On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 22:47 +0200, Christoph Reuss wrote: > Hi Malcolm, > > sorry to hear about your chronic pain. The medical use of > _prescription_ > drugs has nothing to do with a "free market" of leisure drugs. As a > patient who needs the medically prescribed drug in the prescribed > amount,
Ah, the point is I am effectively on a "on demand" basis ... quite enough to get seriously hooked on heavy duty stuff. But I haven't and probably won't, and it's been years. And trust me, to be phased out most of the time is VERY tempting... My point is that most people won't become addicted compulsively, either. I think there is a set amount of "addictive personalities" in a population and they will transfer to whatever is most effective and easily available. My surmise is that opiates are a lot less damaging than alcohol, which is easily available but not as effective. > you have no interest in dealing the drug -- you need it for yourself. Ah, yes, true, true... > And the prescribing doctor, especially in the context of a public > healthcare system, has no interest in writing excessive prescriptions. Many would say mine are "excessive" if added up. What they don't catch is the self-regulating "spateiness" of use - high and low variations as one self manages the adaptation issue. I think most people confronted by the needs to perform in the real world will also manage this, when stuff is used recreationally/to reduce stress. It's also very good for dealing with anxiety-type depression, BTW (not surprising that this gets most long term disabled from time to time) as well as, if not better than, "depression" medicines which have horrid side effects! > So I don't see any reason how a few medical users of drugs can serve > as an argument for general drug legalization. > There are elements, I believe. Not blanketting the issue, but elements are persuasive. High % incidences of addiction is more a social phenomenon (not having anything useful to do and no place to do it which garners decent respect from socialised others) than a physical one, apart from the poor addictive personalities who will stone out on anything they can get their mitts on - always have and always will. I suppose we could withdraw the "social licence to use drugs" from such type, with freedom for everyone else who can demonstrate a degree of social responsibility. I might add that levels of addiction are quite high in stressful but very high paying areas like the City. But it doesn't necessarily cause a problem if the users are on heroin. Smack I'm not too sure about - it certainly detaches one from a social conscience and makes for rash decisions. But are psychosuits already sufficiently psychotic that this makes much difference? Perhaps the opiates dulls some of the psychopathy of some of them... _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
