emotional using BS stats.

A lot of people were dying from heroin in the late 60's, but it was not linked as it is now to Rx's...but then again those were more honest MSM times and old ladies with osteoporosis and degenerative joint decease, arthritis and herniated disks were not told by doctors to fuck off and take Tylenol and anti-inflammatory for chronic pain.

People pushing this fake news are evil in what they are causing.

About 6 years ago I looked into opening a methadone clinic in my area.  There were two doctors I knew that were interested in setting one up, too, and we worked together.  Plenty of suboxone clinics around here, but some people just don't respond well to buprenorphine and need methadone.

I know a few addicts that live reasonably good lives by going to a clinic and taking methadone, keeping their addiction at bay, and getting on with their lives.  We have two methadone clinics in this general area (about 30 miles apart, maybe 400,000 people in the area).  Each one is limited by the DEA to how many patients they can have (400 methadone, 400 suboxone).  Problem is we have thousands of addicts that can't get to the clinic as it's too far or the clinic isn't accepting new people.  All we need are more clinics.

Problem is, when I contacted the DEA/CSAT/SAMHSA and the state of NC and found out how they want it done it became really cost prohibitive.  They wanted a new building built, built like a bank with all the high end security, including a vault.  Makes sense, but they won't let you take over an old bank that has all this, you have to construct new.  They wanted all staff and doctors interviewed and hired, and submitted as part of the registration.  Nobody could be hired or fired during the approval process as who's employed there dictated part of the approval.  The approval can take a year, though.  So, we would have to spend a chunk of money on a facility, hire people and pay full salary to keep them on staff but without us being open for business for several months, perhaps a year.

So basically, it's a multi-million dollar up-front expense.  One of the doctors I knew tried to get bank loans and was unsuccessful.  I talked to one of the nurses at the closest clinic and she said it was a nightmare starting their place up and it almost didn't happen.

I would think if the DEA would relax some of these requirements a lot more clinics could open and people could get treated.  Either have people detox and taper off and get clean, or go on maintenance.

Treatment wasn't expensive, really.  $14 a day for extended-release methadone, which is a lot less than grinding up oxy's or doing heroin.  You don't have to turn to a life of crime to support a $14 a day habit.

Trump as the God Emperor is probably one of the best summations of the man's ego/personality I have seen.  To bad Trump's ability to protect us from the Warp (or even opioids) are lacking... unlike the actual God Emperor...

Waaagh!!!

Not even.

Right on the money. Just as justifiable homicides and suicides are quoted in the "gun violence" propaganda machine, illicit drugs and suicides are quoted by the "opioid epidemic" propaganda machine. Ignorant people take it as fact without delving into the numbers.

Doctors COULD stand up to this nonsense, but I'm not seeing it. They have been scared into being lawsuit scared and some are even virtue signalers on their own. It's hard to think that for people that are in severe, life altering pain, that there is a medicine out there to help you get through the day; but a small number of junkies abuse it so you can't have any. Also we're going to include manufactured illicit fentanyl in the statistics as well as other unrelated deaths and blame it on prescription pills.

Do you know Trump personally? I ask because he appears to be a take charge, charming, generous, guy.

Well they would stand up to this nonsense if they hadn't overprescribed pain killers.

Feel like the op was on opioids when he pecked out the question

There is no doubt there are problems with prescription drug addiction.

I do not think there is an opioid crisis.  There is a corrupt doctor crisis.  There is a personal accountability crisis.

I worked closely with an opioid addict.  He retired and is now dead.  His problem was personal accountability.  God rest his soul.

This opioid crisis is manufactured hype in my opinion to achieve a political gain.  Crack down on the docs prescribing.  Crack down on the security of the supply chains.

End publicly funded Narcan.

There are a lot of weak minded people in this world.  Crisis.

it is a crisis because crisis is opportunity.

If they would stop handing out Narcan (sp) and just let them OD out, the problem would remedy itself in time.

Friend of a friend of a friend of one of my kids OD'd twice in one week. she dwells in the system using our tax dollars to buy the s#!t. let her die, save us a few bucks.

If you can't tell, I have no sympathy for voluntary junkies.

The point is that it’s not new, nor a growing epidemic.

Stop spending tax money on narcan.

Problem solved. Problem staying solved.

If we stop handing out Narcan like candy, will we solve the homeless crisis?

Bingo!
Everyone needs to read up on Raymond and Mortimer Sackler.

Why do liberals always want to redicule?

It been common knowledge for years that opioids are addictive.

Many people have had success cheaply and legally using Kratom for withdrawal symptoms.  But the DEA wants badly to schedule it.  Why?  They keep claiming deaths have been associated with it but the numbers are ridiculously low and there were other major factors involved in each death.  SO Kratom was not the sole contributor.  It really seems that the dea is way off base with this whole thing.

We just need an open season on meth, crack, heroin users and homeless beggars on street corners.  One week open season with a couple of follow-up seasons.

Obama started the epidemic because life sucked so bad under his rule many people couldn't handle it and turned to heroin.

Now under Trump every day is MAGA with a side of covfefe.

We don't have to self medicate anymore. Food tastes better and the sky is bluer.

When the CDC and FDA finally separate out those who die from illegal use of opioids from those who die when they are using the medications as their doctor prescribed them, then we will have an idea how much of a problem there truly is.

The CDC even admitted that their statistical collection methods are flawed.  The CDC admitted that if someone dies and they have heroin, oxycodone, cocaine, and fentanyl, there are three different opioids in that person's system, so they count it as a death from oxycodone, a death from heroin, and a death from fentanyl, or 3 deaths, so their counting is all messed up.

The statistic they (CDC and FDA) really don't want out is that annually there are far more deaths from various medical mistakes (hospitals or doctors screwing up, pharmacists screwing up) than there are from opioids of all kinds.

It is unfortunate that just as it is with firearms, the vast majority of people who get pain meds from their doctors use them responsibly, yet, just as with firearms, the few who misuse firearms or opioids sheds a bad light on all the other people who aren't at fault.  As a result, everyone gets punished for the mis-deeds of the minority..with firearms and opioids.

There exists as much constitutional authority for Federal regulation of opioids as there exists for guns.   None.

Common knowledge isn't as common as one might hope. Purdue Pharma has at the very least passively, and possibly actively, tried to keep it that way regarding its products.

Only way to end it is to stop the war on drugs

Add the saga of Purdue Pharma's marketing of Oxycontin for good measure.  Especially the breakthrough problem with 12 hour dosing, and their response to it.

This was not a problem of nearly this magnitude 30 years ago.

What changed?  It's not that difficult to see.

Big Pharma is out here killing people and the country cries about a weed.

Fake as firm titties

Nope. Big pharma will make more.

Right?  Just like Glock, Sig, etc.....God damn death merchants.  We need to do something.

In the 70's it was ludes. They were scarce in the 80's, real ones that is. I think the only place you can get them is South Africa... it they are actually methaqualone and not some bathtub bootleg.

I remember having friends whose parents had jars of the damn things in their medicine cabinets... don't ask how I know that.

There will always be addictive drugs, and there will always be addicts. period, end of story. It would be interesting to find out the actual numbers of addicts by percentage of population. Has the percentage actually risen? Or do we hear more about it because of mass media. It would be hard to find true numbers I think. Everyone has an agenda to show numbers that work in their favor. May the odds be ever in your favour!

I had a conversation with a doc friend a while back. He said that the company (I forget the name) that said that opiods weren't that addictive should get the asses kicked. I gave him my patented OTG (over the glasses) look and said "They're opiods doc, when in history have opiods NOT been addictive????"



Opium den. Photo not taken recently... probably circa 1924

More people are addicted to Vicodin’s than you know. Just because they’re not in an alleyway shooting up doesn't make it any less of a problem. I have 5 bad disks in my neck and back. I have every opportunity to use pain management. I refuse because I don’t like pills and don’t want to become  addicted.

I just came here for the lulz.

He should make sure all involved in the FDA that helped label the drug in a conducive manner for the pharmaceutical company. He should also have all donations looked at by pharma to the congress, and if any of them have set in on the committees dealing with this, and to the least expose them.

We would if your analogy made any sense. If any of those manufactures purposefully labeled a gun .40 cal, but was really chambered for .357 sig and was blowing up in the end users hand-wouldn't you want something done.

Speaking of bad analogies...

Anyway, a more accurate analogy would be an AR. There are some bad people out there who misuse (abuse) the gun and harm others (or self). The gun is a tool (like medicine) with a specific purpose.

Should all ars be banned because of the actions of a few? Or do we hold those who committed the crime responsible? Or, should we allow the AR manufacturer to be sued?

I don't know what big pharma told the world about prescription opiates being non addictive in the past. I'm only in my 30s, but have always known that they have a risk of addiction, as do most things in life. If they lied to the medical field and told them that addiction was not a risk, then sure, they should be held accountable. That doesn't mean that the innocent should be punished by just a blanket ban and shaming for those who do manage to keep their prescriptions.

This is not a product that will blow up in your face if used as described, as your analogy alluded to. It's more akin to someone who knows they proper use of a gun, but still decides thanks they want to commit an armed robbery. The gun will not change what kind of person you are, not will an opiate prescription.

The DEA is at fault

Vallium is wonderful. Some of the best sleep I've had in my life.

So so true

Yep, just a few more dollars and a few more "dopers" in jail, and the problem will once and for all be gone!  Yay!

That's one way of looking at it.

The other way of looking at it is:

They are hurting themselves because access to drugs like those is controlled.  If they could buy what they wanted and not have to hurt themselves for it.....would there not be less harm being done since the costs to society, the user, and people with legitimate injuries (not self-inflicted drug seeking injuries) having to wait for these jokers to get treated?

Point being......regulations caused this behavior.  Yes, it's an addiction issue......but we are exacerbating the problem by thinking we can stop them from getting their drug.  We haven't stopped drug use, we will never stop it, not even really reduce it's %.  All we are doing is driving up the costs to society that arise from thinking we can punish this "problem" out of existence.  The real solution is to give them what they want.