Ho-Chi-Minh;11661606 said:
Talk about abstract
Yeah lets let addicts make the law on their DOC
Abso-fucking-lutely! Let us be part of a better solution than what we currently have. Or - leave us the hell alone and
mind your own damn business! For far too long, we've been dictated to by others (who have
zero first hand experience regarding heroin/opiate addiction) how we should live our lives. They act like they know us better than we know ourselves. What a joke. What incredibly narrow-minded individuals we have among us.
Even though we're all wired differently, even though we've lived very different lives, even though some of us have experienced
a lot more trauma than others - apparently (to these people, these so-called
experts)
"this" is the way we all should live our lives. And
"this" is how we all should react to adversity. And
"this" (and only
"this" and
nothing else) is what it means to be normal. It kinda feels like high school all over again. You know... the part about not fitting in because you're not skipping classes, you look like a nerd, and you talk funny.
Apparently it don't matter if one of us grew up in a wealthy home and received all the support we'd ever need, and the other grew up in a violent ghetto with only one parent, without a father or mother to provide him with the guidance only they as parents can bestow upon their son. IME, society's opinion is that the rich kid and the poor kid should both see things the same, "normal" way. I'm willing to bet chances are that the rich kid will no doubt have his first car and college paid for. It is likely that he'll go on to become an educated, and possibly arrogant individual with a really high horse.
As for the poor kid - he probably already has a criminal record, busted for felony possession of a few ecstasy tablets due to racial profiling from a
piece of shit cop trying to fill his quota. Whatever money he has, he buys/uses mdma to try to numb himself from all the shit he's had to deal with. And now, one of the very few opportunities he's
ever had is gone as he no longer can qualify for a student loan for college. And his single parent sure as hell can't afford to pay for it. She has to work a lot of OT just barely to be able to put food on the table and pay rent. Oh, and he doesn't have a car, or a bike (because it was stolen), but instead either walks to school and back, or on a good day when he has some spare change, he can take the bus. With his recently updated rap sheet, the only legit job he could get is likely to be working at McDonald's for minimum wage. So he'll eventually end up turning to dealing. And later on, this will most likely cost him either his freedom, or his life. I understand and accept the fact that life isn't fair, but this is a fucking tragedy.
Don't get me wrong, I ain't bitter, but rather frustrated. Because some folks are so bloody two-dimensional that they appear to not even think, to not take into consideration not "why the addiction" but rather "why the pain" before they spew their hate filled messages for us online. Because a couple of doctors of whom I was a patient for years knew that I had a serious smoking habit, yet treated me with dignity and respect, and seemingly didn't think twice about prescribing me copious amounts of Percocet, Dilaudid, and OxyContin. But once one of them received a copy of what was found in my urine at the hospital a few years back (they found mdma), the difference in the doctor-patient relationship we shared was like night and day.
Is it a coincidence that the only two doctors who have never judged me for my opiate dependence used to shoot themselves with morphine and hydromorphone for several years in an attempt to numb their own pain? I have much respect for them. Even when I'm in severe pain, even though they know that I'm currently on methadone, they still prescribe me narcotics. And would you believe it if I told you that I actually always used only the indicated dosages? I wouldn't be surprised if you don't. Today's society has been taught from the time we were children to say no to drugs, to not trust addicts, to view us as a nuisance, an itch that needs to be scratched until it goes away for good.
For far too long, we've been routinely locked up by law enforcement for
non-violent possession
without intent to distribute.
The average sentence in the US for a first time non-violent drug offender convicted under the federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws is now longer than the average sentence for rape, child molestation, bank robbery and manslaughter! You really think prison will magically cure us of craving the drug? If your answer is yes, then I seriously doubt you intimately know heroin (or any other strong opioid) addiction. We're robbed of any freedom we have left and forced to detox without any remorse, nor any support - as if we somehow owe society a debt. And for what? Because we want to make ourselves feel better?! Thanks a lot for adding insult to injury. You can bet that once we're released, we'll inevitably go back to using.
Ho-Chi-Minh;11661606 said:
I can vouch for the government on this one, sorry
Right, of course of you are.