Here's a glimpse into how the opioid crisis continues to grow out of control

[True Dough]

Drug firms poured 780M painkillers into West Virginia amid rise of overdoses

Follow the pills and you'll find the overdose deaths. The trail of painkillers leads to West Virginia's southern coalfields, to places like Kermit, population 392. There, out-of-state drug companies shipped nearly 9 million highly addictive — and potentially lethal — hydrocodone pills over two years to a single pharmacy in the Mingo County town.

Rural and poor, Mingo County has the fourth-highest prescription opioid death rate of any county in the United States.

The trail also weaves through Wyoming County, where shipments of OxyContin have doubled, and the county's overdose death rate leads the nation. One mom-and-pop pharmacy in Oceana received 600 times as many oxycodone pills as the Rite Aid drugstore just eight blocks away.

In six years, drug wholesalers showered the state with 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills, while 1,728 West Virginians fatally overdosed on those two painkillers, a Sunday Gazette-Mail investigation found.

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-health/20161217/drug-firms-poured-780m-painkillers-into-wv-amid-rise-of-overdoses


The government has to rein this in. It's atrocious how big pharma is wreaking havoc for the sake of profit.

[Brother Buzz]

1. Wishing the government to rein this in is the drug cartels' wet dream

In states that have tightened opioid prescriptions, smack, which is actually cheaper than black market hydrocodone and oxycodone pills, has filled the void nicely. I'm just saying.

[yeoman6987]

6. Thank god people only get a 30 day supply now and have to go back to the doctor

to extend the prescription. Giving 3 months and then 3 recipes is dumb. To be honest they should give 12 pills for major surgery. I was given way more then needed after one of my surgeries. Dumb and waste of money.

[aikoaiko]

13. Except when you're in so much pain you can't travel to a DR or sit in a waiting room

[yeoman6987]

17. Obviously there are no perfect answers

But what is happening is killing people at epidemic numbers so action is needed yesterday.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. If the "action" is to make it harder for pain patients to get relief, all that does is drive them

to the black market.

http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-heroin-opioid-prescription-addiction-treatment/

Maybe it's time to stop giving the government ever-increasing amounts of power to keep citizens from catching what they have determined is an unauthorized buzz, and try a different tack. I'm not saying overdoses don't matter, but the drug war mentality isn't stopping them.

[TheFrenchRazor]

23. yep. nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

75. Interestingly, countries which have legalized drugs have very low OD rates

not to mention lower drug related crime rates.

[Warren DeMontague]

132. Yeah, and the one thing that does seem to make a dent in opiate abuse in this country

Is marijuana legalization.

[CountAllVotes]

81. yep

That is where I am at. I went to a luncheon last week and was in so much pain I had to leave as sitting at the table had me close to tears as the pain was so severe in my back I was wishing I'd just croak!

This woman sitting next to me kept glaring at me and wanted to know what my problem is. I told her I have MS and she replied, "That can be a problem at times". Yeah, AT TIMES? How about 24/7 you idiot!

There is NO JOY living in pain believe me. Had this problem since 1984 = living in chronic pain for 32+ years now! Fun not!

[TheFrenchRazor]

24. you are F-ING kidding me, right? you have no idea what chronic pain is like. nt

[Kittycow]

36. Thank you! !!!!

ETA: I guess I'm "lucky " cuz I've had a relationship with my pain doc since 2010 and I have objective proof of my severe spinal degeneration. God help the chronic pain patients who are just starting out now. I've been slashed to the bone on my meds and can barely manage.

Meanwhile there's a sub on Reddit for opioid abusers who laugh all day long about their scores. It makes me sick.

[CountAllVotes]

78. +1,000 !!

Agree!

I have MS and have lesions are in my spine (have been paralyzed at few times; luckily I've managed to recover but only to a point as I have permanent damage from the attacks!). I can barely move without pain killers. Without them I'd be in a wheelchair!

This chase after those pain pill users makes my life a hell. Drug testing me constantly. Sick of it!

I'd never wish anyone to have MS or lesions in their spine (means the MS is chewing away at it and slowly eating it up).

I won't be around much longer than another 10 years luckily. Living in chronic pain is NO FUN. And no, I don't get "high" off of what I get!

These sort of stories make people like me to be viewed as a phony and a criminal!

Fuck the lot of 'em is what I say.

[citood]

110. Drug testing?

Can I ask - who is drug testing you? Is it your doctor? What are they looking for...they know you're on pain killers...do they think you're taking more than prescribed?

I grew up watching a family friend's deterioration from MS, so I know its terrible.

[CountAllVotes]

114. They drug test me because ....

I may be taking illegal drugs.
I may be selling the few pills I get.
I need the money I could get if I sold them.
This is their policy.
If you don't like it and your tests aren't 100% what they must be you get dumped.
So ... you comply.
They no know other doctor will have you, great insurance and all so they got cha!

Farewell U.S. Constitution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yeah you are right. MS sucks. Getting old now too and it is worse. Woke up in severe pain night before last -- heel of foot. *sigh*

[citood]

115. Wow...so they are actually testing to make sure you have drugs

in your system...to disprove the notion you may have sold them.

I had no idea that was done.

[zippythepinhead]

119. It happened to me

Twice. However, I think they were looking for marijuana.

[CountAllVotes]

123. yeah

Seriously, if I must go through all of this sh*t, why would I SELL THEM?

Every day is a huge challenge and having to go through this prevents me from seeking care. And yeah as I said I have great insurance!

There are others, believe me. Many.

and as all of this is going on some tweaker walks in looking for an appt. as you wait to be drug tested. Something is wrong with this picture don't ya

Patients going to specialist doctors do not go through this btw.

[snooper2]

95. I can't wait for the day when we can tap into brain signals to feel someone else's pain

I have chronic pain in my shoulder since age 20 from doing judo but would never start popping pills for it. Just live with it and sleep on my left side...

A woman at my work complains of pain all the fucking time and is non-stop popping pills to be zombie lady. Would love to be able to plug her into a machine and "feel" exactly her pain level.

[CountAllVotes]

126. I have a torn rotator cuff

and they cannot fix it so I've lived w/it for 30+ years and I never received anything for the pain. I kept working like that for years and finally just fell over and gave up.

I was blind and paralyzed and exhausted and I forgot all about that torn rotator cuff. I too can sleep on only one side. Fun isn't it? You get used to it.

Luckily most people do not know what chronic severe pain is. If I could not receive help for the pain I'd give up I suspect as I wouldn't be able to move. This is my case only.

I believe that treatment, reason and purpose is between the doctor and the patient as it should be. Who am I do judge others and their pain? I have no right to even ask much less question them. I am sure there are those in it for less that legit reasons but I feel that most people that go through what I must go through just to stay alive is my right as a human being and that I deserve respect for what time I may have left.

As the old Indian saying says, Walk a mile in my moccasins before you judge me. And so be it.

[zippythepinhead]

37. Just asking

Have you ever had cancer?

Who the hell to judge somebody else's pain?

[yeoman6987]

104. I am not judging people's pain

I am trying to educate about the epidemic disaster we have in this country from overprescribed" pain medication. I don't know if you have heard by there are millions who are addicted to them. When alcohol was an epidemic with driving, we didn't ignore the problem, we took action and said you go to jail if you drunk drive. Guess what? Drunk Driving decreased a ton. See who it works. And if a person has a legitimate pain from cancer or other health issues then going to get it checked out when time for refills is a very good idea instead of just sending them by mail with no oversight.

[zippythepinhead]

121. They never send them by mail

I have to go 50 miles each month to pick up my prescription.

Plus they drug test me a lot when I go.

[Warpy]

129. It's also a huge barrier for some of us

People in severe pain are often housebound or nearly so. Often they are living exclusively on social security, something that provides little money for extras. There is no compelling reason for someone with longstanding pain to take up a physician's time every month in an office visit.

You are judging people's pain. You think they're as healthy as you are. They're not.

You've just been educated.

[LanternWaste]

51. I like to pretend my medical rehabs are precisely like everyone's as well

"To be honest they should give 12 pills for major surgery. I was given way more then needed after one of my surgeries..."

I like to pretend my medical rehabs are precisely like everyone's as well and treated as such, despite being a rather dumb thing to do.

[yeoman6987]

52. I'm not saying they should base anything on me but we have a serious epidemic out there

Prescription drug Overdoses overtook gun inflicted suicides for the first time ever.

[zippythepinhead]

122. IMO, I worry more about war

than drug overdosing.

Now that is something t really worry about.

[Crunchy Frog]

60. I go two enormous bottles of hydrocodone after my c-section.

I think that was a genuine instance of overprescribing. A dozen pills would still have been more than enough for me, but I'm thinking maybe 1/4-1/3 of what I was given would have been appropriate. I think most women have longer and more painful recoveries than I did, but very few of them would need anything like the number I was prescribed, and if more were needed, they can be prescribed at a postpartum appt.

The time that I was prescribed a hydrocodone syrup when I went to an urgent care center for a throat culture was definitely an example of inappropriate prescribing.

Both of those happened back in the bad old days. I don't know why the pendulum only seems able to swing from one extreme to another, and they can't find some sort of reasonable middle ground where they're not tossing them around like candy, but not withholding them from people who genuinely need them for real pain.

[hatrack]

67. Hell, I dislocated my big toe falling down the stairs last year . . . .

It hurt like hell, and I couldn't sleep, but before I even got in to see the orthopod, they gave me 24 hydrocodone.

I ended up taking about three.

[Thirties Child]

64. Pain tolerance is not a one-size-fits-all.

You're lucky that you needed only 12 pills after major surgery. I'm also fortunate to have a high pain tolerance--I only needed pain medication for 36 hours after an abdominal hysterectomy. However, we can't assume that everyone has an identical sensitivity to pain. They don't. To deny relief to someone in tremendous pain is cruel.

The solution, I think, is to decriminalize drugs, which, sadly, is unlikely happen in this country.

[anneboleyn]

90. Honestly this post is heartless. Our relative, with cancer, has to endure drug tests and appts

every thirty days despite living with pain that is just horrific (not to mention every other way in which bone cancer has impacted her body). Her doctor has known her for a decade -- well before this diagnosis -- and he knows very well she isn't some "evil addict" but he has to follow the horrible new standards (that do not distinguish between types of patients!!!) or risk an FBI raid. Given twelve pills?! I am sorry but you have no idea.

[yeoman6987]

106. Actually your relative is doing EXACTLY what the experts are saying should happen

When the bottle runs out at 30 days, you go back to the doctor to reevaluate the situation. According to your post, your relative is doing just this. Sounds like her doctor is ahead of the curve on this. Best of luck to your relative for a speedy recovery.

[Warpy]

118. I've been geting my drugs 3 months at a time

and yes, I'm on a synthetic opioid.

I have changed drugs when side effects became bothersome but I have not increased the dosage or the frequency in over 25 years of needing relief in order to function. Most chronic pain patients are just like me, treating the drugs with care and mindful of the consequences if they don't.

Anyone who thinks he's going to end the drug "problem" by leaning on people with chronic pain is a damned fool.

[zippythepinhead]

124. You got that right

I'm in the same boat s you, matey.

[Mariana]

137. Most people who take these drugs never get addicted.

in the sense of craving it when they don't need to relieve pain. Look at all the posts on this thread by people who were prescribed more than they needed, and didn't take them all, because they didn't need them!

I took hydrocodone for more than two years. Early on the dose was pretty high every day, but over time my condition got better and I took less and less until I didn't need it anymore. I'm very grateful it was available to me when I needed it.

[Warpy]

141. Most people go for three days

even after the gnarliest surgeries and want to stop taking the stuff because they want their brains to work right again. It annoys the hell out of them when they can't.

I saw very few who tried to bargain their prescriptions up at discharge and most who did would boomerang back because they'd been cooking a low grade infection that got worse.

While dependence might be common, true addiction is very rare.

[Mariana]

143. My stepdaughter is an RN

and she sees patients who really do need pain relief who are afraid to take it, because they believe they'll get addicted if they have so much as one dose. That's one result of all this hysteria about prescription narcotics.

My own dad took my mom's pain pills away after she had foot surgery recently, because his hero Rush Limbaugh got addicted to Oxy. I raised hell with him over that. "That damn fool took those pills by the fistful every day for years! Think, Dad! Mom's had those very same pills before, after other surgeries and injuries, did she ever get addicted? No! And she's not going to this time, not in just a few days time!" I was pissed that he was going to make my mom suffer because of his irrational fear.

[Crunchy Frog]

43. Alot of the pills on the black market now are counterfeits

made from illegally manufactured fentanyl, and deadly. I guess it's at least a good way to get rid of expensive, medically complicated people who are desperate for pain relief.

[Docreed2003]

127. That's exactly right...

Heroin addiction and overdoses are through the roof because it's cheaper. When we lived in New England, the trend on the street was people would buy oxycodone and hydrocodone and then switch to heroin when they could no longer afford the prescription pills. The quality of heroin on the street is no longer the 90's grade stuff either, and in many case has God bows what else mixed into it.

[WhiteTara]

2. Simultaneously, they have to work

with people who have intractable pain. I have a broken back and hydrocodone is the only drug that soothes the nerve pain. So instead of treating patients with pain like criminals, they should go after the pill mills.

[aikoaiko]

14. +1

[Crunchy Frog]

26. As nearly as I can tell, the pill mills were all shut down some time ago.

Now they go after doctors who prescribe for legitimate indications, and terrify others into not prescribing at all.

If you ever find yourself cut off from the hydrocodone, I'd suggest looking into kratom as an alternative. Much safer, less addictive, and still legal for the time being.

[Nay]

3. Sooooo -- I have to show ID and sign for a bottle of cough medicine, but a

WV mom n pop drugstore can get 600 times the normal amt of opioids? Hmmm.

[wordpix]

11. I have to register for mmj, which really helps but insurance co. won't cover in my state

the entire state of Pharma is

[madokie]

4. And the people who have a real need for pain relief

are many times left out in the cold with nothing cause of this kind of shit.

[Coventina]

15. Don't even get me started. I had major abdominal surgery over the summer. I had to beg for pain

relief and was treated as a low-life for saying I needed some.

I was only cut from sternum to groin and had 4.5 lbs. of tumors taken out of me!

I guess I'm just a sissy!!

[TheFrenchRazor]

22. yep, they literally make you beg, and even then sometimes they don't give it to you. nt

[treestar]

49. Years ago I read something

about our culture and its attitude to pain. We think we should bear it.

Other cultures just admit they have it.

Our culture is very Puritanical still in many ways.

[Crunchy Frog]

28. Sorry that happened to you.

That ever happens to me, I'll be leaving AMA, ASAP. I've got makeshift "pain medication" at home that I can use in a pinch.

After my experience last year of lying in an ER cubicle for three hours, screaming from kidney stone pain, and getting no pain relief of any kind, plus getting verbally abused on top of that, I don't ever intend to subject myself to the sadism in the medical community again. Also got accused of being a "drug seeker" by my own doctor for daring to ask for something to help me get through the 8 weeks it took the stone to finally pass. Not subjecting myself to that again.

And I know that what I went through was minor compared with what you went through. It had a major impact on me though. I guess that makes me a double, super sissy.

[zippythepinhead]

39. I've had kidney stones

It's probably the worst pain I have ever experienced. It will make you scream.

[Crunchy Frog]

42. It was worse than the pain of labor with twins.

And at least when you're in labor, people feel some sort of obligation to be nice to you. When you've got a kidney stone, you're an inconvenience at best. A scum sucking drug seeker at worst.

I hope you were treated better than I was. The emotional pain was worse and longer lasting than the physical pain.

It did kick my ass into finding alternative means for treating my own pain, though. That seems to be what the local medical community wants.

[anneboleyn]

94. Wait until the pain that makes you UNABLE to scream. That is what

we have seen with our relative (cancer bone pain). I have had it w/the demonization of pain medication as the insane hoops that patients and doctors have to endure is frankly evil, and I never ever hear about how real patients are being protected or even considered -- just punished with the "evil addicts."

[zippythepinhead]

97. I am a cancer survivor

Back pain is extremely painful after chemo treatments.

Who are people, who have no experience with extreme pain, to judge someone with an opiate prescription.

I would like them to know I would not even dream of selling them, for real.

[Crunchy Frog]

128. That's evil, as in pure, demonic, Mengele type evil.

When it gets to that point, we're into major human rights violations/torture/crimes against humanity territory.

There's got to be some way to combat this, whether it's bringing in Amnesty International, or picketing the doctors and hospitals responsible, and calling them out publicly as torturers.

I'm so sorry your relative is being subjected to this.

[Coventina]

54. Oh my dear Crunchy Frog, I am so sorry to hear of your experience.

I have not had a kidney stone myself, but my father has.

He is one of the most stoic people I have ever met. He has suffered chronic pain without complaint for decades.

But, a kidney stone had him weeping. So, I know it is intense, severe pain.

What happened to you is malpractice, pure and simple.

[Crunchy Frog]

73. Thanks.

In a way I think the experience had some positive effects. I had so much rage coming out of it that I built up a head of steam and was able to take care of some other situations where I was getting screwed over.

It enabled me to get over the last of my illusions concerning the medical establishment in this country. I'm not saying that I think that they're all a bunch of evil, incompetent sadists, but that it's better to operate under that presumption, and then be pleasantly surprised, rather than the other way round. I'm much more self protective, and carry around a clandestine recording device, so another situation like that would get recorded for posterity.

I've become a little bit of a medical survivalist. If I get int another situation where I'm in extreme pain, and can't get medical help, I've got the ability to help myself. That's probably a good thing in a country being run by Donald Trump.

I know I probably sound really cynical, but I think that's appropriate in this day and age.

Sorry for the novel. Hope you're feeling better, and were able to draw some positives from your own horrible experience.

[Coventina]

74. Thanks and yes, I have vowed to NEVER have major surgery again.

And, like you, I am going to look into having my own pain management options.

Sadly, it's us against the Establishment, and they do NOT care about us.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. You'll Empathize With This Coventina

My wife has a chronic back condition (severe stenosis and calcification in 3 intervertebral gaps)

So, she's on a pain killer. About a year ago, she slipped on ice and broke her fibula just above the ankle joint. Hurt like heck.

Doctor tells her to take 4 hydrocodone a day for a week. By then the pain should subside.

BUT(!), since she already has a prescription the new one didn't count. So, if she actually took 4 a day for a week, she would use about 3/4ths of her scrip (she is normally just one in the morning, and occsionally a 2nd one late afternon).

That would mean she would have no relief from the back pain for at least 15 days until the new one could be filled.

She had a broken leg, for goodness sake and the rules are so inflexible she just had to suffer.

[Coventina]

53. To me, that is absolutely criminal! Broken leg? I've heard broken bone pain is some of the worst!

One week? Bones don't heal in a week!!

That is completely insane!

How is it that our medical system has gotten this sadistic?

Yes, please tell your wife I am so sorry she had to suffer like that. As I said, I think it is criminal.

[zippythepinhead]

98. I second that statement

It pisses me off!

[Warpy]

103. Ugh, you must've gotten stuck with Nurse Tylenol

I hated having to follow that stupid woman because I had to spend the first three hours trying to get everybody's pain back under control with IV morphine on top of every oral drug on the list while not overshooting and sending them off to la-la land.

Yes, Nurse Tylenol, people can sleep through severe pain, especially in the first 24 hours after surgery. They can sleep when they're exhausted after that. The pain is still there and unless you want them stiff as boards in bed and developing pneumonia and blood clots, you'd better give them real drugs. Signed, the Morphine Fairy.

[Coventina]

117. I think I love you, Warpy.

It's so true, once the pain gets out of control it is so hard to get it back without using more drugs than otherwise would have been needed.

[Crunchy Frog]

130. Your patients must have thought you were a literal angel, coming after Nurse Tylenol.

I'm wondering, does Nurse Tylenol ever get a taste of her own medicine? If so, does it ever lead to changes in her practice habits? Just curious.

[zippythepinhead]

38. You got that right

It's easier for the dea to go after innocent pain ridden patients than it is to go after the BIG drug dealers armed with mighty weapons.

The war on drugs has become a cottage industry.

[CountAllVotes]

79. +1,000 !!

n/t

[msongs]

5. those republicans running that state should do something about it...bt follow the $$ first nt

[Staph]

31. Not going to happen.

The state's Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, has ties to the drug industry from an earlier job in a law firm in DC, and his wife is a drug company lobbyist.

And despite that being public reported during the recent campaign, he was reelected. It was a close race, but . . . .

[Cirque du So-What]

7. I was nearly Patient Zero (or thereabouts) regarding oxycodone addiction

Exactly 20 years ago, I was suffering with a bad bout of sciatica. My doctor wanted to prescribe a new medication, oxycodone, which was being touted as a 'non-addictive' alternative to other opioids. Really, that's what Big Pharma was saying when it debuted. Did some research and found that not to be the case, so I declined the offer. Glad I did.

[True Dough]

8. That could have led to a book deal

If you lived to write the story, that is...

[Mariana]

9. Or, you may not have got addicted at all.

Everybody who takes these things doesn't get hooked, you know, the same way that everyone who drinks doesn't become an alcoholic. Most people who receive narcotics take it as prescribed, when they need it, and stop taking it when they don't need it anymore. If that were not true we'd have many more addicts than actually have, considering how widely these things have been prescribed.

[Ace Rothstein]

10. My 32 year old wife has rheumatoid arthritis.

Her doctor wanted to put her on an opioid for pain when she has a flare up. She asked about a medical marijuana prescription and he refused. She eventually got the medical marijuana prescription from her general physician but the specialist wouldn't do it.

[wordpix]

12. gawd forbid Big Pharma will lose out on mmj sales

I'm loving it. In my state, the little mmj guys are in - small growers, small dispensaries. Merck, JnJ, etc. are out, along with Rite Aid and CVS.

[JudyM]

83. Thank you for this post! It got me digging into use of cannibis for arthritis and that led to

unearthing research on its use for dementia... both of which are currently plaguing my dad. I don't know if he'd be willing to try it or if his primary doc would be willing to prescribe it (it's legal where he lives, at least), but I'm going to show him the studies.

It's beyond horrible that the doctors he has gone to never mentioned, likely have no knowledge, that there's evidence that cannibis can treat many dementia symptoms, since there's nothing else even available for that! There's our commercially-controlled medical system for you.

[Ace Rothstein]

87. It really helps her sleep at night.

She can handle the pain during the day but when you are laying in bad and not moving much, her joints tighten up a bit. They also have strains that are better for certain ailments such as arthritis. And you don't even have to smoke it, our dispensary has all kinds of edibles that do the trick just as well.

[JudyM]

89. Harder to control how much you're getting with edibles, though, isn't it? I guess you could take a

couple nibbles to start but then it takes, what, 20-30 minutes for the effects to kick in, right?

[Ace Rothstein]

92. It does take a while to kick in but each gummy or chocolate piece is dosed.

[JudyM]

93. Hmm. If they come in gummies or chocolate that would actually be its own selling point for him.

Especially if any of them taste pretty good.

[Ace Rothstein]

99. The chocolate is pretty good, the gummies not so much.

The dispensary also had hot chocolate mix last time we were there. I know some of them have desserts like cupcakes as well.

[JudyM]

101. Will have to check it out -- thanks again for the idea!

[haele]

131. My spouse has a mmj card, I make batches of 32 mini-muffins;

with a pretty exact dosage of 1/2 cup of 5/2 CBD/THC infused coconut oil in the batter. I'll freeze two packages with about 10 each in them; it takes him about a month to go through the batch.

The person who makes the oil is very careful with the ratio of mj oil to coconut oil, so I could figure out a pretty exact dosage per muffin.
He'll usually just take one mini-muffin, two bites worth, over the period of a half hour to an hour to get his pain level down on a bad arthritis/fibro day; once in the morning, and then another before bed to help him get to sleep. There are days he doesn't take any at all.

Before he started doing this, he was up to 3 Norco a day for pain, and his pain management doctor started saying "well, maybe we'll add some Oxycontin to this...", and he said fuck that. Since only the pain doctors check for Marijuana - by choice; there's no government agency that requires them to test for it unless it's for a security clearance or if there's been an accident, and the hospital itself doesn't check before giving pain medication for recovery or for child-birth - we didn't get the refill, dropped the pain doctor, and I started making his muffins. His GP and rheumatologist are actually happier he's no longer on Norco; his psychiatrist is still a bit leery, but so long as he doesn't develop an increase in bi-polar episode severity, she's not going to turn it into an issue.
And again, no one but the pain doctors test for MMJ...

He only had minor withdrawal symptoms for two days - dry mouth, sweats, shaking, irritability. After that, the muffins seemed to work just fine to take the edge off his pain; and he is also more active than he was on the Norco.

Not saying it's a wonder medicine or anything like that, but it works for him, along with his other medications.

Haele

[JudyM]

134. Interesting! Infused coconut oil, nice.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. So people in agony will suffer, or be told to do yoga instead of managing their pain.

Honestly, we need to stop trying so hard to control what people do. Deal with addiction from a harm reduction perspective, offer treatment on demand, etc.

these much-demanded "prescription drug crackdowns" dont turn the populace into well-behaved sober churchgoers, they only drive people to seek out things like black market heroin. Which is what is already taking place.

[TheFrenchRazor]

21. word; or turn to alcohol, which is worse than opiates. nt

[Coventina]

57. I've been told ON DU to do yoga and meditate the pain away.

The holier-than-thou attitude toward pain is pervasive.

[Crunchy Frog]

61. That's the line that the CDC is now pushing.

Which is a big reason why they no longer have any credibility for me. They basically allowed the corrupt head of a chain of rehab centers write their pain management guidelines.

I used to pray that everyone at the ER I went to would get a golf ball sized kidney stone (every single ER worker I encountered was nasty as fuck to me). Now I pray the same, or worse for everyone in a position of power at the CDC.

I don't actually believe in prayer, but it makes for an entertaining fantasy. I think that makes me a vindictive little shit who deserved everything I got.

Anyone on DU who says that to a person in pain should just go fuck themselves. (Hope I don't get deleted for saying that).

[Coventina]

65. Not to mention that it flies in the face of what any legitimate yoga instructor and meditation

master will teach you.

Yoga is not about pain relief, and neither is meditation.

Yoga and meditation can do wonders, within their own realms, but pain management is not what they were intended for.

You might get some relief from them, but that is a secondary effect, and only a slight mitigation, at best.

[anneboleyn]

96. Yoga -- our relative has bone cancer. I think the attitude is fear of mortality

I have posted about our relative with bone pain from cancer. The pain is something I never even realized existed -- and it is terrifying. Pain killers are the only way for her to have any quality of life, and the flippant attitudes about what can "help" pain (yoga?! Yeah right -- she'll be right up tomorrow doing down dog and that will work I am sure...) now disgust me. Honestly I think our country is terrified of mortality and illness, and the dismissive attitude towards people w/pain who need medication is part of this pathology.

[Coventina]

116. Agree completely. If a person has a serious or terminal illness give them whatever it takes.

It is just needless cruelty to do anything else.

Also, the body cannot rest or heal itself if the suffering does not stop.

[LeftyMom]

19. It's almost like poor people with lousy jobs and shitty health care are more likely to be in pain.

That can't possibly be it.

[TheFrenchRazor]

20. there is no opiod crisis, but thanks for adding to the hysteria, and making it harder

for people to get pain relief. guess they should just suffer until they die.

[True Dough]

46. Oh really?

Maybe you ought to share that little bit of insight with President Obama. He's been fooled into believing there is an opioid epidemic too, apparently.

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2016/12/03/opioid-crisis-requires-government-response-assistance/94831198/

Oh, and please inform the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control while you're at it:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/12/17/exclusive-cdc-chief-frieden-how-to-end-americas-growing-opioid-epidemic.html

[Crunchy Frog]

25. The government is reigning it in. To the degree that people in legitimate serious pain

can't get appropriate medication. The only thing that's resulted in is increased suicide rates for pain patients, and a booming heroin/fentanyl industry.

The DEA will be cutting the manufacture of pain meds by around another 30% next year. I suspect that heroin use is going to go into the stratosphere, along with the increased poverty and misery in the region, under Trump.

The concept of a middle ground, or of complex approaches to complex problems is not a strong suit in this country; with either party.

[Coventina]

58. I predict a spike in suicides as well.

They are seriously mandating that less pain meds be available?

Oh my god/dess they really are insane.

[Locut0s]

27. If you are white and rural the fact that you are essentially a heroine addict...

Is invisible to everyone. But God forbid you are black and smoke one blunt. Off to jail for you.

[JI7]

33. people like Trump don't care for either

but they will try to blame blacks or other minorities for the problems in the white community.

instead of actually trying to help them.

[Crunchy Frog]

29. I also want to point out that the article is discussing what happened in 2007-2012.

The crackdown that they want people baying for has already happened. My understanding is that it's now very difficult to get prescription opioids in W. Virginia. Except for suboxone. They're quite happy to get you hooked to that for life, and call your drug problem solved.

[Hekate]

30. Sunday Los Angeles Times has a sickening article on OxyContin being pushed...

....and that is the word ...out into the rest of the world now that sales have fallen 40% in the US since 2010. The company that produces this deadly drug is owned by a single family, the Sacklers, based in Connecticut.

This is the new Opium Wars, afaiac. They are setting up shop in nearly every country, on every continent, giving seminars to doctors and building factories.

I don't know what kind of sick mind would do this, but the refrain of a song that went round in the 1960s kept going through my head: God damn the pusher man.

[bravenak]

32. Take the pills and they end up on heroin

Real shit. No easy solution. No government can swoop in and fix it fast. Prohibition dont work, orison dont work, taking pills increases herion abuse because they WILL get their medicine, even if they have to take it to the streets or buy research chems from China, they will get it no matter what. I see this shit every day. No easy solution. Not enough rehab. Addicts are scared to try to get help, might end up in jail or losing their kids or jobs if they try to get help and aint rich. It aint just big pharma. Folks been addicted to opiates in america since patent medicines and laudanum. We need to have a real talk but we cant. People too ready to judge, never ready to help, point fingers and lay blame real easy, but addiction is complicated and each person is unique. Some are in pain, some are depressed, some have issues they hide from, self medicating, etc.. We cannot fix it until we understand why shit is like this.

[Chemisse]

34. I wonder how many pain sufferers are driven into heroin use because it's so hard to get relief.

Heroin is cheaper than pain pills on the black market.

It's inexcusable that these laws are hurting people in pain.

[Coventina]

56. I wonder that as well.

Also, I predict a spike in suicides amongst those who won't turn to the illegal market.

[malaise]

35. They want us dead

They don't give a flying fugg

[zippythepinhead]

41. Yeah man

It's medical genocide. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[zippythepinhead]

40. "The "Civil War Disease"

As it was called after the civil when millions of veterans were addicted to morphine.

They survived it.

[Crunchy Frog]

44. Loads of Vietnam vets came home addicted to heroin.

They were expecting a huge public health crises, but it turned out that ~95% quit spontaneously, and without treatment.

Apparently, social, economic, and environmental factors play a large role in addiction, but that's not widely known, since it doesn't fit in with the drug war narrative.

[seaglass]

45. Thanks for this comment. I just looked it up and they actually didn't come home

addicted. They were not allowed to leave Vietnam until they were treated and no longer physically addicted.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/01/02/144431794/what-vietnam-taught-us-about-breaking-bad-habits

And the change in environment when returning was said to be the primary reason that relapse was so low.

[Mariana]

76. In those days they could buy morphine off the shelf.

So they were able to go on with their lives, for the most part. No one went to prison for being an addict. I'm sure many of them were genuinely in pain from their injuries until they died. In my opinion, addiction is by far the lesser evil than constant or severe pain.

[zippythepinhead]

91. exactly

Many over the counter pain meds are extremely harmful to internal stomach organs such as livers and kidneys compared to opiates.

https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2016/5/17/the-hidden-dangers-of-pain-patients-self-medicating-with-otc-drugs

[Mariana]

112. Lots of prescription pain meds include those in their formulations

and in pretty high doses, too. I have always wondered how many deaths attributed to prescription painkillers are due to acetominophen toxicity, rather than overdose of the narcotic.

[superpatriotman]

47. Kratom could be saving these lives

A relative of the coffee plant, Kratom has been used for centuries in the Far East. It's mild stimulant properties are analgesic and are anteceotally beneficial in easing opioid withdrawal symptoms.

I have friends who are former pill users who swear by Kratom.

Mother Natures pharmacy.

[Crunchy Frog]

63. Which is why the DEA furiously trying to make it Schedule 1.

No breaks at all for people in pain.

I have to admit that I went on a kratom buying binge when they announced the intent to ban, even though I'd never even tried it before.

There are many, many chronic pain patients who are able to get excellent relief from it, and come off of even extremely high dosages of opioids. Also many people addicted to opioids, alcohol and other hard core drugs are able to get off them with the help of kratom. While it can be addictive, it's nowhere near in the same league as conventional opioids.

Can't have people successfully treating pain and getting off of hard chore drugs without the medical industrial complex getting a cut. No wonder they want to ban it.

For anyone whose interested, there's a really good kratom sub on Reddit.

[jack_krass]

48. I, for one am dubious of this "opioid crisis" being pushed.....

Preface: I've lost friends and family to addiction, including opioids, and am in a position to be knowledgable on the subject, so I dont take this lightly...

I dont trust any of the players here:

Big pharma, who manufacture the addiction agents, the antidotes, and the long term maintenance (methadone and suboxone). ALL THREE being agressively marketed.

The media, who I've little doubt is in bed with the pharma companies. CNN dont just start running around screaming OPIOID OPIOID OPIOID CRISIS CRISIS for no good reason. Id wager after their "educational seminar" (and donation) from big pharma company XYZ. It infuriates me when media personalities, who are almost universally ignorant, spread false BS like puppets.

the government, who's led a racist, disasterous 50 year "war" on *some* drugs (the ones they deem "bad&quot , in some minority communities imprisoning major proportions of the population. The motives behind this "war" are anything but what those stated, and mostly involves keeping prisons and pharacutical companies running, cops and guards employed, and making laws to keep a steady supply of prisoners.

The best way to deal with this, or anything for that matter, is education, and spreading *factual* informarion, not propaganda, mantras, or memes. For example, most overdoses involve multiple drugs, certain drugs shouldnt be mixed, etc. Antidotes should be made widely available.

[Coventina]

55. Thank you for a sane, reasoned post on this issue.

Particularly the important note that most overdoses involve multiple drugs.

Something that the people screaming OPIOD CRISIS don't mention.

[usedtobedemgurl]

59. This morning I woke up and....

to be graphic, my back was so stiff I could hardly insert my tampon. It almost brought me to tears trying to do that alone never mind wiping my backside after I went. There are times I leave mess on me because I cannot twist enough to get it. I do my best but sometimes my best is not good enough.

I did buy black market opioids off a friend whose parent died. Last January I got 55. I have about ten left. I had to stretch them out to only days where I was in the most extreme pain because I know the doctors will not prescribe that for me. Hell, in the last year I have been diagnosed with bursitis (arthritis) in my hips, degenerative disc disorder, facet joint disease, and sciatica. Do you think I can get anything stronger than Soma? I had to work my ass off to even get that. The base meds they give me are Gabapentin and that helps but not a lot as evidenced by my bathroom fiasco this morning.

I have had to modify almost every part of my life. I keep underwear on top of my dresser because there are days when I cannot bend over to open the dresser door. I replaced all of my shoelaces with rubber loops called Hickies so that I do not have to bend to tie them. My car has heated seats and a rear view camera to help with the pain and sometimes I just cannot twist to look over my shoulder. I buy premade food because most of the time I just cannot make food from scratch. I keep a pitcher in the bathroom so I can full up the dog's water bowl without having to bend. The list goes on and on.

I resent the hell out of officially being diagnosed with all of these things but still not being able to get 30 Vicodin a month. You have no idea how that would improve my standard of living and how much it would help me. I am counting down the days until I take my last black market Vicodin. I am afraid to buy it on the true black market because I have heard horror stories about it being cut with nasty stuff that can hurt me. It may be that I am forced to take my chances in an unsafe market because some people have abused it.

Yeah, let's crack down and make it harder for those who truly need it.

[Dave Starsky]

62. The US uses 99% of the world's supply of hydrocodone.

That's not a typo. 99 fucking percent.

I don't care what your politics are or where you stand on the war on drugs. Something is SERIOUSLY wrong here.

[Crunchy Frog]

66. Yes, that's because hydrocodone is only marketed and sold in the US.

I love it when people use BS statistics to try to push an agenda. I'm not aiming that at you, but at the media and others who are putting out that statistic without giving the other info that would put it into context. Very manipulative of them.

[Coventina]

68. Thank you. That bogus stat is bandied about on DU a lot.

Drives me ka-raz-y.

[Crunchy Frog]

69. Don't beat your head against a wall.

Just post the additional relevant information to put the statistic into context.

Did you know that the US consumes practically zero percent of otc pain and cough medicines containing codeine? It's because Americans really are virtuous and have tremendous self control compared with British, Canadians, and Australians.

[Coventina]

70. Haha! When I was in Cambodia, I ran out of Advil (menstrual cramps)

and went into a local pharmacy to buy more.

I ended up with a huge bottle of Kirkland brand (Costco) ibuprofen.

But when I was in there I saw Australian codeine painkillers being sold OTC.
I was tempted to buy some (I used to get really bad menstrual cramps), but I didn't want to deal with trying to smuggle them home to the US.

[Dave Starsky]

71. So other countries are scarfing other opiates like SweeTarts?

And hydrocodone just happens to be one we use modestly in this country?

[Coventina]

72. Yes, as both Crunchy Frog and I have pointed out, Codeine is sold OTC

in other Western countries.

I don't see them running around screaming about an opiate crisis.

[Dave Starsky]

77. Isn't that an apples to oranges comparison?

Codeine, as far as I know, isn't prescribed to address severe pain. Hydrocodone is.

So maybe we just have a higher percentage of people with severe pain in our country than anywhere else? Or do other countries have the same opioid addiction problems, but they all just handle it with over-the-counter codeine?

[Coventina]

84. Codeine is prescribed for pain, and, as a depressant, to calm coughs.

It operates basically the same as other opiates do.

It is not as strong as some of the others, which is why many countries sell it OTC. If there is widespread addiction to codeine in the countries that do sell it OTC, I haven't heard of it.

Maybe if we were allowed access to mild drugs, it would make the stronger, more addictive ones less necessary.

[jack_krass]

85. They are comparable in strength, both are VERY commonly abused

[zippythepinhead]

105. you are full of bs

there is no otc codeine medicine. BTW, codeine is a pain reliever.

[Dave Starsky]

113. Apparently, in other countries, it's available OTC.

See the other posters' responses. It was an advanced as an argument for why we use so many powerful opiate/opioid meds in this country that other countries apparently don't have the market or need for.

[zippythepinhead]

107. sophistry or ignorance?

I't's hard to tell with you.

[Dave Starsky]

111. Neither. I really do seek understanding on this.

So far, no one's presented a compelling argument why we DON'T have a problem with overprescription/overutilization of the more powerful opiate/opioid meds in this country. Americans use 80% of the world's opiates, period. (Google it; you all can do that as well as I can). We have less than 5% of the world's population. Something is up with that.

And, BTW, I am FOR legalization of drug use and AGAINST the recent changes in the laws regarding prescription of pain meds. I think what's happening in this country is a travesty. And I am neither a troll, nor your enemy. I just think we have a problem in this country that no one's really looking at what the root causes might be.

Peace.

[Crunchy Frog]

135. I can think of quite a few reasons why Americans might suffer more pain

Than people in other developed countries. In general, Americans do heavier physical labor, working longer hours, with less time off. We don't get the guaranteed 5 or 6 weeks of vacation per year that most Europeans have. We have far fewer worker protections, and are much worse on workplace safety, courtesy of the far right, corporate friendly policies that have been pushed over the past few decades. That means that we have more physical and mental stress, and more workplace injuries. Americans also retire at later ages, when those stresses take a bigger physical toll.

In most developed countries, people are able to take as much time as the need to recover from illnesses and injuries, while in this country, people try to get back to work as quickly as possible, because they need to. This often means reinjuring themselves, or never being able to fully heal. These factors surely contribute to Americans being in more pain.

In addition there's the poor accessibility and affordability of basic health care, only somewhat ameliorated by the ACA. It means that Americans will often get diagnosed and treated at a later stage in an illness when less can be done to help them, or more invasive treatments are necessary. American medicine is better at the heroics than it is at basic prevention. We may have more people surviving really severe trauma of the sort that leaves people with long term chronic pain.

Then there's the whole nature of capitalist fee for service medicine, that incentivizes doctors to do lots of expensive and invasive procedures, a certain percentage of which are botched, and lead to long term pain. I've read a lot of chronic pain discussion boards, and many people are there because a doctor botched a surgery or procedure, leaving them in permanent pain. There is less iatrogenic injury, where doctors don't have a financial incentive to do lots of invasive procedures.

I'm afraid that this has sort of turned into an essay, which I wasn't originally planning, but the main point is that I can think of lots of reasons why there might be more people in pain, and in need of pain medication than people in other developed countries.

[Dave Starsky]

139. I agree with you.

I'm glad you took the time to lay that all out. You wrote an essay I wish I had the eloquence to write.

We DO have a serious pain problem in this country. We need to accept and acknowledge that. It's real. But I don't think its roots are all in physical pain. We are not all walking around with nerve root compression or posttraumatic complications. Americans have other pain in our lives that we are treating with pills.

I just wish we could address the root causes of that pain and not just throw Vicodin at it.

[jack_krass]

86. Because they dont even sell it in other countries. Were in full-blown hysteria mode now, with

misinformation and half truths being presented as fact.

Who is pushing this particilar half truth? Where did you hear this?

[zippythepinhead]

109. maybe from his drug dealer

"Captain Jack"

[zippythepinhead]

102. link please

sounds like fake news.

[True Dough]

80. Nope. No problem here...

The number of deaths from overdoses of illicit opioids rose sharply again in 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday.

“The epidemic of deaths involving opioids continues to worsen,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said. “Prescription opioid misuse and use of heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are intertwined and deeply troubling problems.”

Overdose deaths (9,580) from synthetic opioids, most of them fentanyl related, skyrocketed by 73 percent. Deaths that involved prescription opioids (17,536) rose just 4 percent.

And deaths attributed to heroin (12,990) went up 23 percent in 2015.

“The prescription opioid and heroin epidemic continues to devastate communities and families across the country — in large part because too many people still do not get effective substance use disorder treatment,” Director of National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli said.

http://ktla.com/2016/12/08/us-sees-spike-in-deaths-from-synthetic-drug-overdoses-as-opioid-epidemic-worsens-cdc/

Deaths from opioid overdoses surged again last year to more than 30,000, driven by a sharp increase in the use of heroin and fentanyl.

Heroin deaths were up 23% on the previous year to 12,989, more than the number of lives claimed by guns used in murders, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday. The sharpest increase came from lives claimed by even more powerful synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, the drug that killed Prince, which were up 73% to 9,580 deaths, although some of those deaths were in combination with heroin. But prescription opioid painkillers, containing drugs such as oxycodone, remained the biggest killers, taking 17,536 lives...

Robert Childs, director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, one of the largest not-for-profit distributors of naloxone in the US, said his organisation had spent about $220,000 this year giving out more than 13,000 naloxone kits to police officers and others working with those at risk of overdose.

“If naloxone wasn’t the price it is, we would be able to buy a lot more and get a lot more out there to high-risk populations,” he said. “There’s a public health crisis with opiate and opioid-based drug overdoses, and the response has often been to increase the price, which is probably the worst response you can do.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/16/opioid-overdose-naloxone-pharmaceutical-price-gouging

[Crunchy Frog]

136. Yes, it looks like the CDC's very misguided recommendations

On dramatically reducing the prescribing of legal opioids for the treatment of pain is having the entirely predictable effect of creating a massive surge in the demand for, and use of heroin and illicit fentanyl, accompanied by a surging death rate.

They've tightened the noose even more in 2016, so I fully expect the opioid related death rates to soar even higher for this year.

Nice work CDC and DEA. Keep cracking down on those evil pain medications and watch the death rates go ever higher.

I do have to express my admiration for the way Mr. Frieden lumps heroin/illicit fentany deaths with prescription pain medication deaths. He's certainly skilled at manipulating statistics in such a way as to mislead the gullible American public.

[Dustlawyer]

82. Yet the DEA last Wednesday classified the cannibus CBD oil as a schedule 1 drug!

How can we hope to solve this serious crisis when our own drug enforcement agency has their head up their ass trying to protect their budget instead of scientifically addressing the issues.

Some people need opioids for their pain, but reckless rule changes may also hurt those who are not abusing their medications. The pill doctors should stand out like a sore thumb compared to legitimate pain management specialist.

Standing in the way of medical marijuana is not the way to go. It could help to alleviate the opioid crisis if were not such a political football. The law enforcement agencies, drug companies, as well as the liquor companies have all lobbied against marijuana just to protect their financial interest rather than our well being.

[zippythepinhead]

125. I agree with you

The biggest lie about marijuana is that it is addictive.

[MadCrow]

88. WV Drug Problem

I can remember watching a hearing on CNN about 20 years ago about the problem of prescription painkillers in this state. The head of the WV State Police was testifying about how this was a serious problem that started in rural communities and moved to the cities. The reason I remember this so well is because he told of the experience of one of his own officers who had lost a brother to these drugs. This struck home with me because I knew exactly who he was referring to. The brother who died while still in high school had been a student of mine. He was a great baseball player and had been scouted to join a major league farm team. We live in a very small community and his death was a shock. Unfortunately, it wasn't the wake up call it should have been. Drugs have become a major problem in this state. My daughter works in social services and she sees the devastation of this problem first hand.

Many of our young people see no future. College for many is too expensive. So they are stuck with minimum wage jobs at places like Mac Donald's and other service jobs. The largest employers in my county are the hospital, the school system and Walmart. Coal mining and forestry are our other major employers. Forestry is pretty much seasonal and the coal mines have declined in recent years which has adversely affected our tax base. We only have one major coal company operating in this county at the present time. During the election a "huge" Trump sign was erected in a field. It had a picture of Trump saying, "Wait, coal miners. I'm coming." As you might expect this county went for Trump overwhelmingly.

These are your Trump voters They feel ignored and forgotten. I always said," the one thing about WV is that economically we never gain much, so when bad times come we don't have that far to fall". The economy has improved, but not for them. It is simplistic to say "move out of state", that is easier said than done. As it is, one of our greatest exports is our young people who have to leave home if they want to "make it". I think voting for Trump was a call for help. In essence saying, "MAYBE NOW YOU WILL LISTEN!"

[alarimer]

100. It's the drug war that has led to these overdoses.

If people got the pain relief and medical care they needed, they would not resort to illegal drugs of whatever kind.

Also, while I don't believe pot is necessarily the answer to all pain, if it were legal, maybe that would help too.

But putting patients and doctors through these hoops (like treating all these doctor visits suspiciously) only makes the overdose issue worse, not better. Illegal drugs are likely contaminated with any number of things that are dangerous.

[Mariana]

138. I agree.

I honestly think it would better to allow adults to buy clean drugs in standard dosages off the shelf than have the situation we have now. Will there still be some people who just go overboard and take too much, or who mix drugs that don't play well together and die from it? Of course. But we won't have people OD'ing just because they don't know the potency of what they've got, and we also won't have people who are in pain being made to suffer.

[get the red out]

108. The solution of course will be

For Doctors who aren't de facto drug dealers to deny their patients needed pain medications, while those who are basically drug dealers to continue to supply the addicted population.

Gotta hurt the innocent.

[pansypoo53219]

120. i was prescibed vicodin for a REALLY big splinter in my foot. thankfully was in the news

because brett favre was addicted to vicodin. also, my foot felt fine once the spinter was out. but i am a barefooted most of the time.

[gulliver]

133. Make sure you tell your kids not to take "pills."

Kids don't know from pills. In the seventies you could take the odd pill and get away with it. It was a pretty stupid thing to do even then, but now it's life threatening. Some kid is smoking marijuana and someone says, "Here. Try one of these pills." Say goodbye to your kid if it happens to be one of these all-to-available opiates.

[Bear Creek]

140. Tri State

The area was the test market. The drug companies have been sued over it. Not that it will help.

[Rex]

142. The War on Society is a huge failure.

Give it up copper tops. Here is an IDEA, why not focus on all the corruption in politics? Not so easy?

And the War on Society continues.

[zippythepinhead]

144. Nixon's the one who started the war on drugs

After he started it, the first thing that happened was that the narcs went after pot heads. A drug arrest by an agent was like a native american taking a scalp. It increased the agent's personal agenda relating to job promotions which increased their pay.

Pot heads were the easiest targets because most of the earlier pot heads were very passive and unarmed; especially the"flower children." Most of them were anti-war protesters who the authorities, military industrial complex, for example, hated. There was also the racist motive involved towards minorities.

This in turn led to cruel and unusual punishment imposed upon them by long prison sentences and confiscation of their personal property. They would confiscate your car if they found a pot seed in it.

This explosion of pot head arrests led to prison overcrowding. They actually did not have the prison space to incarcerate them.


Btw, nixon is probably the only president who poisoned american citizens by ordering the spraying marijuana plants in mexico with paraquat, a deadly toxin. This toxin laden marijuana was smuggled into the us and sold to americans.

By spending most of their time on marijuana users, the use of hard drugs exploded. It was actually easier to obtain hard and deadly drugs such as heroin and cocaine, etc. They are still busting pot heads in in many states, especially the red ones.

That's the awful truth, folks. I've lived through it. Keep on truckin, people.