Opioids What if money wasn't an object and I re-started an opioid addiction?

[Perplexity]

So to give you some context, I'd consider myself a drug addict for the last 9 years, from ages 16-25. The first 8 years was primarily cannabis abuse with some coke/adderall/molly binges sprinkled in and lots of beer. The last 1.5 years have been strictly opioids, and the strongest ones on the market. E.g. Global Pharm's 40mg Oxymorphone ER, Purdue's (Canadian) Oxycontin 80's (crushable like the older US ones), tons of 30mg blues, Oxycontin OP 80's and a little heroin all on a daily basis from a local source and the deep web. I came crashing down not because I wanted to stop, but because I couldn't afford them and even resorted to stealing from family members for a while to keep my habit going.

The primary motive for my use was to self-medicate my anxiety. The rush from snorting strong pills was just a bonus, I enjoyed the 3 or 4 hours of tranquility & warmth and the feeling that my anxiety was just melting away as the high went on more than the rush itself. Not to mention things like socializing, eating, working and sleeping all seemed so much easier. And all of this remained true even when I would wake up sick as f*ck if I didn't have anything for the morning. As soon as I ate or snorted something, my day went great even if the euphoria wasn't what it used to be. This stuff works wonders on my anxiety (or whatever it was that cannabis abuse gave me).

As of now I'm off opioids for a week. I can tell physical withdrawals are subsiding and I'm starting to feel normal. And I'm OK with being abstinent because I can't afford that aforementioned year of fun again (which included my own 2013 GLI and an apartment in downtown Manhattan BTW).

Being that I'm fresh off of an opioid addiction, I'm thinking about it a lot, dnd I thought, what if I worked my ass off (as a software developer, which I am) and saved up a bunch of money in a checking account. Let's say $300k to be realistic. That's just what I consider as "not an object" for me. Maybe it's a million for you. But the point is let's say you could always afford opioids, you had scripts, local dealers and the deep web as sources. Do you think someone like me, who is self-medicating a mental health issue, versus shooting up and chasing a rush like some do, would be feasible in the long run?

I seem to be able to work better, socialize better, exercise harder and do just about anything I want. And I'm not just talking about the first few months when the euphoria was at its best, I'm talking till the day I had to stop this was true. Being that opioids seem to make life so much easier for me, I'm thinking of doing something like this. And being in the software industry, saving $300k within 3-5 years isn't unrealistic in my situation. I want to hear what others think and how you may be able relate this question to yourself, and any feedback or wisdom you think may be useful for myself.

Thanks

 

[Kittycat5]

I guess it depends on various things going on in your life. A few years ago I was in a situation where money wasnt the issue in obtaining opioids, specifically oxycodone. My daily dose was in the 300-400mg range, but sometimes more. The thing that was most detrimental about my abuse was the tension it caused between me and my wife. I hid it from her, lied about using and sometimes ignore being with her to get high. Had I been single, these issues would not have arisen and very well may have continued as usual.

 

[Joey24x18]

Thats the addiction talking. Personally I wouldn't work my ass off and save up three hundred fucking thousand dollars to just blow on drugs. If you think you have a medical condition, go talk to a good doctor, and get it sorted out. For fucks sake you could buy three Lambos with that much lol

 

[Mad Dash]

There is never enough money to sustain an opiate addiction. And with daily use after a certain amount of time it stops becoming effective anyways. Heroin users know this one to be true. With true opiate abuse the kind you are talking about there is something I like to refer to as the wall. This is when you are taking so much so often you do not allow the dopamine and other neurochemicals responsible for giving you euphoria to refill in your brain thereby eventually causing you to not feel any euphoria at all. This is not something that can be fixed by just taking more, the only way to fix it is by stopping and letting your body recharge. And by that point you are going to go through some NASTY WDs.

So I mean it is your life, and ya it could be fun for about a year (maybe) but after a while you are going to take your dose and feel nothing but VERY tired every time you start taking it this will lead you to think you are just not taking enough which could not be further from the truth. This has lead many an experienced user to OD chasing the euphoria. There has to come a point in your life where you either recognize the ride is over, or the ride will end it for you. Try to stay clean, because this is not going to end well for you.

 

[Bliss26]

You could go ahead and start but my guess is once PAWS lifts you wouldn't dream of spending (or toiling 5 years) 300k on drugs.

In other words you've only been clean a week. Almost everyone coming off an opiate addiction (especially if your reason for quitting is financial and not frustration or sheer willingness to quit) romanticized the drug , wishes they were back on the drug, thinks the drug solved everything etc. I know you're going to read this and assure me that it's really true in your case. Be that as it may, I think with time and healing, this situation will solve itself long before you have the money saved, so I don't see any reason to argue not to do it.
Start the plan. When you're well, you won't want that life anymore.

 

[Mad Dash]

You could go ahead and start but my guess is once PAWS lifts you wouldn't dream of spending (or toiling 5 years) 300k on drugs.

In other words you've only been clean a week. Almost everyone coming off an opiate addiction (especially if your reason for quitting is financial and not frustration or sheer willingness to quit) romanticized the drug , wishes they were back on the drug, thinks the drug solved everything etc. I know you're going to read this and assure me that it's really true in your case. Be that as it may, I think with time and healing, this situation will solve itself long before you have the money saved, so I don't see any reason to argue not to do it.
Start the plan. When you're well, you won't want that life anymore.

This too. Well said Bliss.

 

[Nom de Plume]

The greatest troubles accompanying any substance dependence are monetary troubles. This is probably one of the reasons history doesn't seem to bother mentioning drug addiction at length or in a negative context until about the advent of capitalism and the rise in popularity of productivism (circa 17th century CE).

So, of course the more well-heeled one is the more drugs they can use without breaking the bank, hurting their pockets, or arousing other people's suspension.

But $300,000USD is chump change with heroin—that's only about six kilograms' worth. Assuming one consumes about 0.5 g per day, they will have throughly exhausted all their money by day 12,000 (about 32.8 years).

Obviously, 32 years is a long time to be strung out. But it isn't a lifetime (on second thought, it very well could be with that much junk at one's disposal). Additionally, the initial habit of 0.5 g will most certainly begin to careen on an out-of-control ascension and very quickly begin to multiply itself repeatedly.

That 0.5 g will probably be about a gram after ½ year of unregulated indulgence. After 5 years of daily dosing, I'd predict one will be using in excess of $10k per fortnight on heroin alone. At this exponential rate, we can suppose that while in theory the drug will satiate the user for roughly 32.8 years, in practice we could suppose further that all six kilograms will have been depleted in around a 1/3 to 1/2 that time.

In other words, you'd be fellating strangers for a fix and collecting spare coins from passers-by in a tin can on Skid Row sometime between the 10th and 17th year of intemperance.

Sorry that I seemed to have shat all over your quixotic parade or what not, but I'm simply being realistic.

 

[eye dew Things]

You could go ahead and start but my guess is once PAWS lifts you wouldn't dream of spending (or toiling 5 years) 300k on drugs.

In other words you've only been clean a week. Almost everyone coming off an opiate addiction (especially if your reason for quitting is financial and not frustration or sheer willingness to quit) romanticized the drug , wishes they were back on the drug, thinks the drug solved everything etc. I know you're going to read this and assure me that it's really true in your case. Be that as it may, I think with time and healing, this situation will solve itself long before you have the money saved, so I don't see any reason to argue not to do it.
Start the plan. When you're well, you won't want that life anymore.

Agreed....Excellent post.

 

[mankind]

Just think of all of the famous muscians and actors who DID have millions of dollars to spend on heroin (or their drug of choice). It never ends well. You could have a billion dollars and you'd still run into problems. You've been on opiates for only a year and a half. You're still in the romanticizing faze. I use to ask myself the same question. However, I DID run into a large chunk of money (well over a hundred grand), and between heroin, benzos, and gambling, it was gone in under 6 months.

I refuse to believe an opiate addiction is feasible unless regulated by a doctor (ie: countries where they give heroin to addicts, or doctors in the US prescribing Oxy to pain patients).

It just won't happen. And then think about the absolutely suicidal withdrawal you will go through when your done, knowing you just wasted all that money. I know I did, and still do. I can't even fathom how many hundreds of thousands of dollars I've WASTED on drugs, gambling, rehabilitation, etc. It's got to be well into the quarter million range if not WAY more.


What you're asking isn't possible. Trust me. I've been on and off for the last 15 years, and everything that comes along with it. It's a pipe dream.