Some general ranting and raving about drug policy

[deficiT]

I haven't ranted for a while (/s) sorry but I have had a very stressful few months, and just need to get it off my chest. Also as a new ish member of the chronic pain community who is unable to receive adequate treatment, and a 'much too annoying for my own good' harm reduction advocate who has lost dozens of friends and comrades to this, I feel very strongly about the following sermon. I posted it elsewhere but generally am having a good time feeling hated and ostracized so figured i would find a home for it here too...

This is your yearly reminder that all of the media that uses the term "opioid epidemic" is weapons grade drug war propaganda and total nonsense.

The explosion of deaths from fentanyl and nitazenes over the past 5+ years, are a direct result of a *Poisoned* drug supply, not opioids. You could maybe say "overdose" epidemic but *poisonings* is the most accurate framing.

Things were literally better and less people died in the streets when heroin contained diacetylmorphine, and pain pills contained pharmaceutical oxycodone. This crackdown on the pharmaceutical companies "overprescribing" is a tactical feint, and current federal/state/local drug policies are a blood war on those in society with chronic pain, mental illness, and people who use drugs.

You may disagree on the solution, or even on the nature of addiction/substance use, but ultimately it doesn't matter. The objective fact people aren't willing to see, is that your parents, siblings, friends, and loved ones will continue dying at a break neck pace until harm reduction policies are implemented at all levels and a safe, legal, and affordable supply is available to every consenting adult. Unfortunately people don't tend to give two shits about drug users until they're tucking their own children or friends into a neat grave. I hope that solemnly considering the future deaths of the people you love most is enough to waken you to the possibilities of an alternative strategy beyond mass incarceration and corporal punishment for drug use. We need more access to treatment, a safe supply of substances and paraphernalia, and better social supports universally to help people with housing and employment.

I hope that this loss doesnt ever happen to you, but it will unless many people take steps to implement a change in policy from top to bottom, in every district, state, and country. The numbers don't lie, get it tf together and take this shit seriously, because it effects literally all of us and it is only getting worse. It's not a joke and the reason i take it seriously is due to the sheer magnitude of loss I have suffered as a result of a failed drug war and the absolute detached apathy of people just like you and me that resist change because they dont want to "enable drug use". Its a nice thought but 100k preventable deaths occur every year due to your tepid and vacuous moralizing and equivocating. Oh yeah, also, yay disease. A lot of preventable disease going around due to nimby puritans standing in the way of safe supply and harm reduction practices.

You can dispute these objective facts if you feel compelled in the comments or just tell me to stfu, but I hope you know in your heart that you are actually just mistaken. I still love you though

____________________

PS: Not sure how I never noticed this before, but the thread prefixes for Drug Culture, genuinely suck ass. Maybe someone may feel compelled to give them an overhaul or makeover at some point? Hope everyone is less miserable than I, and enjoys their weekend

 

[LucidSDreamr]

It’s all the DEAs fault for over arresting doctors.

didn’t read the whole post but I have threads in BL asking about what prescribing is like in other countries because I have chronic pain and I’m sick of the lack of freedom to medicate yourself legally with safe drugs in this piece of shit freedomless shithole called the US.

Many countries don’t have this issue and you can get pharma opiates all you want legally from doctors.

Basically any country that’s a US ally or copy is fucked. Western Europe Australia, NZ they’ll let you have your spine smashed to bits and not give you shit. Meanwhile there are fentanyl corpses laying on the sidewalk outside the doctors office

 

[051919071623]

Yeah. It's not only that a more dangerous supply results from prohibition, but lack of info exacerbates harm and info about drugs is itself held scary and dangerous by the prevailing culture.

Nasal decongestant inhalers with ʟ-methamphetamine should say "ʟ-METHAMPHETAMINE NASAL INHALER" in large print top-and-center on the package, because that's what they are. But that's scary so they put "levmetamfetamine" in tiny print.

If recreational drugs came packaged in small, single-dose units, listed adverse effects, duration of action, interactions, and the consequences of overdose, and were regulated to pharmaceutical purity, people would die less, not more, because people are dying from ignorance and poisoned drugs, not because they want pleasure badly enough it's worth risking death. It would be as easy as just taking the largest safe dose for a given tolerance level.

Yeah, drug dependence and overuse causes downstream harms, period. But people aren't dying from addiction and abuse. They're dying from prohibition and the consequences of black markets.

 

[Shinji Ikari]

Sorry I missed this and yes I think you're preaching to the choir here. Prohibition in a nutshell; take something away and something more terrible will take it's place. It's not just opioids look at the cat and mouse game that is the RC market, or what happened when the global MDMA market was disrupted in 2010 with PMA popping up in pills. Disrupting supply will not quell demand and something else will always always fill that gap.