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I am a physician, and there has been a "state of emergency" declared in my province due to a fentanyl overdose "epidemic". Although I use this drug routinely, i
by brady8 10y ago
I am a physician, and there has been a "state of emergency" declared in my province due to a fentanyl overdose "epidemic". Although I use this drug routinely, it is incredibly unsafe outside of a clinical setting. Unfortunately, these are not your stereotypical "bad" people that are dying from overdoses, but your average young people who just happen to experiment. It's utterly awful, and I feel for you. I hope this trend (if you can call it that) ends soon.
- tamana 10y agoMaybe you should rethink what a stereotypical "bad" person is.
- wruza 10y agoIt is hard to support my parent comment, but it is true: addicts are not good young girls/boys anymore. And if someone 'experiments' with hard drugs like cocaine or heroine, he/she is statistically-definitely addict with all consequences. One doesn't simply stop after first dose, that's why non-medical drug use is illegal.
- ones_and_zeros 10y agoI've taken many drugs just once...
- V-2 10y agoSame in my case. I tried LSD, cocaine, MDMA and DXM, and each of these only once in my life. I saw no point in doing any of them again, and I had no problem whatsoever refraining myself from it.
- simplemath 10y ago>One doesn't simply stop after first dose This is demonstrably false, in most cases.
- chimeracoder 10y ago> And if someone 'experiments' with hard drugs like cocaine or heroine, he/she is statistically-definitely addict with all consequences. One doesn't simply stop after first dose, that's why non-medical drug use is illegal. This is definitively wrong. They do not meet the medical criteria for substance use or substance dependence. Nor is it statistically probable that a person eventually will, given that they have taken the drug at least once. Please do not spread misinformation.
- MaxfordAndSons 10y agoCan't downvote so responding instead: this is the kind of harmful misinformation that stigmatizes even responsible drug use and makes it less safe for all. Please educate yourself and reform your beliefs on the matter, and stop spreading it. Also do you realize what you're saying to the author of the root comment? Shame on you.
- wruza 10y agoCan you please provide a link to addicts-per-'those who used cocaine/heroine' ratio? I can't find exact numbers supporting common medical knowledge (e.g. 1/5 for cocaine).
- mercer 10y ago> And if someone 'experiments' with hard drugs like cocaine or heroine, he/she is statistically-definitely addict with all consequences. One doesn't simply stop after first dose, that's why non-medical drug use is illegal. Even though I'd also like to see such a link, I'd argue that because you're the one making a rather strong (purportedly factual) statement, it's up to you to provide evidence for it. Don't get me wrong: I don't have a strong conviction on this matter. I really do want to see some evidence to inform my own point of view. That said, the vast majority of my friends have used cocaine, as have I. Most of them multiple times. None of them have a problem with cocaine. I'd never encourage someone to experiment with cocaine or heroin because it can be quite dangerous. But misinformation is potentially even more dangerous.
- alasdair_ 10y agoI've taken cocaine exactly one time in my life. That being said, I would never touch meth, heroin or crack even once. People will do drugs, I accept that. I just want them to know the actual risks of what they are doing. I can't stop adults choosing to take drugs but maybe I can remind a few people to be a lot more careful and to be less trusting of their suppliers.
- kahrkunne 10y agoOnly 30-something% of cocaine users is addicted
- fsloth 10y ago'"Unfortunately, these are not your stereotypical "bad" people that are dying from overdoses..' Sorry to nitpick but this is a fairly delicate subject. Does a typical 'bad' person for whom it would be totally ok to overdose exist?
- wlievens 10y agoWhat he probably means is that it's not (just) happening to people who are so badly addicted that an overdose is a likely conclusion in any case.
- fsloth 10y agoAddiction is a complicated problem and labeling the addict as 'bad' is an antipattern. Modern society should be able to approach everyone from a position of dignity and humanity - dehumanizations erodes both parties in an interaction. 'You deserve to die because of your past history' is a brutal, ethically untenable stance.
- mistermann 10y agoThen again, considering we have limited resources for dealing with this problem, pretending all users are the same when we damn well know they aren't is probably not the most efficient approach.
- fsloth 10y agoI wasn't claiming statistics or individual differences don't exist. From the point of view of outcomes and efficiency it's better to approach people as individuals and not as statistics, or even worse, statistics with moral binning into good and bad. The logical argument is that humans are complex and it takes a lot of time to gather sufficient data to be correct. I can dig out references if you like but medical facilities which focus more on individual-to-individal interactions rather than on factory like throughput work better.
- cornholio 10y ago> but your average young people who just happen to experiment That's exactly how "stereotypical bad" people start out. It's just that fentanyl kills them faster, while other drugs leave them time to self destroy until we no longer have any empathy.
- elbigbad 10y agoEveryone starts out that way. Some stop, some turn into stereotypical bad people. It's a real shame when anyone at the first stage overdoses and dies. Still a shame for the latter group, but they have more culpability for their own death by continuing to do something they know could/will eventually kill them.
- infinite8s 10y agoDo they really have culpability in the face of extreme addiction?
- kgwgk 10y agoDid they get addicted by accident?
- meddlepal 10y agoNobody starts of planning to get addicted. And while they certainly should realize that's a risk I'm not sure it ever factors into anything. Much like harsh punishments don't actually deter crime.
- kgwgk 10y agoSometimes we take decisions without being fully aware of the consequences (or simple choosing to ignore the consequences), but this doesn't make us less responsible. Nobody drives intoxicated planning to have an accident, for example. And of course punishments deter crime. Not the crime that happens, obviously, but the crime which is never committed. There would be more rape, theft and murder if there were no consequences at all.
- mirimir 10y agoFentanyl is amazingly potent. Similar to LSD. And the therapeutic index is very low.