I have several comments from my experience/observation which may only be tangential. But first I would like to say that I think it is no contest between which candidate offers chances at real solutions and that is President Trump.
My concern over fentanyl is different from other drups as it is so often used to contaminate other drups and some users - I would say especially young people just experimenting - are killed who do not even have a pattern of drug use or current addiction. It is truly evil.
Living in an area with many people from Mexico, I observe that their relationship with drugs is culturally different from ours as they are able to obtain many drugs OTC that we cannot. I do not know the legalities or logistics of this, I have simply been offered strong antibiotics or painkillers when in need as well as my grown children who work here. People freely move from here (west Texas) to Mexico and back and I mean legal or illegal. I have sort of a second row seat you might say.
I also have an adult child who lives in Oregon and works in the legal cannabis system. Legalization has been hard on those trying to do right in weird unexpected ways. It pushes illegal production and distribution even further underground as the rules are so onorous. The paperwork alone makes doing taxes seem simple. I am not arguing one way or the other for legalization but I do wish we would look at individual drugs and make more informed rational laws. Marijuana would likely be best simply decriminalized which is different from legalization and I am not the one to explain it well. But filling our justice system with users of cannabis is likely very inefficent and ineffective.
I don't know what the answer is to the drug problem but I firmly believe that America deserves a strong border. I think it would go a long way towards solving many issues. I am not anti-immigration. I would like to see the legal immigration system become easier for worthy applicants. And by worthy, I mean those who want to become productive Americans in a real way.
“Her prescription for more counseling dollars…”? Seriously? That is a proposal? My sarcastic tone is not directed at you, Mr. Klar. This matter is super frustrating as one who was forced to fight the drug zombie apocalypse for 3 years while out on a ranch, trying to learn new skills. The state routinely dropped addicts out near the property, or ON the property to get them out of the nearby towns (out of sight, out of mind….not actually fixing a problem, just kicking a can down the road) so it then became my problem to deal with and it was frankly terrifying in some instances. That was prior to “Covid” and the issue is a bazillion times worse now. I assure you that mere counseling is not the answer.
I agree. I became a certified Vermont Recovery Coach to learn how I could help. The more I have learned, the more terrifying it becomes. These are not our grandmother hippie's drugs.... they wreak havoc on the brain and compound mental illness. The government can't fix it: it is manufacturing more zombies daily. Counseling substance abusers does not replace blocking drug dealers, or otherwise preventing people from becoming addicted and requiring counseling (which is often ineffective).
Terrifying is indeed the word. I had the privilege (not) of fending off meth amphetamine. I did not know that some of the chemicals necessary to the manufacture of said drug can be found on farms and ranches. I also learned that people seek out farms and ranches to make the drug because they are out of the way. That was truly terrifying. I have never seen anything like it, frankly. Things one never wanted to know….the problem is overwhelming now in Colorado, though. Of that much, I am certain.
Meth eats holes in the brain that cannot be reversed with therapy -- unlike opioids where prospects are grim but still better. Most of it is now manufactured in Mexico -- much cheaper and the Americans can't compete. Scarier yet.
Holy cow. All I know is I was beyond scared and it was like some of them were not even human any longer. I’m not trying to be mean….that is what I saw. Your explanation is logical, though. I do not believe that what is sold as marijuana in Colorado is what was around when I was in high school, either. Not by the way people act on it. I have no proof to back my assertion up, only observation. Wholesome food would go a long way in correcting health issues…but there’s no profit in it. That’s what my biochemist pal from USC told me, anyhow.
I think one of the major reasons behind almost all of the drug problem is lack of hope. If you have no hope that anything in your life can change or ever will change for the better, why not hide from it? Those of us who have hope aren't affected by any amount of fentanyl, as we aren't taking drugs to hide in the first place.
Kamala is only offering more government restrictions and interference, Trump is offering hope that we can all have a life we want again. I'm voting Trump has the best chance of changing the fentanyl problem, by changing the underlying lack of hope that makes people need to hide.
We don't need more counseling dollars, we need a world that isn't more horrifying every time you look out the door.
Amen! I say the same thing in Vermont -- get out of our way and let us find hope and purpose! Creating dependency is not a rescue, but an enslavement. Healthy-minded people WANT to work.
As a little L libertarian, and having lost a family member to drugs and raising a child injured by per-natal drug use, I think and believe that the the Gooferment must admit it is powerless to "solve" the problem. "They" can't keep drugs out of prison so how do they expect to do it in a free society? My "solution" is to let the free market operate. Walmart, Walgreens, and Amazon will make the "illegal drugs" clean, safe, and cheap. Then, we can focus all the wealth wasted of "prohibition" on making resources available to those who want to get "clean". Will people still die from "drugs"? Absolutely! But they won't be "accidental" from fentanyl in their heroin. Sorry to be the bearer of "bad news", but it's completely out of our control what free people can put in their own bodies. Let's make addiction as "safe" as possible.
I was once of this libertarian mind -- look at Amsterdam. But as a former criminal defense attorney and drug counselor, I have seen the front lines, especially for methamphetamines. Oregon has gone the way you suggest, and it is imploding as the meth addicts and others move there. The true root is human alienation and despair -- that Democrats fuel in our economy, borders, and CRT racism, etc. Sometimes it makes even me want to shoot up and tune out.... BTW, the "legal" drugs are already here -- suboxone and methadone are synthetics provided at government expense -- here in Vermont they give it freely to prison inmates regardless of whether they are addicts: they come out dependent on those "clean" drugs. It is Huxley's Soma, free for all. I think your proposal is just what our overlords would desire....
You point to Oregon; I point to Portugal. You despair over the fate of addicts; I see a hope that we can eventually take the stigma of drugs, the "coolness" of youthful rebellion, and the corruption of our institutions potting it behind us. I'd rather we get the Gooferment out of our choices and back to being the impartial force for peace.
Your point has an interesting dimension -- what works in Portugal may not work in Oregon because of a cultural despair. We see the same in European versus American youth and alcohol -- they sample, we binge. It may be more cultural than anything else.... And I am truly compassionate, and have lost friends and family to this scourge....
I submit that the government feeds despair and we wouldn't seek drugs to escape it if we had purpose and self-determination. Wendell Berry has written about this for decades. But we can't have one without the other.... If we dole out free drugs in an environment of despair there is a vicious cycle... Does Portugal not have a meth problem?
My understanding, from what I have read, is that they shifted from "prohibition" to "offering help". Last I read about it that their addiction rate had fallen in half. Clearly that works for some. Imagine if we could save half of "our" addicts.
I tend to agree. If Fentanyl becomes difficult to find, there will be a replacement. Was the war on drugs successful? No! Was prohibition successful? No! Even if there was an attempt to remove all guns, would it be successful? Absolutely not. The black market is always around to find the replacements. We have not gotten to the core of the issue, instead we keep attempting to find a band-aid big enough to "fix" it. Trauma, lack of self worth, a society that is focused on commercialism as a symbol of success--there are so many layers. The drug abuse is symbolic of failed systems that do not serve humanity. Until we allow the inevitable collapse of these systems and start rebuilding no amount of control of legislation will make a bit of difference.
"Trauma, lack of self worth, a society that is focused on commercialism as a symbol of success--there are so many layers." Yes. Values. What we value, and what we do with our lives.....
She is a servant for others, not really even a politician but a thespian marionette. She will do whatever it takes to destroy our nation and citizenry.
Only God can end the scourge. The problem is more complex than you may think. In order to get a workforce able to withstand constant, 5-6-7 days a week of long hours in sweat shop factories, those that be promoting equity are experimenting with medication. Fentanyl is one of the trials. Seems to have failed, considering the death rate, although if you have enough expendable people, who cares about the death rate?
I have several comments from my experience/observation which may only be tangential. But first I would like to say that I think it is no contest between which candidate offers chances at real solutions and that is President Trump.
My concern over fentanyl is different from other drups as it is so often used to contaminate other drups and some users - I would say especially young people just experimenting - are killed who do not even have a pattern of drug use or current addiction. It is truly evil.
Living in an area with many people from Mexico, I observe that their relationship with drugs is culturally different from ours as they are able to obtain many drugs OTC that we cannot. I do not know the legalities or logistics of this, I have simply been offered strong antibiotics or painkillers when in need as well as my grown children who work here. People freely move from here (west Texas) to Mexico and back and I mean legal or illegal. I have sort of a second row seat you might say.
I also have an adult child who lives in Oregon and works in the legal cannabis system. Legalization has been hard on those trying to do right in weird unexpected ways. It pushes illegal production and distribution even further underground as the rules are so onorous. The paperwork alone makes doing taxes seem simple. I am not arguing one way or the other for legalization but I do wish we would look at individual drugs and make more informed rational laws. Marijuana would likely be best simply decriminalized which is different from legalization and I am not the one to explain it well. But filling our justice system with users of cannabis is likely very inefficent and ineffective.
I don't know what the answer is to the drug problem but I firmly believe that America deserves a strong border. I think it would go a long way towards solving many issues. I am not anti-immigration. I would like to see the legal immigration system become easier for worthy applicants. And by worthy, I mean those who want to become productive Americans in a real way.
And now we have xylazine...
“Her prescription for more counseling dollars…”? Seriously? That is a proposal? My sarcastic tone is not directed at you, Mr. Klar. This matter is super frustrating as one who was forced to fight the drug zombie apocalypse for 3 years while out on a ranch, trying to learn new skills. The state routinely dropped addicts out near the property, or ON the property to get them out of the nearby towns (out of sight, out of mind….not actually fixing a problem, just kicking a can down the road) so it then became my problem to deal with and it was frankly terrifying in some instances. That was prior to “Covid” and the issue is a bazillion times worse now. I assure you that mere counseling is not the answer.
I agree. I became a certified Vermont Recovery Coach to learn how I could help. The more I have learned, the more terrifying it becomes. These are not our grandmother hippie's drugs.... they wreak havoc on the brain and compound mental illness. The government can't fix it: it is manufacturing more zombies daily. Counseling substance abusers does not replace blocking drug dealers, or otherwise preventing people from becoming addicted and requiring counseling (which is often ineffective).
Terrifying is indeed the word. I had the privilege (not) of fending off meth amphetamine. I did not know that some of the chemicals necessary to the manufacture of said drug can be found on farms and ranches. I also learned that people seek out farms and ranches to make the drug because they are out of the way. That was truly terrifying. I have never seen anything like it, frankly. Things one never wanted to know….the problem is overwhelming now in Colorado, though. Of that much, I am certain.
Meth eats holes in the brain that cannot be reversed with therapy -- unlike opioids where prospects are grim but still better. Most of it is now manufactured in Mexico -- much cheaper and the Americans can't compete. Scarier yet.
Holy cow. All I know is I was beyond scared and it was like some of them were not even human any longer. I’m not trying to be mean….that is what I saw. Your explanation is logical, though. I do not believe that what is sold as marijuana in Colorado is what was around when I was in high school, either. Not by the way people act on it. I have no proof to back my assertion up, only observation. Wholesome food would go a long way in correcting health issues…but there’s no profit in it. That’s what my biochemist pal from USC told me, anyhow.
I cannot think of one single way in which humanity is NOT being attacked at this point. I really cannot. I think about it often, too.
Why not bring our men and women stationed overseas and protect our own borders, ports, and American interests?
I think one of the major reasons behind almost all of the drug problem is lack of hope. If you have no hope that anything in your life can change or ever will change for the better, why not hide from it? Those of us who have hope aren't affected by any amount of fentanyl, as we aren't taking drugs to hide in the first place.
Kamala is only offering more government restrictions and interference, Trump is offering hope that we can all have a life we want again. I'm voting Trump has the best chance of changing the fentanyl problem, by changing the underlying lack of hope that makes people need to hide.
We don't need more counseling dollars, we need a world that isn't more horrifying every time you look out the door.
Amen! I say the same thing in Vermont -- get out of our way and let us find hope and purpose! Creating dependency is not a rescue, but an enslavement. Healthy-minded people WANT to work.
As a little L libertarian, and having lost a family member to drugs and raising a child injured by per-natal drug use, I think and believe that the the Gooferment must admit it is powerless to "solve" the problem. "They" can't keep drugs out of prison so how do they expect to do it in a free society? My "solution" is to let the free market operate. Walmart, Walgreens, and Amazon will make the "illegal drugs" clean, safe, and cheap. Then, we can focus all the wealth wasted of "prohibition" on making resources available to those who want to get "clean". Will people still die from "drugs"? Absolutely! But they won't be "accidental" from fentanyl in their heroin. Sorry to be the bearer of "bad news", but it's completely out of our control what free people can put in their own bodies. Let's make addiction as "safe" as possible.
I was once of this libertarian mind -- look at Amsterdam. But as a former criminal defense attorney and drug counselor, I have seen the front lines, especially for methamphetamines. Oregon has gone the way you suggest, and it is imploding as the meth addicts and others move there. The true root is human alienation and despair -- that Democrats fuel in our economy, borders, and CRT racism, etc. Sometimes it makes even me want to shoot up and tune out.... BTW, the "legal" drugs are already here -- suboxone and methadone are synthetics provided at government expense -- here in Vermont they give it freely to prison inmates regardless of whether they are addicts: they come out dependent on those "clean" drugs. It is Huxley's Soma, free for all. I think your proposal is just what our overlords would desire....
You point to Oregon; I point to Portugal. You despair over the fate of addicts; I see a hope that we can eventually take the stigma of drugs, the "coolness" of youthful rebellion, and the corruption of our institutions potting it behind us. I'd rather we get the Gooferment out of our choices and back to being the impartial force for peace.
Your point has an interesting dimension -- what works in Portugal may not work in Oregon because of a cultural despair. We see the same in European versus American youth and alcohol -- they sample, we binge. It may be more cultural than anything else.... And I am truly compassionate, and have lost friends and family to this scourge....
I submit that the government feeds despair and we wouldn't seek drugs to escape it if we had purpose and self-determination. Wendell Berry has written about this for decades. But we can't have one without the other.... If we dole out free drugs in an environment of despair there is a vicious cycle... Does Portugal not have a meth problem?
My understanding, from what I have read, is that they shifted from "prohibition" to "offering help". Last I read about it that their addiction rate had fallen in half. Clearly that works for some. Imagine if we could save half of "our" addicts.
I tend to agree. If Fentanyl becomes difficult to find, there will be a replacement. Was the war on drugs successful? No! Was prohibition successful? No! Even if there was an attempt to remove all guns, would it be successful? Absolutely not. The black market is always around to find the replacements. We have not gotten to the core of the issue, instead we keep attempting to find a band-aid big enough to "fix" it. Trauma, lack of self worth, a society that is focused on commercialism as a symbol of success--there are so many layers. The drug abuse is symbolic of failed systems that do not serve humanity. Until we allow the inevitable collapse of these systems and start rebuilding no amount of control of legislation will make a bit of difference.
"Trauma, lack of self worth, a society that is focused on commercialism as a symbol of success--there are so many layers." Yes. Values. What we value, and what we do with our lives.....
Absolutely John.
Great post!
Chameleon Harris is nothing but a politician, pure and simple. She will say and do whatever it takes for political expediency.
She is a servant for others, not really even a politician but a thespian marionette. She will do whatever it takes to destroy our nation and citizenry.
Only God can end the scourge. The problem is more complex than you may think. In order to get a workforce able to withstand constant, 5-6-7 days a week of long hours in sweat shop factories, those that be promoting equity are experimenting with medication. Fentanyl is one of the trials. Seems to have failed, considering the death rate, although if you have enough expendable people, who cares about the death rate?
OUR HOLY HEAVENLY FATHER CAN END THIS AND ALL EVILS IF YOU WOULD UNITE WITH HIM AND HIS LIKE MINDED FOR SUPPORT,,,, PRAY AND PREP