Drug abuse thoughts

Why have doctors over-prescribed painkillers in the 15 years?

If a doctor prescribes painkillers, reject the prescription.

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We have a friend who has fought an addiction to painkillers and nearly died last year from an overdose. This person has had three "friends" die in recent months from heroin overdose.

When painkillers become hard to find, then apparently, heroin becomes an easier purchase. A new type of heroin exists that is much stronger, and it may be one reason for an increase in heroin overdose deaths.

November 2013 - NPR - With Rise Of Painkiller Abuse, A Closer Look At Heroin

Abuse of prescription painkillers is a "growing, deadly epidemic," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"If they don't have access to legal sources [for painkillers], many of them will turn to the black market," he tells NPR's Arun Rath. "And if they can't find black-market pills, they'll buy heroin on the black market."

The number of people reporting heroin use in the previous year increased between 2007 and 2012, from 373,000 to 669,000.

Meanwhile, federal data from 2011 finds that nearly 80 percent of people who had used heroin in the past year had also previously abused prescription painkillers classified as opioids.

According to the CDC, the amount of prescription painkillers sold to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors' offices across the U.S. quadrupled between 1999 and 2010.

"And it's gotten so bad that the CDC is now telling us there are more people in the United States dying each year from drug overdoses than car crashes."

The United States is completely alone in this trend.

Quadrupled? Are a lot of people getting hurt suddenly, or have we become wussies, regarding physical discomfort, or are hospitals pushing painkillers for the industry?

February 2014 Toledo Blade story

Statistics paint a disturbing picture of how widespread heroin has become and its deadly consequences.

Police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said the potency of heroin increased dramatically from 2011 to 2012.

“China White heroin is is about seven times stronger than the brown heroin, and this is what’s causing all the overdoses,” Sergeant Heffernan said.

“In 2011, less than 1 percent was China White, but in 2012 it moved up to 67 percent and 2013, it was in the 60 percentage range also.”

Last month, it was ruled that Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an accidental drug overdose.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found in his New York apartment on February 2 with a needle in his arm, died of an accidental overdose of drugs.

The cause of death was acute drug intoxication, including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine ...

In my opinion, that ain't no accident. Maybe he did not intend to die, but a needle in the arm along with all of those other drugs do not accidentally enter the body.

Plus, he had to know the dangerous risks, including the possibility of death, when consuming that kind of mix, and he did it anyway. It was his choice, and he chose wrong.

And if he was unsure about the risks, a quick web search could have provided the info.

I'm no fan of the excuses. That's why my wife is better at helping our friend than I would be because I don't understand the life-wasting choices.

Life offers too much else to enjoy. Simple things, such as great food and beautiful sunsets like the one Friday evening make more sense to me than drugs.

Groups are trying to raise awareness. I don't know how people could be unaware in 2014 about the dangers of drug addiction.

Fine. Whatever. Then tell it like is.

• If your doctor prescribes you painkillers, then refuse to take them.
• If you use painkillers, then the chance exists that you will abuse painkillers.
• If you abuse painkillers, then the chance exists that you will overdose and die.
• If you abuse painkillers, then the chance exists that you will use heroin.
• If you use heroin, then the chance exists that you will overdose and die.
• If you use China White heroin, then a better chance exists that you will overdose and die.
• Stop making asinine choices.
• Chose rehab and stay sober.

I know that I will never comprehend the thinking of a drug addict.

It's a very binary issue to me. Do drugs or don't do drugs. Live or die.

But I realize that society won't permit this issue to be boiled down to a simple equation, so the best that I can offer is, "Good luck."

The drug addicts should be thankful that they have patient friends like my wife to help them.