[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', 'T')hanks alot Plant for highlighting this opiate-painkiller epidemic. It deserves its own post in the Medical issues forum.

[onlooker]

Yes, this is certainly not making things better. However, this country was already afflicted by diverse addictions even before this widespread opiate problem. Alcohol, gambling, crack, cocaine and even sex addictions were already rampant. Thus my initial point. Part of this dysfunctional world is the so called War on drugs which has been an abysmal failure. So while your point Plant is a good point and quite timely, I do believe it does not negate my point.

[JV153]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'T')he most insidious example for me is how digital media and personal mobile devices has altered the nervous systems of the emerging generation... and (snip)
..
You put a young person thus addicted into the forest to see flora and fauna and they become instantly bored if the jaguar or quetzal don't instantly appear.

[WildRose]

Article below detailing some of the issues with over-prescribing of opioids, as discussed at the Canadian Pharmacists Association conference in Calgary on Sunday, June 26th:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/o ... -1.3653687

"Doctors see pain all of the time and we are conditioned by nature to want to treat it. We live in a society where pills are very often a part of how we treat things," Juurlink said.

"We were told that these drugs could work well, they were safe, they didn't trigger addiction and they would go on working. We happily took that message, we deployed these drugs like mad and we now in hindsight realize how big a mistake that was."

This issue is quite complicated. Doctors have been told by pharmaceutical companies that opioids wouldn't be addictive. They've also been under quite a bit of pressure from patients who are experiencing chronic pain to "do something" about the pain. Through my work, I'm aware that people sometimes present in pain clinics screaming at doctors to help them with their pain, and that pain can be from a number of sources, from a fracture or work injury to fibromyalgia, to nervous system disorders, many other sources. And there is often physical pain that is related to psychological disorders, which further complicates diagnosis and treatment. Doctors are often reluctant to prescribe opioids, and I would think that now that the highly addictive properties of opioids have become known to all, there should be a scaling down of their use.

Onlooker, I think the addiction epidemic is attributable to a number of things in our society:
- As above, the problem with opioids, where they may have been prescribed after a fracture or surgery and meant to relieve pain for a limited time but the patient gets hooked and is hard to wean off of them
- Psychological pain enmeshed with physical pain, as a result of incomplete treatment for psychological/emotional problems
- Personality disorders, where certain personality traits can result in more substance abuse (used as coping mechanism with life's problems)
- Poor personal supports, where people are disconnected from family/community supports and may be more prone to addictive behaviors
- Addiction as it appears in families, whether it is learned behavior or genetic (which could be argued, of course, in each case) but often appears in families and is a question that is always asked on mental health evaluations

A very complex issue, and certainly an important one in our time.

[onlooker]

Good summary, Wild of some reasons for this phenomenon , I would just add that our world is rife with activities and opportunities for addictive behavior. These addictions can overlap and complement each other

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', 'G')ood summary, Wild of some reasons for this phenomenon , I would just add that our world is rife with activities and opportunities for addictive behavior. These addictions can overlap and complement each other

[ennui2]

Addiction is not new.

Opium dens

Temperance movement (and prohibition)