This thread is for discussion of solutions to America’s opioid crisis…with @Dave…if he shows up.
Secure the borders, harsher penalties for drug trafficking, leave legitimate doc’s and patients alone but for those selling scripts be they doc’s or patients, make the penalties severe enough to actually become a deterrent.
Thanks @asaratis.
Im curious to hear what everyone thinks about this issue.
I lay a lot of the blame on the pharmaceutical companies, although not everything. People can become addicted through other, illicit means.
This raises other issues as well:
The pharmaceutical companies play a huge role in the education of our medical professionals. Ask any doctor, who is bold enough to be honest about their dealings with the drug companies.
I believe the drug companies, and to a lesser extent, the insurance companies, control our health care system.
What do you suppose is the root of the problem?
WHY do people want to destroy their lives with drugs? Lack of self worth? A result of a society that rewards no personal responsibility, etc.?
If we can solve that we can make more headway than penalties.
The drug companies are doing what we want them doing, making drugs and medicines. They pour lots of money into R&D to create new and more effective drugs. They answer the demand with a steady and reliable supply. They do what any business does and they do it well.
The blame for the opioid crisis is with the doctors who carelessly prescribe it to patients and who only care about making a buck off those shady pain management clinics that seem to outnumber McDonalds in the panhandle.
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I think a big part of the problem is the nature of addiction. It is not logical. Addicted people pursue their addictions at the expense of everything else in their life.
I don’t. They manufacture a drug. If you abuse it that’s on you.
Studies play a large role in educating our doctors. Most doctors know the difference between a crap study and an honest study. Look at the parameters, the sampling size, etc.
The insurance companies control our doctors and as such our health care system.
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Simply not true. The drug companies knew the addictive qualities of opiates, but chose to downplay those, to increase products.
People are in pain, and don’t know how to address it, so they numb themselves, while others seek to take monetary advantage of that. The pharmaceutical companies are drug peddlers just like the cartel, only with government approval.
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Quite right. The drug companies are not the bad guys. It takes millions to get a drug to market and then the cost has to be recuperated to fund the next remotely possible drug before it goes generic.
There’s very little if any truth to the above.
Good doc’s are not prescribing opioids to patients that don’t have a legitimate need and the companies that produce them are simply providing a product that is very much needed.
Some people are predisposed to addiction whether it’s opioids, cigarettes, or alcohol makes little or no difference. Mentally/Physically they have a predisposition to addiction and are at risk therefore to any drug.
See my post above. I’d suggest we need more research into addiction so we can identify ahead of time markers, genetic and/or behavioral that would help doc’s identify those patients ahead of time.
Some of us are just lucky and don’t seem to become addicted to anything while others seem to be highly prone to addition to just about anything.
True, but they also fund many, many medical education programs, medical studies, etc.
Do you really think the average American knows the difference? We generally trust that the published studies are valid, but the truth is, there are many ways to skew the results of a study.
I can’t really disagree with you about the insurance companies, but I think you are missing a huge piece of the puzzle by exonerating the pharmaceutical companies.
You’re right. Yet why.
What is the reason for the bucket with a hole in it? If you can solve that, you can solve negative addictions.
So, perhaps the solution is mental health. A stable foundation.
If you blindly accept any study as being valid you have a problem.
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LOL, everyone knows the addictive qualities of opiates.
Do you think the Surgeon General Warning on a pack of cigarettes or chewing are deterrents? Who do you blame for purchasing the product?
This is a good point. I think mental health assistance is an integral part of this, but we can’t let the arsenist off the hook, as he lights another fire
Yet those with addictive personalities CAN choose healthy avenues with the same results.
I responded too quickly.
I actually agree with everything you said.