A NEW OUTLOOK ON THE OPIOID CRISIS
It would appear that the opiate crisis can be read, heard, and watched at every turn. How is it that suddenly in this day and age of knowledge we, as a civilization, are plagued with such a life killing substance? For all intents and purposes, one could easily state that this just came about through various haphazard circumstances. Yet when one looks closer at the sequence of events there is a very different aspect to this “opioid crisis”.
Mind altering substances have been around man’s evolutionary line since the first hunter-gatherers. Over time certain substances became more desirable than others. This can be seen in cultures where the shaman’s healing application with psychoactive plant and such. Even in religious rituals the use of herbs and fungi would open up the psyche. Yet in our present society we find these mind altering substances being used recreationally.
People intentionally attempting to alter their present state of mind and body. And yet when asked about their reasons, very few can give a precise response as to their motives for using. And then there are those cases across the country where we find individuals suffering with some physical ailment looking for help. Only to receive a faulty diagnosis and little, if any, actual cure; the result is just more suffering. As we come forward through man’s evolution, we can discover modern chemistry working endlessly to find ways to offer relief to a variety of physical conditions.
Similarly, if you listen carefully you rarely hear any one of these producers offer a cure, only “fast” relief. Thus, we find that the use of a variety of organic plants with psychotropic properties synthesized to bring about temporary relief. Over the counter “painkillers” and similar pain suppressant medication began a new thinking process called “don’t think of the pain”. Looking closer into the situation just a bit further, you will discover the modern solution to relieve just creates a new problem.
More often than not, someone complaining about body pain that cannot be physically diagnoses, is treated with pain suppressant pills. These drugs are opiate based and are often addictive. But this only explains a certain percentage of opiate abusers. What about the recreational users? What can bring a person to take such dangerous mind altering substances and physically addictive drugs? Careful observation into this problem one can discover that people in general have lost the ability to face and deal with daily life situations.
Whether this is the death of a close relative or an abusive childhood. Even failures and broken relations can cause a person to suffer with emotional pain. All drugs, including alcohol, are basically numbing agent. They numb out the source of pain; they do not cure. In fact, the effects of such substances really cut off, momentarily, the perception of pain. Opiates are strong numbing drugs, whether it is oxycodone, morphine, heroin or fentanyl or any other name the result is the same.
The short term solution rapidly turns into a life threatening problem. The body is not constructed to deal with continued use of these toxic substances. Each use makes the body fight off the ingested poison. This is done to such a degree that the natural building blocks of a healthy body is depleted. This explains, in part, the unhealthy appearance of those abusing opiates.
In conclusion it is clear that the culprit to this opioid epidemic is in fact, bad education, lack of life skills and knowledgeable parenting. A child in this world should be given good useable tools of life. Such things as honesty, integrity, tolerance, acceptance, encouragement, care and the “golden rule” are the qualities of happy living. Give a child or adolescent the tools to deal with anything life can through at it and he or she will survive well.
When a society substitutes these for a “quick fix” with mind altering drugs, that society is on its way out. We need good opiate addiction treatment programs for this society, create good and widespread prevention programs and put mandatory drug education program for the next generation. Enough with the endless debates its time to act. — We care, www.drugaddiction.ca
