Why Do We Treat Heroin Addicts Like They Deserve to Die?

yeah very good article basically sums up why some humans are such pieces of shit to others. What's there to do about this though when it is intentionally set up this way by others? The drug trade, Law enforcement, big pharma, prison industry, government all have a hand in the same setup (The drug war), along with greed and capitalism, these people have tremendous power, global influence and i imagine will not be easily swayed by appeals to humanity. I'm sure some people in earnest believe in the drug war but i bet the large majority know why we keep this charade up. If those people in power have to identify with heroin addicts as human beings equal to themselves then there's no way they could keep this drug war up, of course they don't give a fuck in the first place which is the real problem IMO.

it's not going to be like Germany's destruction, this drug war can play out forever unless enough actual people put a stop to it as in some sort of revolution.

 

That hopeless bit of cultural mythology, the lab rat that uses cocaine until it dies, still persists eh? Read Carl Hart's 'High Price'. Those lab rats lived in dreadfully boring and unrewarding circumstances. They had no mating/social opportunities, nothing to play with and nothing good to eat. Those lab rat studies of yore feed right into the ultra simplistic take on drugs (all of 'em... legal and not) and drug use/abuse preferred by the authors and supporters of our expensive lie, the War On Drugs. 'High Price' is a very good, objective book written by a dread-lock sporting African-American neuroscientist. We have thrown the the baby out with the bathwater as it were. I too never want my children to ever use heroin (or cocaine, or SSRI's to name but a few.) But, it turns out that drug abuse has as much to do with the culture and user as the drug itself.

 

I have been wondering about this.. I belive The good Dr Hearts experiment was done with herion self administered orally while the other experiment was conducted with a self administration lever that produced direct stimulation to, I think, a portion of the mesolimbic reward pathway associated with great pleasure, more akin with the rush of IV coke. To my knowledge the rats did infact self stimulate till they were dead.

But this also falls in line with the differences in behavior seen in IV coke users and IV herion users. IV coke users redose compulsively until the supply is gone. IV herion users redose as needed.

His ideas around this are also backed up strikingly by the addicted vietnam war vet who returned and almost all cleaned up. But then again the ones that didn't were the addicts and there is another level of the issue. Even if we straiten this fukced world out and use technology to benefit the earth and not to have corporations stack useless currency in an Easter island type madness, even if the world was able to overcome racial oppression and heal the wounds, even iff there were no poor and enslaved, there will still be the addicts.

All respect to Carl Heart, since no one really wants to address the tough issues which provide the foundation of drug abuse. it so refreshing to see such a respected person doing so.

 

That hopeless bit of cultural mythology, the lab rat that uses cocaine until it dies, still persists eh? Read Carl Hart's 'High Price'. Those lab rats lived in dreadfully boring and unrewarding circumstances. They had no mating/social opportunities, nothing to play with and nothing good to eat. Those lab rat studies of yore feed right into the ultra simplistic take on drugs (all of 'em... legal and not) and drug use/abuse preferred by the authors and supporters of our expensive lie, the War On Drugs. 'High Price' is a very good, objective book written by a dread-lock sporting African-American neuroscientist. We have thrown the the baby out with the bathwater as it were. I too never want my children to ever use heroin (or cocaine, or SSRI's to name but a few.) But, it turns out that drug abuse has as much to do with the culture and user as the drug itself.

There's also an audiobook version of High Price available on iTunes, should anyone prefer it.

 

I blame religion.
Outlaw religion, and these things will right themselves.

No, Russia its illegal nearly. And programs like Methadone and Subutex are illegal. Outlawing religion is communist and fascist. In fact the communist countries where religion is outlawed have some of the harshest drug laws in the world.

 

yeah very good article basically sums up why some humans are such pieces of shit to others. What's there to do about this though when it is intentionally set up this way by others? The drug trade, Law enforcement, big pharma, prison industry, government all have a hand in the same setup (The drug war), along with greed and capitalism, these people have tremendous power.

The only hope for America is to look at the success Europe has had with treating drug addiction. It seems Europe is the only area in the world where the medical communities are humane and scientific, and are not ruled by capitalist and republican backwardism. Switzerland, Denmark, and Netherlands are light years ahead of america in the medical industry and the understanding of addiction. America is still stuck in its backwards mentality regarding drugs. And until we can break that backwards mentality, we won't have progress. Canada is starting to realize, but they are not fully there yet when they cancelled SALOME. However their injection rooms is a step in the right direction towards humanistic principles towards addiction.

One day america will look at itself and realize they are the only developed country left with backwards social and medical laws. And hopefully they will become embarrassed by it when hopefully a good politician pulls their heads of the sand

 

No, Russia its illegal nearly. And programs like Methadone and Subutex are illegal. Outlawing religion is communist and fascist. In fact the communist countries where religion is outlawed have some of the harshest drug laws in the world.

I didn't know that religion was illegal in Russia, thanks. I do think that religion is a mental disorder and we should stop the spread of it with science otherwise it could turn into worldwide plague proportions where millions, even billions die in the name of it... oh shit. We might be a bit late for that.

How about a different tact, we only outlaw the *wrong* religions, the *right* religion should be mandatory, otherwise you either convert or... hmmm.. I lost my train of thought there.

Honesty though, I am all for a society which allows, even encourages those to have the right to practice their own religion freely without fear of persecution, so long as they are not harming others or forcing their religion onto others, especially children.

What in God's name have you done?
Stick your arm for some real fun
So your sickness weighs a ton
And God's name is smack for some

 

I definitely feel like there is a unique psychological component to heroin withdrawal, compared to any other opiate withdrawal - that hollow despair feeling. It still SUCKS quitting other opiates, physically and mentally it is hell. But it tends to be more of an emotional sadness whereas heroin is just raw hollow apathy. Perhaps this is due to the unique happenings via the diacetylation? But I must be lucky, because no matter how bad the habit, I seem to bounce back really quickly and still have just as much passion for life. Perhaps it is my use of psychedelics? In any case, I do know that the hollow emptiness I described is suicide-esque, so if it really stays that bad for months, years, etc for some people, then ya, I am lucky.

I am also one of the lucky ones that can dabble in anything and everything and when i have had enough i can just stop and bounce right back. It is not easy to find people like us - a rare breed - Mentally Strong !!
I must say though it irritates me that no one i know can do this with me without becoming addicted :-(
Its funny who ever i have done it with it always starts out that we are both doing it for fun here and there. And they just cant leave it at that. it becomes something that they are now getting regularly to have. Faster and faster they fall and i am always the one that has to step in and pull them back into line - why cant they do this themselves. Stop being so mentally weak and letting it take over your life!!!!!! No appreciation for drugs if you abuse them they will always win.

 

It is not even the heroin or other drug that's to blame at all here. It's the person and how they choose to live. I inject hard shit and take care of myself, clothes, hygiene, etc. Slamming in a disty setting is all that you see in the media. Injecting can be very nice and even arousing if done clean and serene.

I totally agree! I am able to do the same. I also inject and believe it to be the cleanest and least addictive way of taking drugs. But the media likes to give it a bad name and attaches a stigma to this.

 

Drugs and Crime is what makes our world go round without it the economy would crumble

 

I am also one of the lucky ones that can dabble in anything and everything and when i have had enough i can just stop and bounce right back. It is not easy to find people like us - a rare breed - Mentally Strong !!
I must say though it irritates me that no one i know can do this with me without becoming addicted :-(
Its funny who ever i have done it with it always starts out that we are both doing it for fun here and there. And they just cant leave it at that. it becomes something that they are now getting regularly to have. Faster and faster they fall and i am always the one that has to step in and pull them back into line - why cant they do this themselves. Stop being so mentally weak and letting it take over your life!!!!!! No appreciation for drugs if you abuse them they will always win.

The habitual consumption of mind altering substances such as diacetylmorphine (heroin) is an extremely complex issue.

Perhaps the people who start using a drug with you are unable to handle it in a similar fashion because they are trying to escape something which is chronic in nature and has seriously been affecting their quality of life for a long time, and getting high temporarily liberates them from their chronic suffering, which they experience constantly when sober. And they are understandably desperate to maintain some sense of pain free normality by consuming a specific drug if it gets the job done (even if temporary).

And they may not be driven by cravings alone to compulsively use their drug of choice again and again, but also a desperate desire to achieve a state of mind and body which is free of whatever has been causing them so much despair and distress.

In contrast, I'm guessing here but perhaps you choose to use certain drugs for other reasons, such as curiousness or boredom, but nothing constantly tearing away at you mentally and/or physically when sober due to past traumatic events. And I admit, it may also have to do with genetic diversity.

All in all, these "mentally weak" people may be stronger than you think, but after years of suffering, they may have eventually crossed a threshold, or a limit which completely shattered their ability to handle "it" any longer without resorting to self-medication.

That's just one example of many, many reasons for the demand of controlled substances without a government permission slip. And it's a damn shame that these compulsive liars running the show think their quick fixes - such as the war on (certain) drugs - are sufficient to address such things. It's why they failed, and will continue to fail miserably.

 

Yes it would seem that in anzo's case it has nothing at all to do with luck, but circumstance, history and background.

I will say they I've seen quite a bit of convincing research where patients who are given a drug, in this case specifically dacetylmorphine, but without specifically naming it as such and without treating them in any of the common or stereotypical ways people who use or are given heroin are treated/referred to. Such patients almost always walk away from the experience without any problems related to addiction, although I would imagine there must have been some kind of trauma as a result of such unethical research methods (well, in some cases I guess).

It does make a very good demonstration of how absurd the idea that any drug can be so pharmacologically "demonic" as to "hook" someone without there being some other forced propelling them in that direction (i.e. their families, their society, their culture, medicine, the law, etc. etc. and just about everyone else). Without social forces, shit like that is the somewhat extreme exception to the rule.

The placebo effect and social factors as well as one's own history are extremely powerful forces. So too, as a form of violence, can stigma be a powerful motherfucker. Thus how drug users are treated probably has more of an effect on them, at least formatively speaking, than the drugs in and of themselves (issues of purity, impurities and cuts are a whole other issue - I'm talking about drugs that make you get high in the "pure" sense).

 

It does make a very good demonstration of how absurd the idea that any drug can be so pharmacologically "demonic" as to "hook" someone without there being some other forced propelling them in that direction (i.e. their families, their society, their culture, medicine, the law, etc. etc. and just about everyone else).

Yes, absolutely, I agree completely.

I'm willing to take my chances of coming across as possibly arrogant and ignorant by claiming that the habitual consumer of a specific mind altering substance is all but never consensually partaking in the use of his or her drug of choice due to a simplistic, spontaneous reason such as boredom, curiosity, etc.

Rather, 'Cause and Effect' is almost always the proper analogy, I argue.

Example of Cause: Years of sexual abuse as a child

Example of Effect: Years of "recreational" drug use as an adult

And I have opted to mark "recreational" with quotations because there's a very real chance in such a scenario that the consumer is more so tending to his or her desire to temporarily escape the vivid, chronic, intrusive thoughts, memories, and flashbacks which have endlessly tormented the individual.

Furthermore, the fact that those of us suffering from mental illnesses - such as PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorder, and so forth - are still stigmatized well into the first half of the 21st Century is frankly ridiculous and further contributes to the number of patients afflicted with such an illness which end up resorting to the consumption of controlled substances without a government/physician permission slip.

The placebo effect and social factors as well as one's own history are extremely powerful forces. So too, as a form of violence, can stigma be a powerful motherfucker. Thus how drug users are treated probably has more of an effect on them, at least formatively speaking, than the drugs in and of themselves (issues of purity, impurities and cuts are a whole other issue - I'm talking about drugs that make you get high in the "pure" sense).

Again, I totally agree. And I believe this is how it is for every minority group which is discriminated against for no rational reason(s).

This is why I believe the "Just Say No" / Abstinence based approach is worthless and - for the most part at least - ineffective in the long term.

I know for a fact that I will never help the situation by making it known in a politically correct manner to a non-violent, otherwise law-abiding drug addict (which I'd wager is the majority of them) that he is essentially a lesser human being for choosing to consume his drug of choice, and, whatever his reasons may be for doing so, I don't care. And this in a nutshell is what I've learned about what frame of mind, healthcare workers directly involved with the Abstinence based approach of the rehabilitation of a drug addict are generally in.

Lately (in the past few years), they have a adopted a more forgiving and less prejudiced attitude towards the patients they're trying (usually unsuccessfully in the long term) to treat, but the very complex first half of "Cause and Effect" is not considered important, when it should as hell should be in my opinion, because how the hell are you gonna help someone when the root of the issue is not addressed, but I digress.

And then every once in a while, I continue to stumble upon the following comment made by some pompous drug warrior: "The scumbags who use drugs have absolutely no one to blame but themselves."

Anyways, the aforementioned comment is one which I am encountering with less frequency, thanks in big part to everyone involved; everyone contributing to slowly but surely tearing down this 40+ year old wall of drug warrior propaganda, and that of course includes many of you Bluelighters. Your collective effort over the past few years has not gone unnoticed. And while "thank you" may not mean much, hopefully one day when this is all over, I'll legally be able to thank you 'properly.'

 

Right! Frustrating how, on the one hand, things do seem like they're getting better in terms of general DLE, but, on the other, DLE has never had more resources or funding to fight their dirty little war. Frustrating, it's almost like I'd prefer the dumbass propaganda to at least correlate somewhat with the reality we as a class of people face, so it's like, less confusing I guess. iono...

 

"becose they make world suck even more for people that aint that stupid to become heroin junkie... world is overpopulated,weak should leave first,heroin addicts fall into that category

in Sparta,they trew unfit from the cliff and never looked back,there wasnt 10 Spartan taxpayers carrying burden of one ill motherfucker"-DOB

Wow, its ignorant people like you that are supporting the "War On Drugs". Who the fuck are you to talk down on someone for being addicted to opiates? Fucking piece of shit!

Oh BTW this aint Sparta bitch. If it was, id throw your bitch ass off the cliff mother fucker.

 

DOB can go fuck himself with a sand paper dildo.

 

It's not that you deserve to die, it's just obvious to the rest of the world that you junkies will have a premature death no matter what we try to do. You guys are killing yourselves and only you. Stop blaming everyone else and sober up you scumbags.

you should go fuck yourself with a barbwire laced baseball bat!

 

Also, I've been non-consensually butt-fucked by Doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists for the last few years concerning my drug addiction. It's not until now that I finally have medical treatment, and even then I have to wait it out another two weeks before I can be put on the treatment due to severe lack of funding. My GP even wrote a partially bullshit referral to the psychiatrist a few weeks ago, explaining that I was not only abusing opiates, but valium as well, despite the fact that I have never been prescribed valium (which he claimed I was). The only time I have taken valium was in a psych ward, and even then they administer a singular dose, so it's impossible to abuse it while hospitalised. This whole "drug addicts deserve it" crap is extremely counter-productive to people who genuinely want to quit. The addiction itself is punishment enough, let alone bad medical funding.

 

This poem is amazing. This describes how I feel. That stigma will always follow me.

 

My two best friends are heroin addicts, and I love them both to death lol

 

^What, that you won't stop pestering me until I acknowledge your existence?

blah blah blah

I'm not pestering you, I am commenting on a forum of which we are both members.

I don't need to be acknowledged by anyone, especially not a self described medical speed freak who has some sob story about being addicted to opiates a few years ago and is currently going through a multiple drug withdrawal. Well, you're a great candidate to take the high horse and deride users of substances which you don't personally like. Considering you must have been using almost every other class of drug.

I'm honestly sick of seeing your name attributed to vile, hateful and ignorant comments - especially regarding users of opiods. This is not a speed freak forum, it is a harm reduction forum.