Okay, more research fun and games. (September Health Affairs) Every article in this issue covers the opioid crisis. We need more programs of course to get people to quit, or even better, never start taking these drugs. But again, no mention of the need to address the underlying issue–we are a crazy country, with insane policies that are driving a significant segment of the population to seek oblivion. We promote self-hating, divisive ideologies and we don’t give people a positive vision of their country, their race, their gender or their lives. What do we expect.
We do get several articles on the equity theme, as usual. Again, I won’t regurgitate this puerile pulp fiction equivalent of research. When you are teaching black people that they are oppressed and victimized, I expect they would be more likely to turn to drugs and less likely to seek or benefit from help. Apparently we need to do better at substance abuse treatment in nursing homes and among teens. The states have sued a bunch of people and recovered a ton of money for supposed encouragement of opioid abuse–what is all this money being used for? Reminds me of the tobacco litigation.
We need more programs to provide buprenorphine, methadone, naxalone, etc. to drug addicts according to several articles. There are actually plenty of programs, they just mostly don’t work and the drug users don’t want to participate. We need to force them to participate, by institutionalization if necessary, and we need to give them a more positive vision for an alternative way to live. One study reported on does note that court–ordered treatment programs seem to be more successful, with far better outcomes for participants.
I worked in a substance abuse treatment program as a young man. Most of the patients were decent people who saw few alternatives for their lives. They needed a positive vision more than anything and support to get there. This is an enormous loss for humanity, we need the maximal contributions from every human. It is a tragedy for the abuser, their family and their friends. The crime associated with abuse is destructive to communities.
It is very hopeful to see the current adminstration directly attack the source of most of the illegal drugs in this country. There is a component of China, Russia, Venezuela, Columbia and other countries attempting to weaken us by flooding the US with potent drugs. We should take every step to fight this, including taking action in the countries the drugs come from–Mexico, Venezuela and Columbia in particular. Ending the easy access to these drugs will help.
