Seattle Is Dying video

[dualstow]

...
If there are truly people at these pharmaceutical companies that knew they were this addictive and should be limited in use vs. prescribed willy-nilly, there shouldn't just be civil lawsuits. It's time people go to jail. This stuff has led to the deaths of so many people.

Well, I doubt that's going to happen. I think I'm somewhere between you and Pug.

Are you going to put Philip Morris (Altria) execs in jail? What about Diageo? Glock?

[Xan]

A (relatively) recent episode of Nova also treated the subject:
https://www.pbs.org/video/addiction-afsxne/

[Cortopassi]

...
If there are truly people at these pharmaceutical companies that knew they were this addictive and should be limited in use vs. prescribed willy-nilly, there shouldn't just be civil lawsuits. It's time people go to jail. This stuff has led to the deaths of so many people.

Well, I doubt that's going to happen. I think I'm somewhere between you and Pug.

Are you going to put Philip Morris (Altria) execs in jail? What about Diageo? Glock?

Fair point. I'm just sick of all these white collar people and corporations getting slap on the wrist fines from the 2008 financial crisis, to opioids, to Wells Fargo fake accounts, to (hopefully some jail) for this school admissions scandal.

Interesting relevant post https://slopeofhope.com/2019/03/torches ... forks.html

[jacksonM]

I watched the video as well as the related one about heroin in Seattle.

The thing that pisses me off is that almost every single story starts out with I hurt my this or that, my doctor put me on pain medication, and it all spiraled out of control from there.

If there are truly people at these pharmaceutical companies that knew they were this addictive and should be limited in use vs. prescribed willy-nilly, there shouldn't just be civil lawsuits. It's time people go to jail. This stuff has led to the deaths of so many people.

The pharmaceutical companies can't win for losing. If you develop a drug to relieve pain then of course it is going to become addictive if the underlying cause of the pain, whether physical or psychological, isn't addressed. I don't see how that's their problem or why they should go to jail for it.

[Cortopassi]

I watched the video as well as the related one about heroin in Seattle.

The thing that pisses me off is that almost every single story starts out with I hurt my this or that, my doctor put me on pain medication, and it all spiraled out of control from there.

If there are truly people at these pharmaceutical companies that knew they were this addictive and should be limited in use vs. prescribed willy-nilly, there shouldn't just be civil lawsuits. It's time people go to jail. This stuff has led to the deaths of so many people.

The pharmaceutical companies can't win for losing. If you develop a drug to relieve pain then of course it is going to become addictive if the underlying cause of the pain, whether physical or psychological, isn't addressed. I don't see how that's their problem or why they should go to jail for it.

It seems Purdue/Sacklers have known for a very long time their product was incredibly addictive and easily abused but continued to push more sales and tried to downplay what was going on.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/heal ... ioids.html

I would bet many of these people who started opioids for pain and got addicted would have been much better off if something like marijuana was available more readily.

The thing that scared me, and maybe it isn't the same for all people, is these types of drugs seem to almost immediately cause rewiring of the brain causing you to need it. Regardless, if I ever need that level of pain control, I will find some other method. I have seen enough of this that I will never take one.

[Kriegsspiel]

Added: All that scrolling on the screen is annoying. Who does that?

When they show the police lists on monitors. Very hard on the eyes. It’s like MTV in its playful nascence.

You get used to it. I... I don't even see the police code. All I see is "bong," "syrette," "methhead."

[jacksonM]

I watched the video as well as the related one about heroin in Seattle.

The thing that pisses me off is that almost every single story starts out with I hurt my this or that, my doctor put me on pain medication, and it all spiraled out of control from there.

If there are truly people at these pharmaceutical companies that knew they were this addictive and should be limited in use vs. prescribed willy-nilly, there shouldn't just be civil lawsuits. It's time people go to jail. This stuff has led to the deaths of so many people.

The pharmaceutical companies can't win for losing. If you develop a drug to relieve pain then of course it is going to become addictive if the underlying cause of the pain, whether physical or psychological, isn't addressed. I don't see how that's their problem or why they should go to jail for it.

It seems Purdue/Sacklers have known for a very long time their product was incredibly addictive and easily abused but continued to push more sales and tried to downplay what was going on.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/heal ... ioids.html

I would bet many of these people who started opioids for pain and got addicted would have been much better off if something like marijuana was available more readily.

The thing that scared me, and maybe it isn't the same for all people, is these types of drugs seem to almost immediately cause rewiring of the brain causing you to need it. Regardless, if I ever need that level of pain control, I will find some other method. I have seen enough of this that I will never take one.

Well, I agree with you about marijuana. If there is a safer product for people to use to self-medicate for whatever reason then I haven't heard of it yet. And I speak as someone who used it for suicide prevention in Southeast Asia and now use it to treat back and neck problems to get a good night's sleep (only).

I'm hearing lots of stories about how it has been "linked" to schizoprenia and maybe this is true but isn't there such a thing as "alcoholic psychosis" and how many people die every year from alcohol poisoning as compared to those who overdose on marijuana? As far as I know the number in the latter case is exactly zero, the former much higher.

I have never read any statistics about how many people die from using opiods prescribed by a doctor while under a doctor's care but it would be very interesting to know if anybody has a good source for that information. Most of the stories I've read about death by opiods involve illegal drugs that people have to turn to when they can no longer get a prescription from the doctor. It may have started from prescription drugs but it didn't end there. But like I said I would be interested in confirmation of whether that is true or not.

[WiseOne]

I watched the rest of the video finally...whew.

I did not get the impression that you could chalk all this up to opioids. The people featured were on all sorts of things like crystal meth, and the main issue was a basic psychiatric pathology - either schizophrenia (mostly) or outright sociopaths that came to Seattle because they knew they would be free to do their thing (i.e. commit crimes). I think the sociopaths got most of the interview slots because it's difficult or impossible to get a coherent interview from a schizophrenic. And btw yes...hospitalizations for alcohol poisoning or withdrawal is common, but I have never seen one due to marijuana. Other drugs occasional to rare.

Sounds like Seattle is ripe for not only institutional psychiatric treatment and lockdown when needed, but also a Giuliani-style law enforcement push. It's interesting that one of the Giuliani initiatives was to crack down on "lifestyle" crimes like loitering, the windshield squeegee guys, public urination etc, as a way to head off more serious crimes. That turned out to be 100% correct. Seattle it seems has yet to figure that out.

[dualstow]

Agree w/ you WiseOne, Pug.
- - -
The schizophrenics are homeless and addicted.

The people who won't let the police do their job and who promptly release mentally ill criminal offenders- what is *their* excuse for their insanity?

[Tortoise]

The people who won't let the police do their job and who promptly release mentally ill criminal offenders- what is *their* excuse for their insanity?

Compassion? Big hearts?

[dualstow]

I suppose. Sure is misplaced.

The people who won't let the police do their job and who promptly release mentally ill criminal offenders- what is *their* excuse for their insanity?

Compassion? Big hearts?

[WiseOne]

I suppose. Sure is misplaced.

The people who won't let the police do their job and who promptly release mentally ill criminal offenders- what is *their* excuse for their insanity?

Compassion? Big hearts?

And don't forget identity politics. I bet plenty of the offenders are members of Most Favored Minority groups.

[dualstow]

And don't forget identity politics. I bet plenty of the offenders are members of Most Favored Minority groups.

The ones in the video are so white, they look like Martin Shkreli coming out of solitary.

[WiseOne]

I very much doubt that the interviews were chosen in a completely unbiased manner. The person had to be reasonably presentable for the camera, not obviously psychotic, and speak perfect English. That would have biased the selection in favor of the Anglo-Saxon sociopaths that were featured.

[dualstow]

Even among the sociopaths, white privilege. /s

[Kriegsspiel]

Code: Select all

O Opium                    O Heroin
velut altum                like the tides
statu variabilis,          you are changeable,
semper crescis             ever waxing
aut decrescis;             ever waning;
vita detestabilis          hateful life
nunc obdurat               first oppresses
et tunc curat              and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem,         playing with mental clarity;
egestatem,                 poverty
potestatem                 and power
dissolvit ut glaciem.      it melts them like ice.

Sors immanis               Fate – monstrous
et inanis,                 and empty,
rota tu volubilis,         you whirling wheel,
status malus,              you are malevolent,
vana salus                 well-being is vain
semper dissolubilis,       and always fades to nothing,
obumbrata                  shadowed
et velata                  and veiled
michi quoque niteris;      you plague me too;
nunc per ludum             now through the game
dorsum nudum               I bring my bare back
fero tui sceleris.         to your villainy.

Sors salutis               Fate is against me
et virtutis                in health
michi nunc contraria,      and virtue,
est affectus               driven on
et defectus                and weighted down,
semper in angaria.         always enslaved.
Hac in hora                So at this hour
sine mora                  without delay
corde pulsum tangite;      pluck the vibrating strings;
quod per sortem            since Fate
sternit fortem,            strikes down the strong,
mecum omnes plangite!      everyone weep with me!

O Fortuna Opium . . . O Fortune Heroin
velut luna altum . . . like the moon tides

Modify a couple words and it still works. Such a savage poem.