The Addiction Help .com

It works wonderfully for my herion addiction and I don't want to go off of it since I know I'd immediately start using again. So many people consider it a "heroin substitute". However, I DO NOT get high on it and it is medically controlled so when taken correctly, there is little risk of an overdose. Not to mention all the awful things that go along with heroin addiction like the risk of contaminated needles, drugs laced with deadly substances, doing illegal things to get your "fix", and the fact that you will eventually end up dead or in prison. The problem is that I still have problems with alcohol and cocaine and methadone DOESN'T help with those addictions. I want to get help for all my substance problems but almost all rehabs are VERY AGAINST Methadone. I don't want to be on Methadone the rest of my life. I will eventually wean myself off (VERY SLOWLY) so that I don't get sick (it is addictive like heroin). Any thoughts about this? Please be kind. This is rough!

I'm not really sure if you can mix it with the methadone or not but Revia (Naltrexone) can help with the cravings for both opiates and alcohol. You may want to ask the clinic where you get the methadone.

And go to an NA and AA meeting. You can find local meetings at www.aa.org and www.na.org

One day at a time.

2007-10-04 18:45:36 by jessica

www.dragresti.com ~ (561) 842-9550 Dr. Mark Agresti, West Palm Beach Drug amp; Alcohol Detox Specialist -- Psychiatrist, explains normal steps of ...

Methadone and Harmd. Is Harmd doing more harm?
I am here to write my opinion on HARMD. This means; "Helping America Reduce Methadone Deaths".
Although their intentions might be good or in their own mind considered good. H.A.R.M.D. is disseminating lies about the drug Methadone. A co-founder of this organzition experienced a horrible tragedy in regards to the admintration of this drug in a professional medical setting.

As the story goes this individuals loved one was addicted to Oxycodone. Upon seeking medical help for this, the Medical facilty gave this person Methadone in conjunction with a benzodiazepiene and this person tragically died as a result of this combination. A dangerous combination.

Harmd will tell you absolutely nothing positive about the drug Methadone. Instead of calling it Helping America reduce Methadone Deaths......... They should have called it; "Trying to ban Methadone in America". That seems to me like their goal. And the fact is Methadone save lifes. It makes people that live in chronic pain functioning human beings again. It makes addicts live normal lives. Methadone is not a replacement for Heroin! IN other word's Methadone clinics are there to help these people live normal lives.

Harmd's claims on their video's on U-tube openly admit that the onset of the rush of the drug is slow; (Thus sticking their foot in their mouth indicating the drug is used to obtain a high/hence obtaining it for illicit reasons)so the person takes more to get high and doesn't realize a toxic level is increasing in them. METHADONE IS not to be USED to get HIGH or a rush! It is so easy to point the finger at a thing than a person. Methadone does not have a brain, it cannot control how and who or why a person uses it.

No one is going to want to admit their son died in a bathroom and was found with a syringe full of cocaine in his arm are they? No one would want to admit their son was a IV cocaine addict. But they can say Methadone killed their kid? Why? Because Methadone is FDA approved? Oxycontins ruined all of this. Oxycontins made regular pill users into full blown junkies. That is how Methadone just became a issue. Funny we never heard about Methadone deaths prior to 1998.

Number one; Methadone is a powerful synthetic opiate narcotic! The only people that have business with this drug are addicts that are going to addiction treatment or people that live in chronic pain in pain management. Methadone is not used to take if you have trouble sleeping! It is not used for a headache and it is not used as a spice in making meatloaf! Methadone must be used only by people that are qualified to take it. HARMD states it stays in your system a long time and or but it's pain relief is only 4 to 6 hours.

THIS IS FALSE! Methadone's analgesia threshold is 8 or more hours! Methadone has a 24 to 36 hour half life. This indicates that if you consume 10mg's. Exactly 24 hours later you will have 5mg's dormant in you. Thus if you want to maintain this 10mg a day dose, you take 10mg initially and than every day than and there out you take 5 mg's! So on and so fourth. Again a person that is not prescribed Methadone for pain or does not get it in an addiction treatment scenario HAS NO BUSINESS WITH IT! Giving this to a non familiar user that is only using it for a stupid reason is like giving a blind person glass in their dinner. JUst say no to drugs!

True facts on Methadone:

Methadone is the most sctrunized drug on the planet. No drug , not one in the history of the world has gone under the scrutiny that Methadone has. The drug has been in use since perhaps the mid 60's and this drug has a proven tried and true list of positive virtues in regards to long term effects on the body and almost has a explanation and theory on every dosaging protocol that has ever existed on the planet. I don't believe there is a single case of anyone being allergic to Methadone.

All opiates have long term effects on the body. There is nothing but overwhelming evidence that indicates that Methadone is the lightest on all the organs compared to any other opiate. It is the long half life which does not give the body time to recover throughout doses is what I believe makes it the harshest in this aspect.

All opiates impede vitamin and mineral absorbtion. Methadone is not excempt from this and because of it's long duration on visiting the body, mineral and vitamins should be used as a supplement. There is not a single drug on the planet that is as healthy as drinking milk or as healthy as eating a apple a day. Eating a bag of Potato chips everyday may actually be worse for your health. The FDA does not tell you the long term effects of MSG to readily. Or the stuff they put in a Big Mac.

Methadone is the flattest hitting opiate on the planet. In other word's it maintains a constant blood level throughout a 24 hour period. This is what makes Methadone such a miracle drug for addicts and pain management people. But it is this virtue that HARMD claims it is so dangerous. This is the a paradox of their thinking.

Where conventional opaites hit high and rapidly drop, Methadone does not. Therefore a person that is taking conventional opiates for pain eventually will end up abusing them to chase blood levels to keep an existing happy mood in check. This is a real thing that is going on in the brain and it is not in a person's head. So instead of taking more medication for pain relief, they are taking more to keep their mood in check and not pain control. This inadvertantly results in tolerence to the drug very quickly and non-delibarate abuse. With Methadone this is almost non-existant. It is a superior pain reliever by this virtue and dosing twice a day is almost always considered effective as compared to 4 times or more a day by a conventional opiate.

It is this aspect of Methadone that also of course makes it a choice for addcition treatment. It keeps the person in check throughout the entire day (Not needing more and more of the opiate) and cancels the so-called mental cravings a opiate addict gets.

Methadone in a pain scenario is also a opiate that keeps opiate induced hypersensitivity down to a low. All pain people in time will experience this and it either can be considered a form of withdrawal as more opiates are administered or break-thru pain. Since Methadone maintains a flat blood level and keeps pain receptors filled constantly, this phenomenon is greatly reduced. There are some claim that Methadone does not create opiate induced hypersnsitivity. I think it does and will but the effects are far less apparent.

Methadone is the simpliest of all opiate molecular structures.

Methadone was developed in Germany (I.G. Farben) under the direction of Herman Goering in mid 40's as a substitute for morphine. It was never intended at the time to be used in opiate addiction. It just happened that way.

People in pain management that obtain Methadone for pain are readily sterotyped as ex Heroin addicts because of Methdone's use in addiction centers.

Fact: A 40mg Methadone pill( Wafer) was as large as a quarter. And it is thick as two on the eges and in the middle as thick as three quarters stacked. If someone gave you a pill the size of a quarter and told you it was an aspirin, would you be a little apprehensive about it? It was perhaps one of the largest pain pills ever produced and as a aspirin in this form this would be perhaps be a 4,000 MG aspirin? Just saying.

The size alone of the 40mg pill should have been a deterrant from anyone abusing it. The truth is, you would have difficulty placing the entire thing in your mouth and swallowing it whole. It was also serated into four sections, not half but quarters. Thus indicating a quarter of the pill could be taken, but people that decided to abuse it, and took the entire thing anyways? Knowing it could be broken in fours? 40 Milligrams are no longer made however the 10's are. The company makes very small 10 mg pills and by eliminating the 40 they should make the 10mg just as large to indicate it looks strong? Who knows. For 10mg's of Methadone is strong!

Fact: 10mg's of Methadone is approx. 100 Milligrams of Morphine. Now this varies in IV and other routes of administration how it is metabolized, but for a standard equal it holds primary true. Methadone in a pain scenario prescribed 5mg's a day for three days, than 10 mg's a day for three day's and so on (Until determined the level of pain it is controlling) will never represent a problem with the patient. This patient must be simply monitored to see how they are reacting to the medication as far as fatique, lack of motor coordination, mental awareness for a two week period. The patient decides how they are reacting to the medication. Than they can safely be on the a stable dose of Methadone which is superior in pain control versus anything else.

Methadone should not be mixed with alcohol at all! Methadone should not be mixed with any type of Benzodiazepiene.

Methadone does not induce "Sleep Driving" like Ambien does.

And last HARMD is so quick to indicate that pain patients use Methadone because it is cheap. They say "Cheaper is not always better." What an crazy statement. I never heard that before. Since when is anything cheap ever better? I think they made it up. Don't better things cost money? Explain that to me?

BUT! Methadone as bought as a illegal drug on the street is anything but cheap! Not in the least. It is just as expensive as everything else. Again it should never be purchased illegally! That solves that problem. Say no to drugs.The only way to obtain it cheap is legal. Methadone treatment in clinic's is EXPENSIVE not CHEAP either. So I have no idea what they are talking about. So people that used it, abused it and died, did not pay pennies for their death but high dollar like everything else. And it is cheap. So what? I am a pain person that didn't have insurance, that was a blessing. HARMD could care less about that! Stating that Methadone is cheap as bought from a genuine prescription was a dumb thing to put in their arsenal. So what? It again is not cheap on the street or from the drug dealer on the corner.

What are my sources? I am a extensive researcher on opiates. I weaned off of 200mg's of Methadone a day as precribed for pain in 3 months and had them in my hand. I been researching opiates for 10 years and was a legally prescribed user of the,Give me any question on any opiate. I will give you an answer. Not a lie.

Your article was interesting to read. However, You need to add footnotes/endnotes as references to make your article more evidentially proven and have credibility. Also, keeping it in formal English will be more appropiate.

My own impression of this article after reading it is that it's been written bias, especially the section " True facts on Methadone " completely ignores the true facts of methadone from it's adverse effects point of view. Also, withdrawal symptoms resulting in physiological and cognitive effects causing upto death have not been acknowledged.


Good Luck !

2008-07-26 09:45:47 by DynoDiKk

Price: $7.99 $4.99

Year: 1951
Audio/Visual: Sound, Color
Title: The Terrible Truth

Methadone and Harmd. Is Harmd doing more harm?
I am here to write my opinion on HARMD. This means; "Helping America Reduce Methadone Deaths".
Although their intentions might be good or in their own mind considered good. H.A.R.M.D. is disseminating lies about the drug Methadone. A co-founder of this organzition experienced a horrible tragedy in regards to the admintration of this drug in a professional medical setting.

As the story goes this individuals loved one was addicted to Oxycodone. Upon seeking medical help for this, the Medical facilty gave this person Methadone in conjunction with a benzodiazepiene and this person tragically died as a result of this combination. A dangerous combination.

Harmd will tell you absolutely nothing positive about the drug Methadone. Instead of calling it Helping America reduce Methadone Deaths......... They should have called it; "Trying to ban Methadone in America". That seems to me like their goal. And the fact is Methadone save lifes. It makes people that live in chronic pain functioning human beings again. It makes addicts live normal lives. Methadone is not a replacement for Heroin! IN other word's Methadone clinics are there to help these people live normal lives.

Harmd's claims on their video's on U-tube openly admit that the onset of the rush of the drug is slow; (Thus sticking their foot in their mouth indicating the drug is used to obtain a high/hence obtaining it for illicit reasons)so the person takes more to get high and doesn't realize a toxic level is increasing in them. METHADONE IS not to be USED to get HIGH or a rush! It is so easy to point the finger at a thing than a person. Methadone does not have a brain, it cannot control how and who or why a person uses it.

No one is going to want to admit their son died in a bathroom and was found with a syringe full of cocaine in his arm are they? No one would want to admit their son was a IV cocaine addict. But they can say Methadone killed their kid? Why? Because Methadone is FDA approved? Oxycontins ruined all of this. Oxycontins made regular pill users into full blown junkies. That is how Methadone just became a issue. Funny we never heard about Methadone deaths prior to 1998.

Number one; Methadone is a powerful synthetic opiate narcotic! The only people that have business with this drug are addicts that are going to addiction treatment or people that live in chronic pain in pain management. Methadone is not used to take if you have trouble sleeping! It is not used for a headache and it is not used as a spice in making meatloaf! Methadone must be used only by people that are qualified to take it. HARMD states it stays in your system a long time and or but it's pain relief is only 4 to 6 hours.

THIS IS FALSE! Methadone's analgesia threshold is 8 or more hours! Methadone has a 24 to 36 hour half life. This indicates that if you consume 10mg's. Exactly 24 hours later you will have 5mg's dormant in you. Thus if you want to maintain this 10mg a day dose, you take 10mg initially and than every day than and there out you take 5 mg's! So on and so fourth. Again a person that is not prescribed Methadone for pain or does not get it in an addiction treatment scenario HAS NO BUSINESS WITH IT! Giving this to a non familiar user that is only using it for a stupid reason is like giving a blind person glass in their dinner. JUst say no to drugs!

True facts on Methadone:

Methadone is the most sctrunized drug on the planet. No drug , not one in the history of the world has gone under the scrutiny that Methadone has. The drug has been in use since perhaps the mid 60's and this drug has a proven tried and true list of positive virtues in regards to long term effects on the body and almost has a explanation and theory on every dosaging protocol that has ever existed on the planet. I don't believe there is a single case of anyone being allergic to Methadone.

All opiates have long term effects on the body. There is nothing but overwhelming evidence that indicates that Methadone is the lightest on all the organs compared to any other opiate. It is the long half life which does not give the body time to recover throughout doses is what I believe makes it the harshest in this aspect.

All opiates impede vitamin and mineral absorbtion. Methadone is not excempt from this and because of it's long duration on visiting the body, mineral and vitamins should be used as a supplement. There is not a single drug on the planet that is as healthy as drinking milk or as healthy as eating a apple a day. Eating a bag of Potato chips everyday may actually be worse for your health. The FDA does not tell you the long term effects of MSG to readily. Or the stuff they put in a Big Mac.

Methadone is the flattest hitting opiate on the planet. In other word's it maintains a constant blood level throughout a 24 hour period. This is what makes Methadone such a miracle drug for addicts and pain management people. But it is this virtue that HARMD claims it is so dangerous. This is the a paradox of their thinking.

Where conventional opaites hit high and rapidly drop, Methadone does not. Therefore a person that is taking conventional opiates for pain eventually will end up abusing them to chase blood levels to keep an existing happy mood in check. This is a real thing that is going on in the brain and it is not in a person's head. So instead of taking more medication for pain relief, they are taking more to keep their mood in check and not pain control. This inadvertantly results in tolerence to the drug very quickly and non-delibarate abuse. With Methadone this is almost non-existant. It is a superior pain reliever by this virtue and dosing twice a day is almost always considered effective as compared to 4 times or more a day by a conventional opiate.

It is this aspect of Methadone that also of course makes it a choice for addcition treatment. It keeps the person in check throughout the entire day (Not needing more and more of the opiate) and cancels the so-called mental cravings a opiate addict gets.

Methadone in a pain scenario is also a opiate that keeps opiate induced hypersensitivity down to a low. All pain people in time will experience this and it either can be considered a form of withdrawal as more opiates are administered or break-thru pain. Since Methadone maintains a flat blood level and keeps pain receptors filled constantly, this phenomenon is greatly reduced. There are some claim that Methadone does not create opiate induced hypersnsitivity. I think it does and will but the effects are far less apparent.

Methadone is the simpliest of all opiate molecular structures.

Methadone was developed in Germany (I.G. Farben) under the direction of Herman Goering in mid 40's as a substitute for morphine. It was never intended at the time to be used in opiate addiction. It just happened that way.

People in pain management that obtain Methadone for pain are readily sterotyped as ex Heroin addicts because of Methdone's use in addiction centers.

Fact: A 40mg Methadone pill( Wafer) was as large as a quarter. And it is thick as two on the eges and in the middle as thick as three quarters stacked. If someone gave you a pill the size of a quarter and told you it was an aspirin, would you be a little apprehensive about it? It was perhaps one of the largest pain pills ever produced and as a aspirin in this form this would be perhaps be a 4,000 MG aspirin? Just saying.

The size alone of the 40mg pill should have been a deterrant from anyone abusing it. The truth is, you would have difficulty placing the entire thing in your mouth and swallowing it whole. It was also serated into four sections, not half but quarters. Thus indicating a quarter of the pill could be taken, but people that decided to abuse it, and took the entire thing anyways? Knowing it could be broken in fours? 40 Milligrams are no longer made however the 10's are. The company makes very small 10 mg pills and by eliminating the 40 they should make the 10mg just as large to indicate it looks strong? Who knows. For 10mg's of Methadone is strong!

Fact: 10mg's of Methadone is approx. 100 Milligrams of Morphine. Now this varies in IV and other routes of administration how it is metabolized, but for a standard equal it holds primary true. Methadone in a pain scenario prescribed 5mg's a day for three days, than 10 mg's a day for three day's and so on (Until determined the level of pain it is controlling) will never represent a problem with the patient. This patient must be simply monitored to see how they are reacting to the medication as far as fatique, lack of motor coordination, mental awareness for a two week period. The patient decides how they are reacting to the medication. Than they can safely be on the a stable dose of Methadone which is superior in pain control versus anything else.

Methadone should not be mixed with alcohol at all! Methadone should not be mixed with any type of Benzodiazepiene.

Methadone does not induce "Sleep Driving" like Ambien does.

And last HARMD is so quick to indicate that pain patients use Methadone because it is cheap. They say "Cheaper is not always better." What an crazy statement. I never heard that before. Since when is anything cheap ever better? I think they made it up. Don't better things cost money? Explain that to me?

BUT! Methadone as bought as a illegal drug on the street is anything but cheap! Not in the least. It is just as expensive as everything else. Again it should never be purchased illegally! That solves that problem. Say no to drugs.The only way to obtain it cheap is legal. Methadone treatment in clinic's is EXPENSIVE not CHEAP either. So I have no idea what they are talking about. So people that used it, abused it and died, did not pay pennies for their death but high dollar like everything else. And it is cheap. So what? I am a pain person that didn't have insurance, that was a blessing. HARMD could care less about that! Stating that Methadone is cheap as bought from a genuine prescription was a dumb thing to put in their arsenal. So what? It again is not cheap on the street or from the drug dealer on the corner.

What are my sources? I am a extensive researcher on opiates. I weaned off of 200mg's of Methadone a day as precribed for pain in 3 months and had them in my hand. I been researching opiates for 10 years and was a legally prescribed user of the,Give me any question on any opiate. I will give you an answer. Not a lie.

Opiates or methadone are NOT my areas of expertise and I am not familiar at all on the use of methadone for pain management other than I know some do use it in that manner. If used properly, methadone can be a life-saver for the hard-core heroin or opiate user. It buys them time to sort out their personal lives, work their recoveries, and deal with what they are trying to avoid that drove them to numb themselves in the first place. One problem that I see is the quality of those who are monitoring the addict and the way it is dispensed. Addicts have a disease- they are not bad people trying to get good, they are sick people trying to get well. Would we as a country tolerate having our diabetic loved ones lined up on the street in a bad part of town at 5 in the morning to get their insulin for the day from a poorly educated clerk? NO! Yet it seems perfectly acceptable that addicts must comply with substandard treatment to get their daily dose. The other thing that I see wrong with the methadone program is the recovery aspect of it, yeah they are supposed to be working on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspect of recovery…but it’s not a requirement. And plans to taper off the methadone are almost nonexistent, methadone is subsidized, if the addict gets off the methadone, the clinic loses federal or state grant money. Then there is also the problem of using on top of, around, or in combination with. Mix the methadone with a benzo, and it’s the same high as the heroin was and too often death comes to collect.

Personally, I’m not for or against methadone, it’s a tool, not a cure. However, with the only alternative being the unsubsidized program of Buprenorphine/ Suboxone/ Subutex, which is a partial agonist at the mu-opioid receptor and an antagonist at the kappaopioid receptor, methadone is really the only alternative for those who cannot afford the Sub program. In the UK and surrounding countries they are now making an effort to totally eliminate the methadone programs, which of course is terrorizing those in the program. I fear that the result of banning the program will force addicts to buy off the streets or return back to their drug of choice. I hope here in the USA that before banning or even altering the methadone program that there is an affordable and viable alternative firmly in place, and a switch-over type program has been tested before they do anything drastic. Hundreds of thousands of patients rely on methadone for quality of life purposes, lets not throw them under the bus.

2008-07-26 09:47:03 by DynoDiKk

Price: $0.99

Has anyone had any results with using ibogaine for treating depression? For those that don't know, ibogaine comes from the iboga plant and is illegal in the US (but not in Canada, Mexico, and many European countries). It is also used for curing heroin/opiate addiction/withdrawal symptoms. The fact that it is illegal in the US does not mean that it does not have legitimate medical uses.

Sorry I have never used it, I don't use conventional medicines at all (who needs the side effects and complications). Here are the medicines I have used for myself and my patients with 100% success.
Homeopathic Remedies for Anxiety / Stress / Depression(Bereavment) / Mood Swings :-

ANXIETY & STRESS :-

Sudden with restlessness and fear of death Aconite 30X or 200X,1/2 hourly (3 Doses)

Prolonged with periodic and panic attacks Arsenic Alb.200X, 4 hourly (3 Doses)

With fainting spells; profuse sweating; worse in the morning Sulphur 30X or 200X 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Makes patient walk fast; due to anticipation Argentum Nit 200X, 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Worse lying in bed and closing the eyes Carbo Veg 30X or 200X, 4 hourly (6 Doses)

Anxiety aggravated by upward or downward motion; going in an elevator; worse till 11 P.M, Borax 200X or 1M, 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Anxious about business even when seriously ill Bryonia Alba 200X 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Full of apprehensions in the evening Causticum 200X, 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Anxiety and fears in the evening with restlessness and palpitation Calcarea Carb.200X or 1M, 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Anxiety worse while lying still. Sad music ameliorates the complaints Manganum Acet 200X 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Anxiety due to fright, fear,exciting news; stage fright; worse while appearing for examination or interview etc Gelsemium 30X or 200X 3 hourly (6 Doses)

Mood Swings, Anxiety due to grief or shock in the subconscious mind Ignatia 200X or 1M, 3 hourly (3 Doses)

Anxiety; better after eating Anacardium Or 30X, 4 hourly.

DEPRESSION & GRIEF(Bereavement) :-

Severe shock due to sudden death of loved ones; restlessness, anxiety and fear Aconite 200X. 10 min (3 Doses)

Prolonged mournings; cannot overcome the loss of loved ones and/or Mood Swings. Ignatia 1M or 10M, 6 hourly (3 Doses)

When the grief is in the conscious mind; patient weeps; does not like sympathy Natrum Mur.200X or 1M, 6 hourly (3 Doses)

For chronic grief and indignation Staphysagria 200X or 1M, weekly (3 Doses)

Depression with suicidal thoughts feeling of worthlessness, Aurum Met 30X, three times a day half hour before meals.


Take the remedy which is similar to your symptoms. No side effects or complications if taken as directed, please do not exceed the given dosage and under any circumstances do not try to mix any remedies and avoid Chocolates, Mints, Coffee, Red Meat, Alcoholic and Carbonated drinks, Spicy Rich Food while taking any Homeopathic remedies, and keep the medicines away from direct sunlight, heat strong smells and perfumes and do not store them in the fridge.
Curing without any side effects or Complications Thats the Beauty of Homeopathic Medicine (Cures Par Excellence)

Take Care and God Bless You !

2007-08-03 01:31:23 by eddster08

(I restarted this question because i laid the last question out sloppily and people were missing my point)

Question: What is wrong with being addicted to something? Everyone is addicted to something right now, but people seem to have this great fear and abhorrence for drug addiction without really explaining or knowing why it seems.

Definition: addiction is a state in which the body relies on a substance for normal functioning and develops physical dependence. When this substance is suddenly removed, it will cause withdrawal, a characteristic set of signs and symptoms

Substances i want to focus on:

Substances that do NO physical harm(opiates,can be taken for many many years by people without real physical harm). I am not talking about drugs like alcohol which destroy your liver, or cocaine that destroys your heart, or meth which destroys just about everything. Only those drugs which are addictive that can be taken long term without physical harm, or physical harm that can be avoided with simple things like vitamins or exercise. A non-opiate example of this would be Ambien (zolpidem) or valium(benzo class).

I do not want to talk about overdosing because it is easily avoided with responsible use and doctor supervision of dosage increase. people dying from overdose from streets drugs either had something cut into the main drug, got a much more potent drug, or were suicidal in which case we may as well make rope illegal. accidents of course happen but accidental deaths are not reasons to make things illegal or to ostracize people for doing a substance.

I am also not concerned with social problems caused by the illegal nature of drugs. Street gangs form because drugs are a money maker due to their scarcity which starts with them being made illegal, just as the mob rose up with prohibition of alcohol. Stealing for the drug is made unnecessary when the drug is cheaply available and easily obtained due to large scale production and distribution.

In addition i am not really concerned with things like beating your wife while under the influence because that is not the responsibility of the drug, that is the responsibility of the person. Alcohol doesnt make you attack someone, you chose to at a point. It can make you less afraid to take a violent action, but it cannot force you to and this is something the courts and i agree on.

One final note, i am also not talking about problems like driving under the influence and killing someone. that is not a problem of addiction but a problem of responsibility. there are plenty of people that drink alcohol that have never set foot in the driver's seat under the influence and then there are people that readily try to drive home after drinking heavily. the problem was there before the substance ever was.

I am of course talking about a situation with drugs that does not currently exist (except in a few experimental towns/clinics) but i am talking about a situation that existed for millenia before the recent "war on drugs" made them illegal and created the black market, drug gangs, drug wars in many countries where they fight to control supply, and violence due to the need to steal to obtain the drug or money to obtain the drug. I am asking why the sudden change in perception where before morphine was just a helpful cough medicine/pain suppressant it is now demonized without it being inherently bad in any way and is in fact helpful in many ways.
Id just like to present a comparison of the "addiction" of food/water/sodium to the addiction of morphine.

all will sometimes make people do violent acts to get them if they run out or run low. all

will make people very irritable if you do not have enough or have run out and are suffering their different forms of withdrawal.

all the first 3 WILL be deadly if you do not have enough and morphine CAN be deadly if you are addicted heavily enough and stop cold turkey.

all fit the definition of addiction and yet the first 3 are perfectly accepted by society whereas morphine and other non-harmful addictive drugs are looked down on.

morphine has saved countless lives, including mine, by stopping diarrhea and easing intense pain that might otherwise cripple someone. morphine has made so many cancer and other chronic pain sufferers lives incredibly better, but if someone takes it for non- "medical" reasons they are shunned, arrested, thrown out of their families, etc.

It is your right to be addicted to any drug you wish.

Most drugs that are illegal are because of the harm inflicted on
others while under their influence and the long term health
issues.
Many that use these drugs do not have health coverage and
become a burden on state and federal agencies to care for
them and cause the loss millions of dollars in tax payers funds
used for their care.

I can see your point of view even though I do not agree with it.
Its like those that say, "I shouldn't be required to wear a
helmet when I ride my motorcycle!"

The reason for the helmet law was and is because when a
motorcyclist is in an accident, several agencies of the state
and hospital systems have to pay the bills for these motorists
that usually have no medical insurance.

Let me ask you this: If you were to have a seizure and be in a
hospital for 6 months due to your drug use, are you able to
pay your expenses or will your state, hospital system and the
taxpayers pay your expenses?

Everyone that complains seems to be focused only on their
rights and could care less about the millions of dollars being
wasted on their needless medical expenses that rob those
that really need the help because it drains the state and
hospital systems of the operational funds to help those who
are sick instead of those not smart enough to not use drugs
and screw their self up.

If you are going to screw yourself up using drugs, sign a wavier
so you can just die and get it over with. But you won't. Because
after you screw yourself up, you demand and feel you are
owed the medical treatment that those that are sick may be
denied just because of your right to screw yourself up.

You made a conscious choice to put your life in danger. The
sick don't have that option. And may not be able to get the
medical help they need because the medical system is
drained by those invoking their right to do as they please
even if robs others of their rights and medical treatments.

All of you say you are right until your drugs catch up with you.
Then its up to others to clean up after you and provide
thousands of dollars in funding which in most cases is
needless since you will just go back out and screw yourself
up invoking your rights again.

Those on drugs I have met aren't able to understand what I
have said here. Anything that robs them of their right to do as
they please and removes their right to rob others of their rights
is unacceptable.

We will never agree on this subject. You feel my tax dollars are
to be used if you need them. I don't feel my tax dollars should
be used for addicts. But fortunate for you, I don't have a say
in it!

This is one of your statements:

I am asking why the sudden change in perception where before morphine was just a helpful cough medicine/pain suppressant it is now demonized without it being inherently bad in any way and is in fact helpful in many ways.

Morphine is not harmless unless in a small dose. It was used
as a pain suppressant but most people became addicted to it.
Morphine will shut your kidneys down if used on a regular basis.

2009-01-03 00:38:58 by Halsfield