How nice for you that you have never had your life devastated by substance abuse. If you can’t have sympathy for the addict maybe you could have some feeling for the heartache and chaos it causes those who love them and the cost to all of us as a society
“the cost to all of us as a society”
This is precisely the problem. The drug addicts should NOT “cost” to “all of us” as a “society”. That kind of socialist mentality is the root of the problem.
Take care of your own damn PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY problem. Don’t cost the rest of us with your “pre existing” condition. I’m sure drug addiction is a “condition”. ugh, no wonder it is difficult to just get rid of Obamacare.
The sooner they’re gone, the less they cost society. And don’t forget, the biggest cost to society isn’t “saving” them, but the heartaches, headaches, and collateral damage they do to all and sundry to support their habits.
As for me, in my 71 years, I’ve had more sense than to get involved with, let alone had my life devastated by, substance abuse.
OTOH, I have first hand dealt with both abusers and their families, who most often act as enablers, while working in both county & private hospitals, treating both them, and their innocent victims. I’ve also had to deal with abusers around my periphery: been burgled, pilfered, vandalized, threatened, etc; also had dealer neighbors authorities couldn’t seem to do anything about. I was also instrumental in getting a nurse caught diverting patient drugs to feed her own habit, indiscriminately endangering her patients mainly due to her impairment on-shift, while unconcerned about their suffering.
Not an ounce of sympathy, any more than for new smokers: the data, the warnings, the education, and the enforcement has been in place (except for smokers “just 50-60 years”; I’m a long since former smoker) for many decades longer than I’ve been alive.