3 ms·

Is there any talk of legalizing heroin to make it easier to provide treatment options?

by mLuby 9y ago

stochastic_monk 9y ago
Or at least decriminalizing its use. Maybe leaving the process of dealing in large quantities as illegal but trying to see users of it as patients rather than as miscreants. According to this article [0] from the NYT, nothing really compares to maintaining prior abusers on buprenorphine/methadone while working through therapy as far as efficacy for the masses. Granted, I think everyone responds differently to all sorts of things and have met some phenomenal individuals two credit 12-step programs for both their sobriety and living more fulfilling lives than they had even before their addictions, so mileages will vary. Between the two, methadone's effects on QT interval and cardiac mortality makes me think that it's morally reprehensible to get patients stuck on it, while buprenorphine also has the prophylactic effect of muting any recreational opioids that patients taking it might encounter, reducing the positive feedback loop. Regardless, it's definitely time for us as a society to focus more on helping people rather than marginalizing them. [0]: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/opinion/treating-opioid-addiction.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/opinion/treating-opioid-a...
jzymbaluk 9y ago
Nothing so far as legalizing heroin is being considered in the US, but Philadelphia is considering becoming the first US city to offer supervised injection sites [1] as a method of harm reduction, but there's a lot of understandable resistance to the idea. Portugal has taken steps towards decriminalizing drug use and treating it as a health matter, and has had success so far [2] [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/10/576757086/desperate-cities-consider-safe-injection-sites-for-opioid-users https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/10/5767570... [2] https://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Portugal_Decriminalization_Feb2015.pdf https://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Fact_Shee...

Is there any talk of legalizing heroin to make it easier to provide treatment options?

by mLuby 9y ago

Is there any talk of legalizing heroin to make it easier to provide treatment options?

Or at least decriminalizing its use. Maybe leaving the process of dealing in large quantities as illegal but trying to see users of it as patients rather than as miscreants. According to this article [0] from the NYT, nothing really compares to maintaining prior abusers on buprenorphine/methadone while working through therapy as far as efficacy for the masses. Granted, I think everyone responds differently to all sorts of things and have met some phenomenal individuals two credit 12-step programs for both their sobriety and living more fulfilling lives than they had even before their addictions, so mileages will vary. Between the two, methadone's effects on QT interval and cardiac mortality makes me think that it's morally reprehensible to get patients stuck on it, while buprenorphine also has the prophylactic effect of muting any recreational opioids that patients taking it might encounter, reducing the positive feedback loop. Regardless, it's definitely time for us as a society to focus more on helping people rather than marginalizing them. [0]: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/opinion/treating-opioid-addiction.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/opinion/treating-opioid-a...

jzymbaluk 9y ago

Nothing so far as legalizing heroin is being considered in the US, but Philadelphia is considering becoming the first US city to offer supervised injection sites [1] as a method of harm reduction, but there's a lot of understandable resistance to the idea. Portugal has taken steps towards decriminalizing drug use and treating it as a health matter, and has had success so far [2] [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/10/576757086/desperate-cities-consider-safe-injection-sites-for-opioid-users https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/10/5767570... [2] https://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Portugal_Decriminalization_Feb2015.pdf https://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Fact_Shee...