White House proposes removing penalties for fentanyl trafficking-related offenses

a reply to: SwampFox999

Good post. There seems to be a fundamental divide between those who understand the importance of freedom of choice and sensible legislation, and those who believe gov't should regulate and control many different facets of our lives through the threat of legal consequence and restriction of freedom of choice.

As an example: Hemp cultivation was not only permitted during WWII, it was actively promoted and encouraged. Farmers were told to grow in support of the troops and the war effort. It wasn't until after WWII when corporate interests lobbies gov't to outlaw cultivation with the threat of legal repurcussions, as hemp cultivation threatened corporate interests. Hell, The Declaration of Independence was written on Hemp and some of the men who wrote and signed that document were hemp cultivators.

The nazis used methamphetamine derivatives in an attempt to create supersoldiers.

The alphabet agencies used '___' in an attempt to create a truth serum. That didn't go so well.

This is a small list and there are other known instances of gov't testing substances in pursuit of various agendas. Lord only knows what other experiments have been carried out by governments and institutions around the globe.

Some Egyptian mummies have been found to have traces of blow entombed with them, indicating that it was a very important substance to certain high ranking members of Egyptian society.

There is a great deal of evidence which suggests the development of human civilization was aided by various psychedelic compounds which were administered by Shamans and medicine men.

This notion that drugs are bad mmkay is a rather juvenile concept. They have been used for thousands of years and will continue to be used for thousands of years more. Unfortunately, modern chemistry has allowed some really nasty substances to rise in prominence and popularity. It is up to everyone to make responsible choices and to do their due diligence. Outlawing a drug may make it more expensive and harder to attain, as well as arbitrarily making the users into criminals under color of law, but resourceful individuals will find what they seek.

One need look no further than the prohibition of alcohol. That was an absolute disaster of a failed policy. It made gsngsters into kings overnight and we ended up with nascar, where people attempt to drive around in circles faster than anyone else. Alcohol is one of the most destructive drugs that there is, but huge corporate interests will continue to produce and advertise it, and because alcohol is socially acceptable it gets a pass where other substances would have been banned. As with many other drugs, alcohol has a large number of indiviuals who use it responsibly, without experiencing detrimental health affects. It is only certain individuals who lack impulse control or have certain predispositions which cause those individuals to use alcohol in very destructive ways.

There is a long and often sordid history of drugs being used to pursue agendas, and when the agenda is no longer convenient, those drugs are demonized and outlawed.

Cheers.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: CircumstancialEvidence

What I find amazing is that this administration would be even considering letting the restrictions die, but still hasn't said one word about removing marijuana from it's undeserved demonization. What, we want to keep the dangerous drugs but put people in jail for using a pretty much harmless one? What's next? Meth is legal, but an aspirin will land you in prison for life?

Just remember people... some of you voted for this. This is what you wanted. And this is what we're all getting.

TheRedneck

I think you nailed an extremely pertinent point. Why on Earth is cannabis still a schedule 1 narcotic if they're playing loosey goosey with incredibly potent synthetics like Fentanyl?

I have what is referred to in Pain Management as Intractable Pain Syndrome. Basically it means that because of failed surgeries and the additional damage from them, I'm in more pain now than I was before the hip replacement and spinal fusions and that it's only going to hey worse over time with little to no possibility of it getting better. There are a couple of other criteria you have to meet for this diagnosis like steroid injections having no effect, the inability to take part in PT because you're in toouch pain to effectively participate, different blood work markers etc... But I'm digressing here. My initial point was that as a result of this, they are allowed to prescribe a similar level of pain meds that you would for a terminally ill cancer patient. If it can be prescribed in the U.S. then the chances are good that I've either been on it or at the very least, my doctor tried to put me on it but my insurance company denied me repeatedly.

I've been prescribed Fentanyl in patch form and would not recommend it for general every day use without a lot of patient education and far more monitoring than I was given. The potential for both diversion and overdose, particularly in a patient who is opiate naive are incredibly high. There's a reason that it's dosed in micrograms and not milligrams.

What really blew my mind as a patient who was prescribed this medication in an outpatient setting was how difficult it was for me to get my pain management doctor to lower the dose and taper me off of it. It was the first time I had seriously contemplated whether or not my doctor was getting some sort of financial incentive to keep his patients on certain medications because it took months to get him to agree to allow me to ween off of it and switch to another medication that was more easily controlled. As you yourself mentioned, being off just a couple of micrograms can be the difference between your pain being controlled and being so out of it you may want to take a quick walk and check the weather from an 8th floor window! A couple more micrograms and you end up like Prince. So to me, based on my personal experience, I can't fathom loosening restrictions on Fentanyl while keeping Marijuana a Schedule 1 narcotic. It's entirely counterintuitive and the height of politicizing medicine with no thought to proper patient care.

a reply to: CircumstancialEvidence

My friend who was terminally ill with cancer was very disoriented while on fentanyl and his memories were very scattered.

That might be something inherent with fentanyl. One of my cath surgeries while they were dialing in right dosage for me, I think they got a little too little. I missed most of the operation, but I swear I can remember at one point actually feeling that damn thing sliding up my arm! That is not something I wanted to remember! it was a kind of pain I can't ever remember experiencing, like my arm was trying to explode from the inside.

Luckily it is little more than a flash that I can remember.

Thank you for the info on Trump's farm bill. I wasn't aware he had loosened restrictions on hemp. That's something that has needed to happen for quite some time, and ironically, it seems most of the people who absolutely despise the man also are in favor of what he did. I have studied human behavior since I was little, but that is one aspect of it that I simply cannot wrap my head around.

TheRedneck