Posted on 05/27/2023 5:18:24 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Horrific footage shows the devastating toll the “tranq” drug epidemic has had on addicts in Philadelphia.
The Kensington neighborhood — made infamous by its open-air drug market — is seen completely packed with the slumped-over and passed-out drug users in the video posted to TikTok by urbanvisuals2.0.
The harrowing clip comes as the “City of Brother Love” struggles with the rising use of the drug Xylazine, or “tranq,” which is a deadly sedative used to enhance the effects of heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.
The drug is so potent the White House recently declared it an “emerging threat.”
Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, issued the warning last month.
Philadelphia health officials say the city has been greatly impacted by the epidemic.
“Xylazine has hit Philadelphia particularly hard, causing increased overdose deaths as well as severe wounds that can lead to sepsis and amputation,” the Philadelphia Department of Health and Board of Health said in a joint statement last month. “As a result, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health has been working closely with partners across the city to address this new aspect of the drug overdose epidemic.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
While I agree that calling most of these people victims is incorrect, there is a large segment who were forced into addiction by the sex traffickers.
We lose tens of thousands of young girls every year to sex trafficking. They do not leave the country. They are forced onto heroin, etc and made to work the streets in places like Kensington.
So, some are truly victims.
I confess that I am increasingly Darwinian about this. These drugs are so potent and the users so derelict that there is no use even trying to save them. Let them winnow themselves out of society.
Making it easier for Americans to kill themselves while being replaced with invaders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCxfIoD1MXg&t=386s
Norm McDonald on having the “Booze Disease”. (8 minutes)
“So my friend Richie has alcoholism, which as a disease is the best one to get if you ask me.”
Deal it? Death Penalty.
As the mother of two type 1 diabetics, so do I. I'm convinced the psychiatric and rehab lobby were behind that magic redefinition. Follow the money.
I’m guessing the main problem is they’re taking enough and should be encouraged to take more.
Put 55-gal drums of the stuff on every street corner of the inner city. In 3-6 months the problem is solved.
Source?
Street people, as a rule, do NOT vote.
They do in our local homeless shelters and hosptials.
Their votes are harvested by dems.
Yours is a common opinion which I also shared at one time.
However, I’ve recently researched this question & learned the facts are somewhat different.
While it’s true that the initial decision to imbibe in addictive drugs is a bad *choice* which can be attributed to low character, in fact, it’s more likely attributable to ignorance of the *physiological* nature of addiction.
Addicts as a rule do not intend to become addicted. Every addict thinks he can “try it once or twice,” use occasionally & stop at will.
But addictive drugs literally & very quickly burn through the brain receptors which deliver pleasure responses, which in turn triggers a craving —a need— for more.
The brain is literally changed & the differences between before & after drug use show up on brain scans.
For instance, the brain’s of methamphetamine addicts resemble those of schizophrenics. Drug use *physically* alters the brain *structure* in ways that *cause* psychosis, beyond the addict’s willful control. When addiction takes hold, the addict no longer has any choice.
The brain *can* begin to rebuild itself & heal, but it takes many months, even years, & this requires outside intervention to prevent the addict’s access to the drugs, as well a to provide palliative antidotes.
Lived in Center City as an older teenager/young adult in the latter part of Frank Rizzo’s reign. I loved it.
I’ve always been torn with the belief that perhaps society would definitely be better off had some been aborted or if only daddy had withdrawn early. If only we had a crystal ball. Imagine how much better society would be for all without feral and trash? Even better yet if we eliminated the corrupt pols and corrupt cronies. Sad but very few end up dedeemable.
They might not vote, but one can’t be too sure ballots aren’t cast in their name.
I might suppose emotional or mental problems. Or a desire for the thrill of a high. Alcohol and drugs make you feel better, good, great, at least initially. You have problems. Maybe run of the mill, maybe horrific. And the drugs take away the bad feelings, for a while.
You become addicted, whether psychologically, physically, or both. And you start having the brain damage and physical damage that comes with the poison and the neglect of basic healthy living.
It is a tragedy but it is not a disease like say dementia. No one goes to the dealer and asks for a bag of dementia.
Norm nails it as usual.
A MAGA charity could move in, feed and get care for these people and harvest a lot of ballots for ‘24.
Thanks. You’re right. I come from a family of brilliant, good-looking, successful alcoholics. My sister quit and went on to live a good life, did well in real estate, has a great husband she met In AA. My dad died from it (he earned over $500K/year), my mother had Korsakov Syndrome. And I could have a drink now and then if I wanted it....I haven’t since my son died from alcohol. He was always the smartest and best looking person in the family. Still, it seems different from dying in droves on the streets where you can see the effects. Big sigh.
Yes. I get all that. But ultimately, no matter what anyone says or does, only the individual can make the change, can CHOOSE to be and do differently than they have been doing. That was my point, though I may not have expressed it well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.