The current epidemic is horrific.
It is easy to just tell the addicts to stop. Saying it is easy. Doing that? Not so easy.
The math on these things is staggering. My daughter is a first responder in a town of 40,000. She runs at least 2 ODs per shift. The Advanced Life ambulance is casting the town between $250 and $300 per run.
So, in that town you are paying for 5-8 ODs every day. That’s is nearly $500,000 a year in ambulance costs alone. In a fairly small town. The more urban you get...the more daily runs.
Basing the low ball figure of about $15 per capital in a suburban town across the 350 million people in the country and the costs for the ambulance service is $5.25 Billion for the country.
Battling this epidemic has to be fought on three fronts: Mental health services for the addict, Education for the non addict, and interdiction of the product.
We should be reading about drone strikes in Mexico hitting the cartels. Not hearing about Obama taking out ISIL’s third in command. Again.
The numbers for alcohol dwarf those.
Are you advocating for a reinstatement of prohibition, or for hypocrisy?
“We should be reading about drone strikes in Mexico hitting the cartels. Not hearing about Obama taking out ISIL’s third in command. Again.”
Agreed on Obunghole. That said, something else is happening in Colorado.
Older veterans who are unable to get treatment for pain at the VA are growing marijuana for their own use.
None of their money goes to criminals, and none goes to pot stores where they would pay taxes.
These men are nearing the end of the trail. They’re not performing duties that would be impaired by the intoxication that pot provides. They’re not out mugging people for their next “fix.” They’re in constant pain, and because the country is in the grip of this “prescription drug addiction” hysteria, doctors will not help them.
Are you going to say to them, “Doctors won’t prescribe oxycodone or dilaudid for you, as they are morally obligated to do, but neither may you legally grow and use the only thing available”?
If I were to go down to the Vet’s Center and start saying that, I wouldn’t blame them if they kicked my butt.
We invaded Mexico for far less that this over Pancho Villa.