NationStates Jolt Archive

:sigh:....sometimes working in a hospital really..really isn't all it's hoped for....right now they are going thru withdrawals....shakes..fever..strapped down to prevent violence to themselves...

two from crack..one from cocaine..and another from prescription drugs.

I'm in this place to help people..sometimes it just gets hard.

if only America would recognize the damage that the War on Drugs is doing to our citizens...if Prohibition is any indication, we would see a 50% drop in overdoses, critical addictions, and poly-drug-related complications.

but hey, putting minorities in jail for posession is more important than saving lives.

Fight the good fight, Salishe.

if only America would recognize the damage that the War on Drugs is doing to our citizens...if Prohibition is any indication, we would see a 50% drop in overdoses, critical addictions, and poly-drug-related complications.

but hey, putting minorities in jail for posession is more important than saving lives.

Hun...I hate to tell you..war or drugs or not..it wouldn't prevent overdoses of these drugs..the prescription drugs were legally obtained..doesn't stop you from overdosing..people who overdose don't do it because of the legality or illegality of the drugs...they do it because being in that state is preferable to dealing with life.

DP

if only America would recognize the damage that the War on Drugs is doing to our citizens...if Prohibition is any indication, we would see a 50% drop in overdoses, critical addictions, and poly-drug-related complications.

but hey, putting minorities in jail for posession is more important than saving lives.

Hun...I hate to tell you..war or drugs or not..it wouldn't prevent overdoses of these drugs..the prescription drugs were legally obtained..doesn't stop you from overdosing..people who overdose don't do it because of the legality or illegality of the drugs...they do it because being in that state is preferable to dealing with life.

Yes, I agree re the motivation "being in that state is preferable to dealing with life." - but that IMHO, only shows that the problem is a medical-psychiatric problem, not a legal one.

As such, it should be treated as a medical issue.

The two drugs most responsible for avoidable deaths are alcohol and nicotine, both legal.

:sigh:....sometimes working in a hospital really..really isn't all it's hoped for....right now they are going thru withdrawals....shakes..fever..strapped down to prevent violence to themselves...

two from crack..one from cocaine..and another from prescription drugs.

I'm in this place to help people..sometimes it just gets hard.

Yeah nights like that are the worst.
At least you are there to try to help out. I know it probably wont make much difference with them in the long run, but maybe one of them will get the hint.

I work as dispatcher at a Sheriff's Office where meth is our biggest problem. We had a lab blowup and kill a family with a couple of toddlers. One of those nights that you just want to hug every little kid you see.

Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

if only America would recognize the damage that the War on Drugs is doing to our citizens...if Prohibition is any indication, we would see a 50% drop in overdoses, critical addictions, and poly-drug-related complications.

but hey, putting minorities in jail for posession is more important than saving lives.

Hun...I hate to tell you..war or drugs or not..it wouldn't prevent overdoses of these drugs..the prescription drugs were legally obtained..doesn't stop you from overdosing..people who overdose don't do it because of the legality or illegality of the drugs...they do it because being in that state is preferable to dealing with life.

I personally believe that the 'War on Drugs' is a dangerous sham. Irrespective of this, I guess what you have to do for now is forget about how or why they're in your hospital and just do what you have to do to get them to a relatively healthy position. That way you give them the choice, a second chance to think about what they really want.

It's an awful position to be in. Those who have overdosed on the likes of cocaine are basically incapable of helping themselves; they're hooked. It doesn't really matter why they got addicted, the thing to do is to work out how to wean them off. But that's not your job, I take it? As for the suicidals... if you find yourself in anyway involved, then I guess you just show them all the compassion you can. Just listen to what they have to say if they wish to say anything.

In the meantime, help how you know you can and try not to get too emotionally connected, if that's possible. You're not expected to carry everyone's woes around with you.

I snicerely wish you all the best.

DP

if only America would recognize the damage that the War on Drugs is doing to our citizens...if Prohibition is any indication, we would see a 50% drop in overdoses, critical addictions, and poly-drug-related complications.

but hey, putting minorities in jail for posession is more important than saving lives.

Hun...I hate to tell you..war or drugs or not..it wouldn't prevent overdoses of these drugs..the prescription drugs were legally obtained..doesn't stop you from overdosing..people who overdose don't do it because of the legality or illegality of the drugs...they do it because being in that state is preferable to dealing with life.

sorry if my post was unclear, let me try again:

during prohibition, the use and critical abuse of both illegal and legal intoxicants went waaaaaaaaay up. within five years of prohibition being struck down, those rates were BELOW what they had been before prohibition. studies suggest that forbidding the use of intoxicants actually increases the likelihood that people will use those intoxicants in an unsafe manner, and decreases the likelihood that people will use in moderation and respect their bodies.

no, making drugs legal won't stop drug use. but data compiled by the APA and the American Association for Narcotics Research suggests that the number of overdoses and poly-drug complications will decrease by as much as 50% if marijuana alone is legalized. this is based in part on findings that fully 2/3rds of 15 year olds who have tried illegal drugs say that the ONLY reason they did so was as an act of rebelion.

further, prescription drug overdoses usually involve illegal usage; most often, somebody is using a drug that was not prescribed for them. the other cases all involve people abusing their prescription, usually by refilling it inappropriately or using it with another controlled substance.

my point was that the War on Drugs is largely responsible for the drug problem in America, and redirecting all funding from this (and other) ill-conceived "war" on an abstract concept into treatment and education would reduce the tragedy of overdose that you are forced to witness.

Bottle: How about this. I'll let you legalize your "non-harmful" drugs, when you let me illegalize alcohol and tobacco :) That'd be a decent trade, right? At least instead of a bunch of drunk drivers and cancer patients, we'd have a bunch of people too stoned to drive and tweaking in a back alley ;)

Seriously, why not? Ban ALL the dangerous non-prescrip drugs, and legalize the rest... I'd be for that.

http://www.bateshome.com/jordan/cts.jpg (http://jordansean.blogspot.com/)

Bttole: How about this. I'll let you legalize your "non-harmful" drugs, when you let me illegalize alcohol and tobacco :) That'd be a decent trade, right? At least instead of a bunch of drunk drivers and cancer patients, we'd have a bunch of peiople too stoned to drive and tweaking in a back alley ;)

A most sensible suggestion.

Make the two most deadly drugs illegal.

Well done, Raysia.

Bottle: How about this. I'll let you legalize your "non-harmful" drugs, when you let me illegalize alcohol and tobacco :) That'd be a decent trade, right? At least instead of a bunch of drunk drivers and cancer patients, we'd have a bunch of people too stoned to drive and tweaking in a back alley ;)

Seriously, why not? Ban ALL the dangerous non-prescrip drugs, and legalize the rest... I'd be for that.


um, you don't seem to have read what i posted. making drugs of any kind illegal generates dangerous problems and doesn't do anything to curb usage. the average amount of alcohol consumed by Americans was higher during Prohibition than it was 5 years after, so if you actually want to stop people from doing drugs then i don't see why you would want to make them illegal.

on the other hand, if you want people to be hooked and unable to get help then making drugs illegal is super for you. i guess it's all about what your agenda really is.

my point was that the War on Drugs is largely responsible for the drug problem in America, and redirecting all funding from this (and other) ill-conceived "war" on an abstract concept into treatment and education would reduce the tragedy of overdose that you are forced to witness.
So you're trying to say that rehabilitation is better for getting people to stop doing drugs than putting them in jail and making their lives even worse? I don't see the logic there. Obviously if they're using to escape this cruel world, making the world crueler will make them stop.
EDIT: right, I should mention that what hospital workers do for these people is important- it's just stupid laws that I have a problem with

:sigh:....sometimes working in a hospital really..really isn't all it's hoped for....right now they are going thru withdrawals....shakes..fever..strapped down to prevent violence to themselves...

two from crack..one from cocaine..and another from prescription drugs.

I'm in this place to help people..sometimes it just gets hard.

That does sound rough, Salishe. Good on you for trying to help, though. It is tough, but the important thing is that we keep trying. The only way a difference can be made is one step at a time.