And this is why it is so absolutely crucial to prevent them from ever getting exposed to drugs in the first place. Nobody starts out saying "I want to be a drug addict wreck." They just don't realize that is the all too common outcome of tampering with your brain chemistry.
They can't make an informed decision because it is impossible to inform them as to the likely consequences. Too many other people are steering them the other way.
You're so much wiser than us unwashed masses - please run our lives for us.
What about people like me? What about people who stayed within the medical system and became dependent on opiates thanks to doctors who have no other way to deal with chronic pain?
After detoxing from dilaudid, I’ve got a few things to say about how addicts are treated.
It was the single most painful, agonizing ten days of my life. As bad as transition labor - only it went on for more than a week.
Addicts are afraid of that. And they should be. You cannot feel more pain than opiate withdrawal. You simply cannot feel more pain.
Give them the option of HUMANE detox and give them enough of a comfortable supply for them to consider taking the walk through the rehab door.
Treat them like people.
My doctors addicted me to opiates and I’m still fighting that battle (on my own). My pain was real and did require that amount of pain meds, but there does come an end for some of us and there is no end to opiates. They make you hypersensitive and create greater pain.
Be kind. Understand that you can’t understand. Accept that you cannot comprehend the pain of detox until you’ve felt it. Then understand the it’s so bad that YOU would do anything to avoid that pain.
SO true..
"It's just like alcohol...."
It's MY body, I am not hurting anyone else"
"I can quit any time, I'm not an addict..."
And other fables abound, and the distribution and use are glorified by award winning shows.
It is particularly tough to be a parent now, and when your kid can end up in deep poo over a cigarette or a beer, why not do whatever?
Even a 'clean cut' peer group is little guarantee, and it is almost as hard to escape references to it as sex in the media and pop culture.