3 ms·

Can you force them to undergo treatment? Do most drug users want to get clean but they don't have the resources? I watch a lot of youtube interviews with homele

Can you force them to undergo treatment? Do most drug users want to get clean but they don't have the resources? I watch a lot of youtube interviews with homeless people (so I am an expert lol), but a common occurrence is a persons community, friends, family and entire way of life revolve around homelessness and drugs. It is way more complicated than just assuming they all want to be clean but society isn't willing to help them. How can the government provide an entire new lifestyle complete with work/friends/etc. for someone. "Just imagine if our society put half the effort we put into getting people to drink Coca-Cola into getting people healthcare." Healthcare is our #1 expense and growing bigger every year. We 100% put way more effort and money into it than any other problem our society faces.

thomastjeffery 3y ago
> Do most drug users want to get clean but they don't have the resources? That's the problem: the way our healthcare system is currently structured, patients must actively pursue care. I have not seen even an attempt at resolving this problem. This isn't unique to addiction, either: I would have taken ADHD meds this morning, except that I need to find a new prescriber before I can get any; and to do that, I must overcome the primary symptom of ADHD (executive dysfunction) to even start looking for care. Somehow, being aware of this catch-22 situation only makes it worse. We already know that people suffering from addiction are the least likely to advocate for change; yet we haven't even bothered to give anyone else the job. --- > Healthcare is our #1 expense and growing bigger every year. We already know that the United States wastes an incredible proportion of its healthcare spending. Some comparisons estimate a 20% overhead relative to other countries. Get rid of the insurance model, and we will be in a much stronger financial position. That doesn't even begin to factor in the added costs of incarceration (which itself includes mandatory healthcare), let alone the secondary costs of an untreated populace who are addicted and impoverished.

thomastjeffery 3y ago

> Do most drug users want to get clean but they don't have the resources? That's the problem: the way our healthcare system is currently structured, patients must actively pursue care. I have not seen even an attempt at resolving this problem. This isn't unique to addiction, either: I would have taken ADHD meds this morning, except that I need to find a new prescriber before I can get any; and to do that, I must overcome the primary symptom of ADHD (executive dysfunction) to even start looking for care. Somehow, being aware of this catch-22 situation only makes it worse. We already know that people suffering from addiction are the least likely to advocate for change; yet we haven't even bothered to give anyone else the job. --- > Healthcare is our #1 expense and growing bigger every year. We already know that the United States wastes an incredible proportion of its healthcare spending. Some comparisons estimate a 20% overhead relative to other countries. Get rid of the insurance model, and we will be in a much stronger financial position. That doesn't even begin to factor in the added costs of incarceration (which itself includes mandatory healthcare), let alone the secondary costs of an untreated populace who are addicted and impoverished.