Oh god - one of my meds costs is $2500 a shot. I take one a week. Monthly cost? Through our socialist, commie controlled healthcare? $25 month. My other prescription is about $6/m.
I pay $180 every 3 months for this coverage.
See? proved my point? Socialist healthcare taking my guns, disembowelling the military budget to pay for single mothers. Living example of the rot affecting our great nation. Do you think the Koch Bros got rich on subsidies? Or Government Money? Do you?
Oh, wait…
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What surprised me is that China doesn’t have this form of socialized healthcare.
It sounds more USA - I wonder if they met their goals (China, I mean).
100% agreement and I am not against drug use. I’m against fucking stupid and irresponsible drug use or assholes that use it as excuses to commit crimes or violence. (The, I was drunk, defense, goes not a fucking inch with me.) You make a mess, you fucking pay the consequences. If I saw a drunk passed out on the floor next to a pile of vomit, I would drag him into the vomit and then shit on his head. I literally have no empathy for drunks. They kill people.
A bit late in Oz of course. That happened in 1996 right after the Port Arthur massacre…
I’m sure it’s only one of those coincidence thingies, but since people have not been allowed to own even a hand gun, there have been zero mass shootings in Australia.
Another spooky coincidence is the way armed robberies have changed. These days, weapons of choice include hammers, screwdrivers, knives, Samurai swords (also illegal, but cheaper than a gun) and on at least one occasion, a moron with a syringe he claimed was full of HIV/AIDS. (it wasn’t)
Firearms are rarely used in armed robberies any more in Oz. I suspect one reason might be that anyone stupid enough to attempt an armed robbery would probably be too stupid to have gathered enough money to buy a gun on the black market.
I guess it’s also a privilege to be shot by a person exercising his second amendment rights.
Off topic; I’ve been ruminating about the essential differences between US Republican Style democracy and Australian Parliamentary democracy.
The best I’ve been able to come up with, is that it seem so me that the US system is built on the concept of equality and the rights of the individual.
Australia seems to me to be built on the concept of equity, similar but actually quite different concepts.
It also occurs to me that neither exists in reality. However, I suspect the difference between the myth and reality is greater in US.
Well maybe the fact they are addictive is a practical reason to stop criminalizing people who suffer from addiction?
It makes no sense to me to punish people for an illness, but not for a choice?
That said I think prohibiting the use of a drug doesn’t work, it just creates a market for organised crime, as prohibition and the so called war on drugs have amply demonstrated.
Because they generally contain opioids, which are of course addictive. Addiction can be so slow and subtle that people who don’t have an addictive personality can slowly get caught up in an addiction and barely realise it’s happening. You have the added complication of the pain sometimes being a chronic condition, so the need for the painkillers never goes away in that sense, but of course as with all opioids they slowly lose their efficacy over time even at small doses.
Yeah, me too, I stopped the anti depressants twice to see if I could “fly without a net” so to speak. The first time I had to go back to the doc sharpish, but now I’m getting through it slowly.
In 20 months and just 2 years from retiring, after almost 40 years in full time employment and over 33 suffering chronic back pain, I’ve lost all my savings in a divorce, my wife, contact with grandchildren, other than birthdays and xmas, now my job, and other than work I’ve been pretty much locked away in the house alone since the pandemic started.
I figure it can still get worse mind, I mean plenty are worse off than me, so no point whining. Anyway the anti depressants are an option if I need them, no shame in that, that’s for sure…
I’ve found even half the daily dose of PKs is enough to stop me up enough to require a laxative.
Yep, and I’d include alcohol in that. It’s all shits and giggles, but you have to able to walk away, and that’s often far more difficult than people realise.
Drugs that cause a sudden high also have a slower reverse effect afterwards. So if you’re suffering from depression, then while a cocaine binge might seem like great fun, the days afterward will be even harder to cope with.
I wish America could experience the Health care I have here in Korea. I will get three implants in the next month or so. Total out of pocket expense… $2,800. I could get the work done for less if I went to the Philippines and had the time. $400.00 per tooth.
I have no idea if this is good or not.
Fortunately, dental work hasn’t been one of my health issues. Never had a cavity. Wisdom teeth? No problem. I had my “jaw” fixed due to an issue in my early 20s- wasn’t teeth related. Didn’t cost a penny.
When you started out with “implants” … I was thinking 
hmmmm “one for each bum cheek and the last for the belly”…
I am in full agreement.
No one held a gun to anyone’s head to force them to begin taking drugs or alcohol. They voluntarily began the journey into impairment. Thus they are 100% accountable for the consequences that may follow.
I lost a lot of “friends” over twenty years ago when I informed them that when we partied, if I suspected they were going to drive home after the party, I would call the cops on them. They did not comprehend, they thought it was betrayal, but I choose the safety and welfare of innocents over their stupid decision to drive impaired. If they are such assholes not to call a cab or take a bus, I’m not going to turn a blind eye because they are my “friends”. Irresponsible and selfish people like that do not qualify as my “friends”.
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I do not just make mewing noises and flap my hands on this issue, I take a hard stance. If action is required, I do not have any qualms doing so.
Quite so. Perhaps my position is overly simplistic; Individual actions have consequences for which we are responsible as individuals.
Even when a practising alcoholic it was my position that a person is responsible for their actions whilst drunk or off their face on some other drug.
Did I for example drink and drive? Although it shames me to admit it, yes I did, on several occasions, although not habitually. I avoided that by the simple expedient of never running out of booze. I ran out exactly three times, and drove to the bottle shop to get more.
By sheer arse I did not smash my car nor hurt anyone, but could easily have done so. If that had happened, I would have deserved whatever the consequences happened to be.
I’m truly sorry to hear about your current situation, it really sucks. You should be able to see your grandkids regardless of what other family members think. I can’t believe that people can be so petty when dealing with family. My family means everything to me, I don’t have much of anything else.
If I ever forget or choose not to take my anti-depressants, I feel it almost immediately. It makes me feel like I have to get out of the house , almost like a panic-attack. I’ve never felt that way before, but it brings up thoughts about jumping off of the Deception Pass bridge which isn’t far from where we live. I can’t call my wife when this happens, she has enough to deal with at work. Luckily, my youngest sister lives nearby, so I called her the last time this happened and we talked for over an hour on the phone. I’m glad I did because I was sitting in my truck and actually thinking about doing it. Now I make sure that I don’t skip those meds.,I can’t do something like that to my wife and kids.
I am really sorry about your situation, being forced to retire before you want/need to really sucks. I had to do that in July’15 because I couldn’t do my job anymore. This pandemic only makes it harder.
Just so.
Consequently, legislation has been passed here which requires a doctor’s prescription for any opioids. The strongest non script analgesic one can buy is paracetamol.
Me too. I hate having to take all the antidepressants I take. I’ve tried a couple of times to get off them, with medical supervision. Each time I’ve gone ratty after less than a week. One of the drugs I take has a half life of I think 48 hours.
Just so.
I was in early recovery before I discovered that few doctors or psychiatrists have any idea about the nature or biochemistry of addiction. That being the case, one can hardly expect Joe Sixpack to have any idea either.
A lot of Aussies go to Thailand for expensive dental work and cosmetic surgery. Apparently the standards are very high.
I would probably seriously consider going to Thailand for major dental work if I lacked the funds to pay for it here. I just checked .Cheapest return airfare to Bangkok from Adelaide is $AU916.(this month) A 3 star hotel is around $50 pp a night, although cheaper deals can be had by dealing with the hotel direct.
Even basic dental work is not covered by our universal health care, and even private health insurance does not cover purely cosmetic surgery.
My private insurance covers about 60% of most dental work and up to 100% for say a simple check up and clean. I had an emergency Xmas Eve, and had to go to an emergency practice. Examination, xray, antibiotics. Cost to me was $50.
Different here, as codeine is available over the counter, but only the smaller doses of 5mg, not the 30mg I get on prescription. Prescriptions are free in Wales as well, which is obviously a good idea at one level, but a recipe for abusing prescription drugs at another.
I sympathise, there have been times where I’ve coped and times where I was concerned for my sanity, but I try to think of that as a healthy reaction to what I’ve been through. It’s just ego to pretend we are tough and can cope with anything, yes your mindset makes a difference, but we are all different and no one can tell anyone else how they should feel or cope with emotional trauma, or depression.
I hate equally people who are dismissive or bullish about other people’s emotional problems, and people who milk the system when they don’t really need help.
If only everyone had a conscience. An unrealistic expectation of evolved apes sadly.
My early years were wild with drugs and alcohol. My friends and I experimented with everything, and I saw a lot of people get in too deep. Some tried to quit on their own but kept slipping back, which led to ruined relationships and even legal problems. When a close friend hit rock bottom, it really opened my eyes to how serious addiction is and how much help people need.
I used to think willpower was enough, but now I see that addiction is way more complicated than that. One of the turning points for my friend was getting professional help. He stayed at Abbeycare for several weeks, and that place seemed to make a real difference for him.
I have a lot to say, as I’ve worked as a paramedic, and am currently working as a registered nurse.
I am also a recovered alcoholic (19 years sober), and a former smoker (quit 29 years ago).
Also, my mother, my aunt, and two twin cousins were drug addicts at one point.
Despite my professional and personal experience, I don’t demonize drugs and alcohol as you might expect . . . any more than I demonize Twinkies or chocolate brownies.
There is a difference between occasional consumption of sweet junk food, and living on a constant diet of it.
That having been said, I do believe that certain specific drugs are–by their very nature–automatically toxic and dangerous even with occasional and/or one-time use.
Methamphetamine, PCP (“angel dust”), fentanyl, carfentanyl, synthetic cathionones (“bath salts”), heroin, many designer drugs, and a few others fall into this category.
A major problem with all recreational drugs (including marijuana) are contaminants and adulterants, which really make almost any usage (with some exceptions) something of a gamble.
Even so, it is a gamble to even cross the street.
When we take all of these points into consideration, one should be educated and informed . . . and make intelligent decisions regarding drug consumption, and not be swayed by myths, superstitions, bigotry, and/or ignorance.
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My upbringing is similar to the OP’s … I was never involved with nor tempted by drugs of any kind, or alcohol or smoking. My father quit smoking in his 50s and he clearly wasn’t an addict because it was easy for him to do; he just decided and quit (I’ve read that people are highly individual in the amount of nicotine that puts them over the tipping point into addiction). Beyond that I had no experience with it until I met my present wife.
She grew up in the Bay Area of California in the 60’s … 'nuff said, lol. She remembers stepping over and around stoners passed out on the sidewalk on the way to school. Her steady HS BF was a pot dealer.
Still, she never was into it … tried one of most everything out of curiosity but nothing impressed. However her Dad owned a vineyard and was one of Those Guys who would pour you a glass of wine and then another and another … my wife had a lot of anxiety in her early life and she found that wine was a great way to self-medicate for that. Eventually it became a low grade problem and she went through a period of struggle for the first few years of our relationship where she was on and off the wagon so to speak. My approach to it was that I went WAY out of my way not to shame her or try to control it. I stuck to encouraging her. Shame is the worst thing you can do for someone who is substance-dependent, particularly if they have problems with shame to begin with (which she did). She ultimately kicked it and has been 100% off it for years now. I knew it was one of those things she’d either overcome, or not.
The weird thing is that her dependence was strictly wine, not beer or hard liquor or anything else. I hadn’t heard of that one before. The canonical addictive personality is supposed to end up smoking or drinking or injecting anything they can get their hands on that numbs whatever pain they have … fortunately for us, that wasn’t in play.
Anyway I think I’ve come a long way from my fundagelical childhood where I was socialized to just knee-jerk judge any sort of addiction and ascribe a high yuck factor to it and so on. It is just another human peccadillo to me now, but I think you have to lead with empathy and compassion and love with addicts and I agree with others in this thread who are opposed to criminalization. It just makes matters worse for both addicts and their families, and for society in general.
I also give a skeptical side-eye to standard-issue 12-step programs. I think they are very overrated. My wife went through a pricey one (Hazeldon Clinic) and it was the biggest waste of $10K I ever saw, and then they want you in ongoing programs at additional cost. That’s not what a “cure” looks like. Ultimately she kicked it on her own, and I believe that’s what every addict has to do – with the support of loved ones, of course, but it’s still something that can’t be done FOR you or where you substitute one addiction for another (like food, or a 12-step support group). The 12 step concept also has its own problems with shaming.
I’m very pro-drug. I’ve never done any hard drugs or psychedelics, but almost every bit of music I listen to has been highly influenced by the use of drugs so I’m grateful for them. Every drug (except alcohol imo) lends a positive attribute to humans and I’m for the legalization of every single drug out there. The problem is not the drugs, it’s the people that take them in excess. Humans are not very good at using ANYTHING in moderation, and given the political/social view of drugs (thanks Reagan) there aren’t enough resources or studies put into drugs for humans to use at our benefit instead of our destruction.
If anyone is against drugs, I suggest you throw away all your tapes, records, CDs, 8-tracks, video games, movies, tv shows, dvds, blu-rays, paintings and so on. Without the assistance of drugs we wouldn’t have some of the best art humans have ever created. We wouldn’t have the luxuries today we have without the prescription of Opium in the 1800’s.
Drugs are good, mmkay.
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Yeah and doctors of a certain kind can over-prescribe even prescription meds so that their patients become dependent on them. My wife got involved with someone like that for awhile trying to get her anxiety under control and long story short ended up nearly killing herself going off a sedative (forget which one) cold turkey. Her next doctor after that could not believe the dose she was prescribed, it was like 3x where you normally would start a person out. She turned the guy and his wife (joint practice) who had over prescribed to the authorities, though we don’t know what ultimately happened. Probably nothing, I’m guessing. They lived in a nice gated community and were arrogant assholes … probably big Trump supporters now, I’m sure.
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I’ve never taken drugs, smoked, or consumed alcohol. I’ve never seen the need for any of them. I try to avoid even over-the-counter medications unless absolutely necessary. I don’t even drink coffee or tea.
Part of the reason why is because I wasn’t subjected to peer pressure as a kid. I was very shy and socially awkward and had only one friend, and she didn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs either, so I had no reason to.
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