9 ms·

Heroin deaths surpass gun homicides for the first time, CDC data shows

54 points by dbcooper 10y ago

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
ProAm 10y ago
Big Pharma should have some audit questions to answer...
- dbcooper 10y ago
  Executives from one fentanyl manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics, are currently being prosecuted: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/09/executives_at_major_fentanyl_producer_arrested_in_overprescription_case.html?utm_content=inf_11_2641_2&wpsrc=socialedge&tse_id=INF_c0f4bf00befc11e686924f044efee13a http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/09/executives...
alltakendamned 10y ago
Forgive me as I'm quite ignorant when it comes to drug abuse. What is it that tends to drive people to start using heroin initially ?
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  For a portion, it is the same sorts of things that cause folks to use other drugs. Curiousity at first or looking for a way to not feel bad. People don't usually start with heroin - they go for 'tame' highs. Cigarettes, alcohol, pot. And just explore from there. For a (probably much bigger) portion, this is the result of pain pill addiction. It got harder and harder to get the pills and they grew in cost, so some folks switched to heroin because the pull of addiction is so great.
- jjawssd 10y ago
  Next step up from prescription painkiller abuse, when legal painkillers become too expensive. "damn near 50% of the people I chilled with growing up got hooked on the oxy during the pill mill days....some got strait and quit...most of us just kept it moving until they got so expensive that we had to switch to H." http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-496626.html http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-496626.html http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-712613.html http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-712613.html
  - alltakendamned 10y ago
    Thanks for those links, very enlightening
  - rudedogg 10y ago
    Also they've made painkillers harder to get a prescription for, so the supply isn't there and addicted people look for alternatives. I really liked the full episode of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifbWtwlQkdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifbWtwlQkdE
- bskdjx 10y ago
  Today a first taste can be doctor's prescription for pain. Pain killers are often potent, addictive, opioids. There is also some evidence that some pharmaceuticals mislead doctors about their potential for abuse.
- jayajay 10y ago
  At first, it's fun to experiment. Then you realize how no one fucking understands you and no one understands each other. That's depressing, buddy. Life is depressing. Welcome! Yeah -- and you ask why people abuse drugs? And it's even more than that -- people tend to be wrapped up in their worlds. Mostly, people feel alone. I mean, the world expects you to be a certain way. Look at all of these people -- on the internet, walking on the street. They're all in the motions. That feels like jail, when you see repetition, over and over.
- btgeekboy 10y ago
  John Oliver did a segment on Opioids that's pretty informative. Have a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o The quick answer though is that it starts with prescription painkillers that are highly addictive.
- douche 10y ago
  I'm guessing despair is a big component. Most of the places around here in the Northeast where heroin is exploding you've got dead communities, with moribund economies, where there isn't much in the way of optimism for the future. Might as well get fucked up.
  - vixen99 10y ago
    Plenty of despairing for the non-drug users too. A report by UK government's Drug Strategy Unit leaked to the press concluded drug use was responsible for the great majority of crime, including 85% of shoplifting, 70-80% of burglaries and 54% of robberies and cost £16 billion a year in the UK". Possibly proportionate figures for the US.
- unfunco 10y ago
  I can answer, I had a breakup in February that I'm still not over, I've been in CBT which isn't working as it's supposed to, and now I would do just about anything to have some respite from thinking about her, initially it came from playing around with some psychedelics at an earlier age (social-group) to now, mostly being ketamine, and with the occasional (I've so far managed to keep it under control) escalation to H. I live alone, and it's all to feel disassociated.
  - icpmacdo 10y ago
    Hope you can get past all of that soon friend.
  - marmaladedukes 10y ago
    Hey. It's not easy, isolation doesn't make things any better. Alcoholics Anonymous saved my life, it gave me a place to be and it's free. I know it's not for everyone, but support groups really do help. There's also smartrecovery.
- choko 10y ago
  Some people try it (and other drugs) out of curiosity and boredom. Then, once they experience how good opioids make you feel, it's hard to stop.
- marmaladedukes 10y ago
  Some good information here too https://alorecovery.com/upward-trend-heroin-overdoses-explained/ https://alorecovery.com/upward-trend-heroin-overdoses-explai...
jayajay 10y ago
* Trigger warning * I have to "subscribe via email" if I wanna read that post. If they hit you with a subscribe-wall for content, go ahead and type this fucking jQuery into your console: $('html').removeClass('drawbridge-up'); $('#drawbridge-root').remove(); //enjoy the article, buddy Fucking idiots. Don't they know anything about internet etiquette and that they shouldn't use jQuery. There's a joke here -- they shouldn't be subscribe-walling me. Who the fuck uses jQuery and React at the same time, anyways? (Actually, I do :(, but I shouldn't!) Anyways, back to my story. When I was looking for a temporary place near Oakland, I went to Craigslist. Why not? I called up a guy who listed a room for rent. Turns out, he was renting out the room because the girl just died from Heroin OD. :( I ended up talking with him for like an hour. It was pretty sad.
goatsi 10y ago
I suspect the main killer in a significant number of these deaths is fentanyl or one of it's analogs that has been added to the heroin. I would also be curious to know how many of the dead also had alcohol and/or benzodiazepines in their systems, which dramatically increase respiratory depression in combination which each other and heroin/other opioids. For example, a UK study found that alcohol was present in 50% of heroin overdose deaths, and 37% had at least one benzodiazepine present.[0] [0]http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nta_rb27_combined_opiate_overdose.pdf http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nta_rb27_combined_opiate_overd...
- tcj_phx 10y ago
  > I would also be curious to know how many of the dead also had alcohol and/or benzodiazepines in their systems, which dramatically increase respiratory depression in combination which each other and heroin/other opioids. I didn't know that about benzodiazepines & opiates - thanks! I posted in another comment about having to call the firedepartment when my friend overdosed on me...
  - goatsi 10y ago
    The danger of the combination should be much more widely publicized, as drugs like oxycodone and xanax are among the most widely prescribed in the US. There have been thousands of overdoses attributed to the combination but the FDA has only very recently required strong warning labels. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm518697.htm http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/uc...
  - yoodenvranx 10y ago
    Check out this chart: http://wiki.tripsit.me/wiki/Drug_combinations http://wiki.tripsit.me/wiki/Drug_combinations On the bottom of the page there are also detailed descriptions for each combination, in your case it says: > Opioids & Benzodiazepines > Central nervous system and/or respiratory-depressant effects may be additively or synergistically present. The two substances potentiate each other strongly and unpredictably, very rapidly leading to unconsciousness. While unconscious, vomit aspiration is a risk if not placed in the recovery position Blackouts/memory loss likely. > http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3454351/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3454351/
tcj_phx 10y ago
Overdoses tend to happen when a person relapses, and doesn't realize their tolerances have changed. If you know someone who has a problem with opiates, the anti-opiate naloxone is very effective. It is now available without a prescription in many states. Benzodiazepines lose effectiveness after about 4 weeks, and the patient's anxiety worsens. The mental hospital forced my friend to take the full pill every day, when she only wanted it "as needed". She decided that Heroin would help her get through her benzo withdrawal. We got together on the second night of her plan. I said 'no no, we're not doing this again...' She said that she wasn't going to get addicted again, she just needed it to sleep. To show me that it was barely anything at all, she prepared a second shot and injected that too. Then she fell forward, said "I meant to do that," and went non-responsive. Her face started to turn purple. I did not have naloxone, so I called 911. The firefighters arrived about 6 or 7 minutes after I called. Some of them looked bored. They used two 2mg intranasal doses of naloxone. She was quite shocked at the appearance of strangers in blue uniforms... She did very, very well for the next two weeks. I guess the anti-opiates are awesome drugs. Naltrexone (similar to naloxone) is FDA-approved for alcohol abuse too.
- CardenB 10y ago
  That sounds traumatic. I'm sorry you hard to go through that.
  - tcj_phx 10y ago
    It was a little shocking, but the firefighters did their job and it turned out fine. The police were dispatched too. The investigating officer decided they didn't need to make the problem worse, took the rest of her heroin, and everyone disappeared into the night. This experience provided a very good clue as to what my friend actually needed (see my comment history for the backstory).
    - X86BSD 10y ago
      I think it's standard op in the states when 911 is called that fire/ems/cops show up. I'm very! Glad to hear the cops use their power of discretion to let her go. And not fucking ruin her already bad life by imprisoning her for twenty years.
TuringNYC 10y ago
Our society's problem is that many people incorrectly assume that drug abusers "deserved" their problems and treat them like criminals rather than victims. Accordingly it does not fit the narrative of a problem we must solve. And instead, the government chases more ideological boogeymen. I'm not saying religious terrorism (for example) isn't a problem, it certainly is -- but there are many problems as well. It would be wonderful if problems like drug abuse were tackled with the fervor that ideological problems are tackled. And by tackled, i mean the upstream/root causes, not the victims.
- jacobolus 10y ago
  A significant factor was race. Drug laws were explicitly crafted as a way to punish poor “dangerous” brown people for their supposed sins. “Tough on crime” politicians in both parties could pander to racists without appearing obviously racist. (Extra bonus: once someone has been declared a felon, we can forever prevent them from voting in many states.) After some years of significant problems in white communities, we’re starting to see some course correction.
  - Fnoord 10y ago
    Do you have credible sources to prove the significant factor is race? You see, I believe your point, but that won't convince those who believe it wasn't influenced by racism. They'll say "conspiracy theory" and move on. Disregarding cannabis, it also seemed to me that LSD was to become illegal to harass the hippie community. But how to prove this? The way this works appears to be rather easy; you look at the characteristics of your political opponents, and then decide what they have in common which your status quo group doesn't. Then a process is begun to incite FUD. Once that campaign in successful you got momentum in your group and you make a law which makes that thing illegal.
    - Broken_Hippo 10y ago
      This might not meet your 'credible' source credentials, but it does help point in the right direction: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-frederic-block/war-on-drugs_b_2384624.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-frederic-block/war-on-dr... It surely isn't simply based on race as your hippie example points out: Rather, any group that was or is 'bad' at the time, be it based on race or status (being poor, for example). Not all race and class, but lots of it.
AliAdams 10y ago
My reading of this is that this doesn't look like it will be a long term trend if that helps draw any comfort from the report. The author's concluded cause is that it stems from an explosion of prescription painkiller use in the 90s/0s which was then cut down by tougher state and federal restrictions. Those people who gained a dependency during that time had to switch to illicit means once the legal sources became restricted. With the tougher restrictions in place now, hopefully stopping the system from being fed with more users, it sounds like there will be a peak as the affected population escapes from (or succumbs to) their dependency. Still a tragedy, but thankfully one with an apparent ceiling.
Pica_soO 10y ago
But the fourth amendment states that heroin usage is legal and a constitutional right. Imagine a oligarchical dictatorship taking over in washington, turning america into a environmental wasteland, trying to take away your syringe. Then what do you do ? You got robots in the streets, taking your jobs, without you having a way to defend yourself by taking the edge off. No way to choose anymore. Because that's what pro-heroin or against heroin boil down to. Not being able to choose, after you chose wrong once. Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose something' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin? And no- heroin is not funny. Not once. But neither is living in a society that tells you that you got all the chances, and you are a loser if you dont take them, and then there are no chances.
- btown 10y ago
  A Markov chain trained on your text is almost as rational as your original argument. Choose life. I chose wrong on that couch watching luggage. Choose a starter you chose not to chose wrong once. Choose life. I chose not to choose a three-piece suit on that couch watching your friends. Choose leisurewear and dental insurance. Choose anymore. Because that's what pro-heroin usage repayments. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range off. No way to defend your jobs, without you having a way to choose fixed interest mortgage reasons. Who needs reasons. Who needs reasons. Who needs reasons? There are not to the edge off. No way to defend of it all, pissing your syringe. There are no replace yourselves. Choose a fucking fabrics. Choose a starter home. Choose anymore. Because that's what pro-heroin?

54 points by dbcooper 10y ago

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

ProAm 10y ago

Big Pharma should have some audit questions to answer...

dbcooper 10y ago
Executives from one fentanyl manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics, are currently being prosecuted: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/09/executives_at_major_fentanyl_producer_arrested_in_overprescription_case.html?utm_content=inf_11_2641_2&wpsrc=socialedge&tse_id=INF_c0f4bf00befc11e686924f044efee13a http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/09/executives...

alltakendamned 10y ago

Forgive me as I'm quite ignorant when it comes to drug abuse. What is it that tends to drive people to start using heroin initially ?

Broken_Hippo 10y ago
For a portion, it is the same sorts of things that cause folks to use other drugs. Curiousity at first or looking for a way to not feel bad. People don't usually start with heroin - they go for 'tame' highs. Cigarettes, alcohol, pot. And just explore from there. For a (probably much bigger) portion, this is the result of pain pill addiction. It got harder and harder to get the pills and they grew in cost, so some folks switched to heroin because the pull of addiction is so great.
jjawssd 10y ago
Next step up from prescription painkiller abuse, when legal painkillers become too expensive. "damn near 50% of the people I chilled with growing up got hooked on the oxy during the pill mill days....some got strait and quit...most of us just kept it moving until they got so expensive that we had to switch to H." http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-496626.html http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-496626.html http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-712613.html http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-712613.html
- alltakendamned 10y ago
  Thanks for those links, very enlightening
- rudedogg 10y ago
  Also they've made painkillers harder to get a prescription for, so the supply isn't there and addicted people look for alternatives. I really liked the full episode of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifbWtwlQkdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifbWtwlQkdE
bskdjx 10y ago
Today a first taste can be doctor's prescription for pain. Pain killers are often potent, addictive, opioids. There is also some evidence that some pharmaceuticals mislead doctors about their potential for abuse.
jayajay 10y ago
At first, it's fun to experiment. Then you realize how no one fucking understands you and no one understands each other. That's depressing, buddy. Life is depressing. Welcome! Yeah -- and you ask why people abuse drugs? And it's even more than that -- people tend to be wrapped up in their worlds. Mostly, people feel alone. I mean, the world expects you to be a certain way. Look at all of these people -- on the internet, walking on the street. They're all in the motions. That feels like jail, when you see repetition, over and over.
btgeekboy 10y ago
John Oliver did a segment on Opioids that's pretty informative. Have a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o The quick answer though is that it starts with prescription painkillers that are highly addictive.
douche 10y ago
I'm guessing despair is a big component. Most of the places around here in the Northeast where heroin is exploding you've got dead communities, with moribund economies, where there isn't much in the way of optimism for the future. Might as well get fucked up.
- vixen99 10y ago
  Plenty of despairing for the non-drug users too. A report by UK government's Drug Strategy Unit leaked to the press concluded drug use was responsible for the great majority of crime, including 85% of shoplifting, 70-80% of burglaries and 54% of robberies and cost £16 billion a year in the UK". Possibly proportionate figures for the US.
unfunco 10y ago
I can answer, I had a breakup in February that I'm still not over, I've been in CBT which isn't working as it's supposed to, and now I would do just about anything to have some respite from thinking about her, initially it came from playing around with some psychedelics at an earlier age (social-group) to now, mostly being ketamine, and with the occasional (I've so far managed to keep it under control) escalation to H. I live alone, and it's all to feel disassociated.
- icpmacdo 10y ago
  Hope you can get past all of that soon friend.
- marmaladedukes 10y ago
  Hey. It's not easy, isolation doesn't make things any better. Alcoholics Anonymous saved my life, it gave me a place to be and it's free. I know it's not for everyone, but support groups really do help. There's also smartrecovery.
choko 10y ago
Some people try it (and other drugs) out of curiosity and boredom. Then, once they experience how good opioids make you feel, it's hard to stop.
marmaladedukes 10y ago
Some good information here too https://alorecovery.com/upward-trend-heroin-overdoses-explained/ https://alorecovery.com/upward-trend-heroin-overdoses-explai...

jayajay 10y ago

* Trigger warning * I have to "subscribe via email" if I wanna read that post. If they hit you with a subscribe-wall for content, go ahead and type this fucking jQuery into your console: $('html').removeClass('drawbridge-up'); $('#drawbridge-root').remove(); //enjoy the article, buddy Fucking idiots. Don't they know anything about internet etiquette and that they shouldn't use jQuery. There's a joke here -- they shouldn't be subscribe-walling me. Who the fuck uses jQuery and React at the same time, anyways? (Actually, I do :(, but I shouldn't!) Anyways, back to my story. When I was looking for a temporary place near Oakland, I went to Craigslist. Why not? I called up a guy who listed a room for rent. Turns out, he was renting out the room because the girl just died from Heroin OD. :( I ended up talking with him for like an hour. It was pretty sad.

goatsi 10y ago

I suspect the main killer in a significant number of these deaths is fentanyl or one of it's analogs that has been added to the heroin. I would also be curious to know how many of the dead also had alcohol and/or benzodiazepines in their systems, which dramatically increase respiratory depression in combination which each other and heroin/other opioids. For example, a UK study found that alcohol was present in 50% of heroin overdose deaths, and 37% had at least one benzodiazepine present.[0] [0]http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nta_rb27_combined_opiate_overdose.pdf http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nta_rb27_combined_opiate_overd...

tcj_phx 10y ago
> I would also be curious to know how many of the dead also had alcohol and/or benzodiazepines in their systems, which dramatically increase respiratory depression in combination which each other and heroin/other opioids. I didn't know that about benzodiazepines & opiates - thanks! I posted in another comment about having to call the firedepartment when my friend overdosed on me...
- goatsi 10y ago
  The danger of the combination should be much more widely publicized, as drugs like oxycodone and xanax are among the most widely prescribed in the US. There have been thousands of overdoses attributed to the combination but the FDA has only very recently required strong warning labels. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm518697.htm http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/uc...
- yoodenvranx 10y ago
  Check out this chart: http://wiki.tripsit.me/wiki/Drug_combinations http://wiki.tripsit.me/wiki/Drug_combinations On the bottom of the page there are also detailed descriptions for each combination, in your case it says: > Opioids & Benzodiazepines > Central nervous system and/or respiratory-depressant effects may be additively or synergistically present. The two substances potentiate each other strongly and unpredictably, very rapidly leading to unconsciousness. While unconscious, vomit aspiration is a risk if not placed in the recovery position Blackouts/memory loss likely. > http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3454351/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3454351/

tcj_phx 10y ago

Overdoses tend to happen when a person relapses, and doesn't realize their tolerances have changed. If you know someone who has a problem with opiates, the anti-opiate naloxone is very effective. It is now available without a prescription in many states. Benzodiazepines lose effectiveness after about 4 weeks, and the patient's anxiety worsens. The mental hospital forced my friend to take the full pill every day, when she only wanted it "as needed". She decided that Heroin would help her get through her benzo withdrawal. We got together on the second night of her plan. I said 'no no, we're not doing this again...' She said that she wasn't going to get addicted again, she just needed it to sleep. To show me that it was barely anything at all, she prepared a second shot and injected that too. Then she fell forward, said "I meant to do that," and went non-responsive. Her face started to turn purple. I did not have naloxone, so I called 911. The firefighters arrived about 6 or 7 minutes after I called. Some of them looked bored. They used two 2mg intranasal doses of naloxone. She was quite shocked at the appearance of strangers in blue uniforms... She did very, very well for the next two weeks. I guess the anti-opiates are awesome drugs. Naltrexone (similar to naloxone) is FDA-approved for alcohol abuse too.

CardenB 10y ago
That sounds traumatic. I'm sorry you hard to go through that.
- tcj_phx 10y ago
  It was a little shocking, but the firefighters did their job and it turned out fine. The police were dispatched too. The investigating officer decided they didn't need to make the problem worse, took the rest of her heroin, and everyone disappeared into the night. This experience provided a very good clue as to what my friend actually needed (see my comment history for the backstory).
  - X86BSD 10y ago
    I think it's standard op in the states when 911 is called that fire/ems/cops show up. I'm very! Glad to hear the cops use their power of discretion to let her go. And not fucking ruin her already bad life by imprisoning her for twenty years.

TuringNYC 10y ago

Our society's problem is that many people incorrectly assume that drug abusers "deserved" their problems and treat them like criminals rather than victims. Accordingly it does not fit the narrative of a problem we must solve. And instead, the government chases more ideological boogeymen. I'm not saying religious terrorism (for example) isn't a problem, it certainly is -- but there are many problems as well. It would be wonderful if problems like drug abuse were tackled with the fervor that ideological problems are tackled. And by tackled, i mean the upstream/root causes, not the victims.

jacobolus 10y ago
A significant factor was race. Drug laws were explicitly crafted as a way to punish poor “dangerous” brown people for their supposed sins. “Tough on crime” politicians in both parties could pander to racists without appearing obviously racist. (Extra bonus: once someone has been declared a felon, we can forever prevent them from voting in many states.) After some years of significant problems in white communities, we’re starting to see some course correction.
- Fnoord 10y ago
  Do you have credible sources to prove the significant factor is race? You see, I believe your point, but that won't convince those who believe it wasn't influenced by racism. They'll say "conspiracy theory" and move on. Disregarding cannabis, it also seemed to me that LSD was to become illegal to harass the hippie community. But how to prove this? The way this works appears to be rather easy; you look at the characteristics of your political opponents, and then decide what they have in common which your status quo group doesn't. Then a process is begun to incite FUD. Once that campaign in successful you got momentum in your group and you make a law which makes that thing illegal.
  - Broken_Hippo 10y ago
    This might not meet your 'credible' source credentials, but it does help point in the right direction: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-frederic-block/war-on-drugs_b_2384624.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-frederic-block/war-on-dr... It surely isn't simply based on race as your hippie example points out: Rather, any group that was or is 'bad' at the time, be it based on race or status (being poor, for example). Not all race and class, but lots of it.

AliAdams 10y ago

My reading of this is that this doesn't look like it will be a long term trend if that helps draw any comfort from the report. The author's concluded cause is that it stems from an explosion of prescription painkiller use in the 90s/0s which was then cut down by tougher state and federal restrictions. Those people who gained a dependency during that time had to switch to illicit means once the legal sources became restricted. With the tougher restrictions in place now, hopefully stopping the system from being fed with more users, it sounds like there will be a peak as the affected population escapes from (or succumbs to) their dependency. Still a tragedy, but thankfully one with an apparent ceiling.

Pica_soO 10y ago

But the fourth amendment states that heroin usage is legal and a constitutional right. Imagine a oligarchical dictatorship taking over in washington, turning america into a environmental wasteland, trying to take away your syringe. Then what do you do ? You got robots in the streets, taking your jobs, without you having a way to defend yourself by taking the edge off. No way to choose anymore. Because that's what pro-heroin or against heroin boil down to. Not being able to choose, after you chose wrong once. Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose something' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin? And no- heroin is not funny. Not once. But neither is living in a society that tells you that you got all the chances, and you are a loser if you dont take them, and then there are no chances.

btown 10y ago
A Markov chain trained on your text is almost as rational as your original argument. Choose life. I chose wrong on that couch watching luggage. Choose a starter you chose not to chose wrong once. Choose life. I chose not to choose a three-piece suit on that couch watching your friends. Choose leisurewear and dental insurance. Choose anymore. Because that's what pro-heroin usage repayments. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range off. No way to defend your jobs, without you having a way to choose fixed interest mortgage reasons. Who needs reasons. Who needs reasons. Who needs reasons? There are not to the edge off. No way to defend of it all, pissing your syringe. There are no replace yourselves. Choose a fucking fabrics. Choose a starter home. Choose anymore. Because that's what pro-heroin?