Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Prescription Drug Problem

I have thought a lot about the prescription narcotic problem. I have experienced it every day I have worked in the er, and I have seen friends and family members consumed by it. I have hated it. every day I see the crimes and blights on society produced by it, my car was even stolen from my driveway. I am ashamed that educated "professionals" contribute to the drug problem. However, recently, I have been thinking a little different lately. There has always been a drug problem, throughout history, and will always be. The only thing that changes is the drug abused most commonly. Right now, in my region, and in most of America, the drug of choice is prescription opiates. Is this the worst drug that we could have as our drug of choice for users? Maybe not. Unlike cocaine, heroin, or the like, these drugs are not furnished by large cartels in other countries. Organized crime has less opportunity to become involved. The manufacturers of these drugs are legitamate companies that provide jobs for legitamate american workers, unlike the slaves in the fields of south america. Even the people who make money from dealing these drugs are middle and upper class Americans who likely pump this money back into the US economy. Maybe this system is not the worst possible way our drug abusers could get their drugs. At least this way provides more income to our country and even to some innocent people (such as those drug factory workers). This is probably the wrong way to think, and I am going to continue to fight against this thing every day in the ED, but at least it is a small way to look on the bright side of the problem. On a related note, do you know that the street price for oxycontin is a dollar a milligram? So the average monthly prescription of say, 90 pills, 80 milligram oxys, the street value is 7200 dollars! Wow! Think of the people who just drive around all day, obtaining prescriptions for these things! More on this next time.

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