Illegal Drugs

If we didn’t buy them, the importers, dealers, crime and deaths that they cause

would not exist.  This evil industry would not exist.

TWELVE STEPS

First bad step is – getting hooked on almost any one of the opioids and recreational drugs.

Second – wanting, needing more of the same, pursuing that heavenly feeling.

Third – needing more powerful drugs, better highs, upping the ante.

Fourth – funding the feeling, selling things, clearing bank accounts, stealing.

Fifth – getting caught in the sleaze, dealing with the underground, confronting danger.

Sixth – caught by law enforcement, jail, prison, withdraw with dopesickness, more danger.

Seventh – released; loss of friends, nowhere to go, repeat the above process, deal to others.

Eighth – wanting to get clean, join programs, off and on success and failure.

Ninth – finding that you have no life and no possibility of a life in straight society.

Tenth – living the life of a displaced or homeless person.

Eleventh – regrets, broken memories, failed chances, realization of the only way out.

Twelfth – wake up and get clean and help others to stand up, rejoin humanity… or die.

 

The war on drugs has never worked and will never work because it depends on law enforcement

and the justice system.  This does not address the real problem.  The problem is much more complicated.

It is a social, spiritual, medical problem with a fix that takes many years, even lifetimes.

 

The question of “Why do we need drugs?” must be answered before any meaningful

solution can be found. Each person must answer this on his or her own terms and

situation.  Secondly, “Why do some people get hooked and not others?” must be addressed.

 

The problem occurs within all ages, genders, races, cultures, economic strata, world-wide.

There are the band-aid fixes of lesser drugs that start or enable the withdrawal process,

e.g. methadone.  There are very expensive places to stay that work on you until you dry

out.  There are very disciplined individuals that take it upon themselves to just stop,

no matter how difficult the process.  Bottom line: there is no guarantee anywhere.

The only way to live your life without interruption is to initially avoid addictive drugs no

matter where they are offered.

 

The exception to all of the above is the medical field where addictive drugs are prevalent.

Unfortunately this is where most of the problems begin.  When we have pain after surgery

or after a dental procedure or with a painful medical problem such as cancer, which is

ongoing, most of us would seek a pain reliever.  The problem with this is accurately prescribing

the amount needed.  If we only need 5 or 6 pills and are given 30 of Vicodin or OxiContin,

we have the potential beginning of an addiction.  If not yourself, then someone else that has

access to your medications.  Beware any of the “codones.”

 

Pharmaceutical  companies that just want to make money will tend to send large quantities

of their next drug to doctors to assess viability for the patients who may need this drug.

If this drug is addictive, then there is a built-in certainty that there will be patient after patient

getting hooked depending on the individual prescriptions. This has been an enormous problem

and will continue to be a problem until it is systematically regulated.  Far too many people

have already become addicted and lost their jobs, families, and their lives dealing with this

seemingly innocuous problem.  None of us really think that going to a doctor and getting pills

will ruin our lives and/or result in premature and unnecessary death.  None of us!

We trust in the seemingly sacrosanct medical profession that has a tendency to control our

lives.

So what can we do to stay safe while dealing with the medical profession that we cannot do without?  First – become informed by reading, listening, and thinking independently.Second – read the following book:  “Dopesick” by Beth Macy.  This book outlines the problems we face, many individual cases, and solutions that provide a “heads up” for us all.  All of us need to be informed to protect ourselves, our families, our friends, and a profession that is so vital to us all.

READ:  “Dopesick” by Beth Macy