3 ms·

As for 1 and 2, yeah, it's pretty rough. Though I think part of the problem is how patients make use of doctors. The doctors have to assume that something has g

As for 1 and 2, yeah, it's pretty rough. Though I think part of the problem is how patients make use of doctors. The doctors have to assume that something has gone terribly wrong by the time you get to them, so they will have a default chance to harm because they're biased toward action. Not saying it's justified, but I will say that it's understandable. Being in a hospital (i.e, near more infected people than usual) also carries its own risks, this is why I think some special use clinics such as birth centres are a great idea as soon as your general hospitals get past a certain size. As for 3, I don't think that modern professional medicine is responsible for the "opioid epidemic". As somebody who is relying on opioids right now to relieve pain so severe it makes me wonder in the moment if I am going to live, I think that there must be a better balance to be struck. I am almost certain not to become addicted to opioids as a result of this course, I have conscious control of my dosing, and so do the vast majority of patients who seek to reduce suffering through the wonder of opioids. The withholding of opioid medication to the elderly and those recovering from injury or surgery is cruel and not supported by the research, it's just the easiest target. Blaming professional medicine for opioid addiction, and demonizing wonder drugs like fentanyl which have fewer side effects (when administered correctly) than the alternatives, is almost certain to inflict immense human suffering, with little or no improvement in public health.

cal5k 9y ago
It's easier to point to the medical profession than to admit to a failure of policy. Fentanyl is rampant as a street drug simply because it's so concentrated and, therefore, quite profitable to smuggle. When the "war on drugs" cracks down on safer recreational choices and alters the risk/reward equation, producers will move to more potent substances - I bet the $/lb of Fentanyl makes it a very attractive street drug for organized crime. But sure, let's crack down on people in pain by making it more difficult to legally acquire opiates. That'll fix the problem... It's similar with Pseudoephedrine. Because it was a popular precursor for methamphetamine production, many allergy products replaced pseudoephedrine with phenylephrine, a much less potent alternative. Who suffers? The vast majority of people legitimately buying products like Sudafed to treat congestion.
- microcolonel 9y ago
  It's as though people don't see the common pattern with alcohol prohibition. The thing about opioids is that they can become a lot more potent than ethanol, just look at carfentanil and know that it's probably possible to make something even more potent. I would much rather everyone have access to heroin, than have everyone encouraged to produce smuggle ever more miniaturized and potent drugs, through ever more corrupting and sadistic criminal enterprises.

cal5k 9y ago

It's easier to point to the medical profession than to admit to a failure of policy. Fentanyl is rampant as a street drug simply because it's so concentrated and, therefore, quite profitable to smuggle. When the "war on drugs" cracks down on safer recreational choices and alters the risk/reward equation, producers will move to more potent substances - I bet the $/lb of Fentanyl makes it a very attractive street drug for organized crime. But sure, let's crack down on people in pain by making it more difficult to legally acquire opiates. That'll fix the problem... It's similar with Pseudoephedrine. Because it was a popular precursor for methamphetamine production, many allergy products replaced pseudoephedrine with phenylephrine, a much less potent alternative. Who suffers? The vast majority of people legitimately buying products like Sudafed to treat congestion.

microcolonel 9y ago
It's as though people don't see the common pattern with alcohol prohibition. The thing about opioids is that they can become a lot more potent than ethanol, just look at carfentanil and know that it's probably possible to make something even more potent. I would much rather everyone have access to heroin, than have everyone encouraged to produce smuggle ever more miniaturized and potent drugs, through ever more corrupting and sadistic criminal enterprises.