Comments on: How Should We Judge Folks Who Abuse Prescription Drugs Vs Non Prescription Drugs?

By: Johnny Sokko

Johnny Sokko — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:07:58 +0000

Put them both in jail.

By: Rip

Rip — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:43:53 +0000

As junkies.

By: richard d

richard d — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:29:08 +0000

we shouldn’t

By: the briar patch

the briar patch — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:51:45 +0000

I don’t want to judge them, I just think we should make radio host out of them

By: Abby Normal REPRISE

Abby Normal REPRISE — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:55:22 +0000

you don’t *judge* either

By: I'm no quitter!

I'm no quitter! — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:30:53 +0000

They should be sent for treatment for their disease.

By: RU486

RU486 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:20:30 +0000

They obviously need rehabilitation. If that doesn’t work, take them to Greenland.

By: The fed up matthew

The fed up matthew — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:23:54 +0000

They shouldn’t be judged until they start committing crimes to support their habits or neglect their kids.

By: vwvw25

vwvw25 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:42:20 +0000

If you abuse either you can die–no difference in that..

By: Deke666

Deke666 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:05:54 +0000

Actually, it seems we are burying a lot of people who are abusing prescription drugs. Sad.

By: ChangeYo

ChangeYo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:00 +0000

Yes if they are being phony about the Presciption drugs and acting likes it OK for them and not others.
I judge people with a drug problem as someone who has bad mental problems.
I have sympathy and avoid them.

By: Sunshine

Sunshine — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:08:34 +0000

A lot of people who get addicted to prescription drugs were simply following their doctors' advice and had no idea what they were getting into.

By: coyoteco

coyoteco — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:02:45 +0000

non-prescription drugs are a lot cheaper
and some, like marijuana, are a lot less dangerous
so if a person turns to weed rather than something like Oxycontin I say good for them

By: Keebler Elfette

Keebler Elfette — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:23:39 +0000

Rush Limbaugh is worshipped by millions of Republicons, and he’s a certifiable junkie…

By: zaza 1ST GRANDCHILD 2/2010!!!

zaza 1ST GRANDCHILD 2/2010!!! — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:13:09 +0000

I grew up in the 60's and I have never seen anything like this abuse of prescription drugs. At least with heroin you had to stick a needle in your arm and not too many people were willing to do that. Now all you have to do is swallow it. Very scary. Treatment.

By: Jay T

Jay T — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:12:04 +0000

We should not judge them at all… but be available to listen and help them recover from their addiction.
Whether they have a prescription or not is irrelevant… some doctors are just glorified crack dealers, if you ask me…

By: Senor Magoo

Senor Magoo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:20:37 +0000

If you are abusing presciption drugs that were not prescribed for you by a doctor, that is against the law.
The drug being in pill form or not really has nothing to do with it.
So yes it is against the law either way, as it should be in my opinion.

By: bobbi jo

bobbi jo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:34:32 +0000

prescription or non-prescription it’s all the same a drug is drug youshould not judge nobody for what they do or how they doit or the amount they do it in. try to help them the best way you can.Jail is not the answer neigther you can get all thet stuff in tere too.

By: Jennifer L

Jennifer L — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:08:39 +0000

Well, a good sized segment of people who wind up abusing perscription drugs became dependent on those drugs because physicians were perscribing them inappropriately.
Vicoden, for example, is used for acute pain, like after surgery. A person is only supposed to take it for a few weeks, at most. But there are people with chronic pain issues that are continually perscribed this. There are a lot of anti-anxiety medications that are highly habit-forming and should only be used short term, but are perscribed long-term or otherwise inappropriately.
Since nobody has gotten addicted to crack because a doctor perscribed it, it’s not quite the same thing.

By: tigeress

tigeress — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:45:59 +0000

We shouldn’t judge a person unless we walk in their shoes but we sure do it anyway, myself included. People abuse drugs for several reasons. They drink to become more social and relaxed. They are in pain, mentally or physically, and self medicate so they feel good. Substance abuse starts out innocently but certain individuals are genetically predisposed to addiction more easily than others. The adolescent is pressured into doing it by peers, or drug dealers, who want to use them for their own nefarious reasons.
I personally have friends who are fine upstanding, church ladies who are addicted to prescription Valium and xanax, provided by their friendly old, family doctor. They have a high tolerance so they sip wine all evening so they can sleep.
After taking a few classes in college about substance abuse counseling, I became aware of just how easily a person could become addicted. It scared me because most of my grandmothers family were drunks. I became a health nut who has about two glasses of wine a year.

By: scaerdrys, JPA

scaerdrys, JPA — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:49:26 +0000

There may be a moral difference-I feel that people who chemically incapacitate themselves are only inflicting self-harm on themselves and harm on those close to them.
However, this is none of the government’s beeswax. If anything, the current laws prevent people addicted to opioid from seeking help (out of fear of having a permanent record or being non-consentually sent to a rehab center). And it is very easy to become addicted to opioid legally-by using prescription level doses recommended by a physician. Opioids are just that addictive. Unless people are performing acts of cannibalism, the government should not dictate what they can and cannot put into themselves.
Peace

By: eastchic

eastchic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:25:32 +0000

Well, first, I don’t think drug use is a moral issue. Today everyone wants to classify things as either moral or immoral, when in reality most things don’t really fit into those descriptions. Secondly, I think there is a difference between abusing Xanax and abusing heroin. I definitely think that drug use, as far as penalties, should be scaled based on the harm it causes society and the harm it causes to individuals using. That being said, I don’t think that prescription drug abuse is necessarily less serious than non-prescription drug use.

By: jeeper_p

jeeper_p — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:23:17 +0000

In some cases yes and in some cases no.
It depends on the reason for the abuse.
IE: if someone is severely injured and on big time pain medication
It is easy to become addicted to the medication and doctors and hospitals do not always recognize that the patient became addicted.
In those cases, it is a medical issue, more than a legal issue, even if the patient stretches the law to buy more pain killer.
But if the patient just liked the high the drug gave him or fakes a injury to get a prescription, then that the same as buying drugs on the street.

By: James

James — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:47:34 +0000

There should be no penalty for abusing either type of drug. “Good habit” laws generally fail to impact the actually crime rates of the thing being made illegal, and just make criminals out people that may otherwise be innocent in every way except a drug habit.
If our government and legal system really wanted to help people they would invest the money they put into penalties and jail time into good programs that teach people better ways to deal with their problems and all of the problems drug abuse can cause a person and their families.