Drug Overdoses on the rise

[ponderingturtle]

For the first time in U.S. history, drug overdoses and other types of poisonings now kill more people than guns, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Record numbers of West Virginians are dying in the quiet epidemic, mostly from prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone.

NPR Story

This is interesting especialy how it relates to the arugement that most overdoses are accidental do to uneven quality of the illegal drugs.

 

[Almo]

Prohibition is working REALLY well there.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Prohibition is working REALLY well there.

This is mainly prescription drugs, so there is not the same sort of prohibition.

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

It's an inconvenient fact for the "legalize drugs now!" lobby that people are already harming themselves with the unadulterated drugs they can get hold of easily and legally.

Yet some how we are supposed to believe that by adding a few more for them to choose from, people will suddenly start using them responsibly.

 

[JFrankA]

Yet some how we are supposed to believe that by adding a few more for them to choose from, people will suddenly start using them responsibly.

As I understand it, that's not the reason people want drug legalized. The reasons, put succinctly, are:

-The narco-mafia stands to lose billions of dollars in annual revenues if the drugs are legalized in the US. They will do everything in their power, including bribing the public figures (using, e.g., "campaign contributions") and murdering the opponents, to keep the "War On Drugs" going.

-The pharmaceutical industry is to gain moderately, as a new market opens up.

-The general population is to benefit in many ways:

--crime reduction
--increased tax revenues, as the sales of drugs will now be taxed
--public health improvements, since...

---the quality and chemical purity of drugs will be regulated by the FDA, while now it is at the mercy of your "trusted" local drug dealer
---more research might be done about the side effects of the drugs and the reduction thereof (all narcotics have detrimental side effects: nicotine destroys the lungs, alcohol - the liver, marijuana - the reproductive system, caffeine - the heart etc). I said "might", not "will", because it does not look like that for the legal drugs, like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.

This is from this link http://www.podval.org/~sds/drugs.html it doesn't say much more than that, though.

 

[ponderingturtle]

It's an inconvenient fact for the "legalize drugs now!" lobby that people are already harming themselves with the unadulterated drugs they can get hold of easily and legally.

Not really. It does seem to contradict one of the arguements used, that is that most overdoses are caused by the illegal nature of the drugs.

 

[NewtonTrino]

I'm actually pro legalization based on personal liberty. I'm all for giving people a helping hand when they are down and I don't see how jail helps anyone. Certainly it doesn't seem to have much deterrent effect. How is jail not a worse outcome in almost any case? Either way, even if the status quo is the best we can get, I still favor legalization because I don't think that society has the right to incarcerate people for putting things into their own body. Just IMNSHO.

 

[Darth Rotor]

I'm actually pro legalization based on personal liberty. I'm all for giving people a helping hand when they are down and I don't see how jail helps anyone. Certainly it doesn't seem to have much deterrent effect. How is jail not a worse outcome in almost any case? Either way, even if the status quo is the best we can get, I still favor legalization because I don't think that society has the right to incarcerate people for putting things into their own body. Just IMNSHO.

The incarceration tends to be related to vending of illicit drugs, FWIW.

I ascribe to the modified Denis Leary theory of how to handle drug abusers:

Make drugs more available in higher purities, and let Darwin, God, or the FSM sort them out.

Choose ye well, recreational drug users, that trip you take may be your last.

I'd rather it was the users choice to make.

DR

 

[NewtonTrino]

DR: I don't usually agree with you but in this case you are right on.

Let the users make the choice. If these drugs are so dangerous wouldn't this problem be self correcting anyway?

BTW I would love to see someone try and overdose on weed. More likely to do from overeating doritos than from the weed.

 

[Almo]

This is mainly prescription drugs, so there is not the same sort of prohibition.

Point taken.

 

[Puppycow]

BTW I would love to see someone try and overdose on weed. More likely to do from overeating doritos than from the weed.

Not exactly an overdose, but Bob Marley died of cancer at age 36 (Can't claim that smoking too much pot was definitely the reason, but I wonder)

 

[The Painter]

BTW I would love to see someone try and overdose on weed.

Man crushed by 90 ton pallet of Marijuana

Does this count??

 

[JFrankA]

Originally Posted by NewtonTrino
BTW I would love to see someone try and overdose on weed.

Man crushed by 90 ton pallet of Marijuana

Does this count??

Well, it's not really an overdose.... It's more of a "doseover".