Addiction

So there's a new campaign in the press to stampede the public into doing something about the evil menace of pain killers (OxyContin, et al.). Last year it was the horror of meth, or maybe that was five years ago. Anyway, they (the ever ubiquitous "they") got cold remedies locked up, but that is old hat, so now "they" need a new campaign. Who the fuck are these people anyway? Somebody ought to lock them up.

Drug addiction is not a good thing. No right thinking person would voluntarily sign up to be a drug addict. But not everyone can think rightly all the time. Pain, be it physical or mental, can skew your thinking. If you think mental pain is not real, please explain the vast the quantity of alcohol consumed in this country and the large number of suicides. If you can stand a bit of anti-Muslim humor, you might consider that most suicide bombers come from countries where alcohol is prohibited. Coincidence? I think not. Too much pain and no alcohol to alleviate it drives them insane.

Most of the horror stories attributed to drug addicted people are due to the high cost of the drugs. The cost is high because they are restricted. If the drugs were not restricted, they would be cheap, and most of these horror stories would go away.

There is another side to this story. Drugs can be insidious, and some people are more susceptible to their effects than others. Someone who is taking pain killers on an ongoing basis simply to cope with chronic pain could become addicted without even being aware of it, at least not until they run short of pills.

Yes, I know suffering is noble. Go ahead and suffer all you want. I want my codeine, and I'll shoot anybody who gets in my way.

Where the hell is the ACLU?

Update:

Salon, April 9 2012
Salon, April 11, 2012
The Oregonian, April 14, 2012
The New York Times, April 8, 2012
WALB, April 4, 2012
ABC News, April 5, 2012