About AddictionFeeds
AddictionFeeds aims to be the “super-aggregator” of addiction related RSS articles, news and reports. By crawling the web 24 hours a day, we collect stories from around the world. We then try to break them down in a way that makes sense to the masses without filtering.
We also offer commentary and opinion on subjects like our failed war on drugs, the ridiculousness behind mandatory sentencing, and any jail time (let alone prison) for marijuana use.
Because we are in a position to see trends as they emerge, we fear…just like parents, only earlier. Right now prescription medication addiction scares the hell out of us, and if something doesn’t change very soon, for the first time “We face losing a generation” will NOT be hype. Oxycontin does not = Marijuana. One is like jelly beans while the other is a hammer. Yet prescription painkillers have become the new “drug of first use”, passing marijuana. And while science came clean and let us know what we believed for a long time…that marijuana was not a “gateway” drug…well, Oxy doesn’t need to be a gateway. People are getting hooked weeks after taking it as prescribed.
Read that again. It used to be pretty sound science to state that a person in pain who took their medicine as prescribed would rarely become addicted. That is simply no longer the case. Imagine getting hurt and having a routine but painful operation. You’re prescribed Oxycontin, and it manages and relieves your pain. 10 weeks later, the Doc begins to wean you off and right then and there your body and mind, in unison, say F*** Y**.
They communicate this by causing shakes, sweats, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, a rebound of your original pain, and the list goes on. Craving relief, you find another Doctor. One has you on half doses, the other just started you on full. Welcome to your nightmare. And all you did was follow directions…
Thought 3 Strikes was bad? Get busted in any one of a dozen “civilized” countries and you would pray for life…in an American prison. In overseas prisons no one, not even your embassy, can hear you scream.
And at the same time new medications are coming…sometimes it seems like a new one every week…that do what no other meds before them could do. 20 year heroin junkies are walking, talking, eating and having a regular bowel movement in 10-14 days…As an outpatient.
Several new drugs effectively help manage cravings so if you don’t want to have a Higher Power you’re still covered.
And while celebrities haven’t been great sober role models, they’ve helped in some other ways, including reducing the stigma once asssociated with going to a rehab, detox or treatment center. Just because they go often doesn’t mean you have to as well…
Until next time,
The AddictionFeeds Team
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