Public Health

Of course, if you work in addiction treatment, you probably see some of these same meds being abused by young adults, often beginning in college or grad school.

There’s an ongoing search among users for ways to either improve the high (which escalating tolerance threatens to steal away) or suppress the withdrawal symptoms.

I can’t help seeing that as a moral argument, not a medical one. And not very practical, either.

I assume high school is no less boring than it ever was, and it would be a real temptation for some kids to just stay buzzed throughout the school day, while earning praise for avoiding tobacco.

It’s also not too difficult to create a ‘homemade’ variety using raw ingredients purchased on the dark web and a common pill press.

But the repair isn’t cheap, and the outcomes require some patience. And that’s why efforts often fail. America gives up too early. 

The issue isn’t about getting stoned. It’s about whether the product is actually benefiting the customer who purchased it.

When the push to use more opioids for pain began, we kept hearing that there were 100 million chronic pain patients in the United States, most of whom were untreated (or undertreated).

We should anticipate that many patients with opioid disorders will also be in treatment for some chronic medical disorder.

That was always the flaw with the concept of fighting a “war” on drugs– who exactly is the enemy?