My roommate is an addict

[Michael Dean]

Eric, I found out something new today. As I mentioned I took my nephew to rehab a few weeks ago. Today He together with his mother had a meeting with counselers to decide what 6 month treatment plan they are going to set up for him. He convinced them that Hawaii would be the best location. I never thought my sister in law could be so naive. THis 20 year old kid convinced counselers that Hawaii would be the best location for rehab. He's looking at this as a six month vacation and they bought into it. Some people just don't get it. This kid is destine to fail.

 

[Von S.]

Hey Mike,

Hummmm!

I've given it some thought and and have decided that I also could use a 6 month vacation in hula skirt world and am willing to smoke a little cabanna bush if necessary to get there for free.

But what island is it on? I hope not Molakai where the leapors have there colony.

I'm hoping it on the island of Comeoniwannalaya or maybe even Wannapeekatmypeepee.

I can see me now in my grass skirt with my ukulele playing my favorite Hawaiian song........" Unna mokaha, unna hooaha, go an take your knickers off".

 

[Eric Anderson]

Eric, I found out something new today. As I mentioned I took my nephew to rehab a few weeks ago. Today He together with his mother had a meeting with counselers to decide what 6 month treatment plan they are going to set up for him. He convinced them that Hawaii would be the best location. I never thought my sister in law could be so naive. THis 20 year old kid convinced counselers that Hawaii would be the best location for rehab. He's looking at this as a six month vacation and they bought into it. Some people just don't get it. This kid is destine to fail.

Yep. I hate to say this but you are right.

 

[Michael Dean]

Hey Mike,

Hummmm!

I've given it some thought and and have decided that I also could use a 6 month vacation in hula skirt world and am willing to smoke a little cabanna bush if necessary to get there for free.

But what island is it on? I hope not Molakai where the leapors have there colony.

I'm hoping it on the island of Comeoniwannalaya or maybe even Wannapeekatmypeepee.

I can see me now in my grass skirt with my ukulele playing my favorite Hawaiian song........" Unna mokaha, unna hooaha, go an take your knickers off".

He's going to Oahu, the same island that my brother, his uncle live on. I'm quite certain that he's already planning on taking advantage of my brother, trying to borrow a car, etc. I'll be sending my brother an email with a stark warning, this kid is trouble and cannot be trusted on any level.

 

[Dragan N.]

Yep, sixty percent recidivism rate and ninety percent of addicts are NOT in rehab. The odds are against not going to the grave addicted. The U.S. problem is here because we are soft on addicts and give them multiple chances and easy access to addictive drugs. My cure? Rehab three times and then you're shipped away to a prison farm or some type of hard labor for five years, no parole.

According to this chart (I have no idea of its accuracy) but the US is amoung the top 3 per capita consumers in 4 out of 8 categories of drugs: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...nd-amphetamines-are-the-biggest-a6755741.html

It is also clearly the biggest per capita consumer of prescription and non-prescription opioid use. The over prescription of opioids by doctors is probably a big factor in this.

Sure I mean I agree with you to a degree if you have extremely draconian drug laws- where say possession of even a gram would get you years in prison or the death penalty- the rate of use would probably go down. But I don't think the stringency or lack thereof of drug laws is the sole factor or even necessarily the most important one here.

One thing that doesn't get much attention is what are the sociological reasons that drive drug use and addiction. Why do people turn to drugs in the first place- especially successful people who had relatively good and comfortable lives prior to drugs...

 

[Michael Dean]

The reason why people gravitate to drugs is simple; opioids provide a form of escape from the pressures, be they real or not, that we find in our every day lives. The stress or pressure is irrelevant people who lack coping skills look for some simple form of escape to life's every day pressures. Drugs provide that escape. It allows people to disconnect for a few hours from life's pressures and stress. Teenagers can't take the demands to succeed, the pressure to get into a good school or the right job. Drugs provide a temporary form of escape. Mom can't cope with the household demands of raising kids, Dad can't take the pressure of his job, fighting to get the next promotion. Take two pills and in a matter of minutes life's stress abates. You feel good, it's euphoric, whatever was pushing you over the edge doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't matter how successful you are or how well you're doing, if you lack coping skills you look for some form of release or escape and drugs provide the escape people desire.

The problem is drugs only provide a temporary escape they do nothing in terms of a cure. Because all of the problems are still there, people repeat the process to escape once more. They take drugs more frequently and higher doses to achieve the same euphoria. It turns into a vicious cycle. Over time people search out stronger drugs to achieve the euphoric highs, it's a vicious never ending cycle.

 

[tarbe]

My generation (boomers) and to a lesser extent the "greatest generation" have, IMO, done a sub-standard job of teaching their kids both morals and coping skills. Too busy chasing the $?

Combine that with a society in which drugs are readily available and you have a guaranteed drug problem.

We are reaping what we have been sowing since about the close of WWII.

 

[Vinootz]

Don’t become a glutton for punishment You can only lead a horse to water, you can’t make them drink it. Ironically and unfortunately, three square and a bed in prison at least guarantees one won’t freeze or starve to death; hence better off. Unless there’s some social services that will suffice.