Had a good friends son, 22, OD on fentanyl two weeks ago. The kid was even inside a fancy treatment center in Palm Springs, Ca. Guess he was hell bent on leaving this world. Theres a $10M negligence lawsuit in the works brought by his mother against the treatment center...
Tragic. A few years back, a family member was on a patient-controlled fentanyl drip following surgery. Feeling pain? Push a button for a hit. They said, “Please disconnect me from this thing because if you don’t, I’ll become an addict.” The feeling they described was one of total serenity. On the drug, pain was gone and everything was right in the world. Total tranquility.
I have no sympathy for the libertarian position on narcotic abuse. The fact is that there are some drugs that are simply too dangerous to allow people to freely consume. There are too many negative externalities. The libertarian counter-argument is always, “Well, what about alcohol? People abuse that too. You gonna ban that again? It has even more negative externalities on a macro-basis.” I think the alcohol argument is weak because alcoholic beverages are (1) ingrained in the culture; (2) part of meals for many people; and (3) able to be enjoyed in moderation by a majority of users. Show me someone who can enjoy fentanyl in moderation.