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Advice needed.

Nate505 said:
Why should I care if people are overprescribed pills? I'd much rather see people get the pills if they need them if the cost is overprescription than seeing people not get them for the moral reason of not seeing people get addicted. I never understood why society's role should be to save people from their addictions. That should be the role of the individual and their family, but mostly the role of the individual.
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While I don't like the general concept of BigGov micromanaging everything they can think of either, the reason you should care is because abuse by professionals and experts who enjoy government support for their malfeasance is just an evil we should not, as individuals or as society, put up with. Well can't do lynch mobs to string up professional exploiters but we can strip them of their undeserved respect and pressure our supposedly representative legislators to curtail the abuse that is being tolerated because the pharmaceutical lobby is supporting an evil situation just to earn a lot of money from us personally and from government social support system.
 
Then just do away with all lobbies. That would cure a lot of ills in congress.
 
babe said:
While I don't like the general concept of BigGov micromanaging everything they can think of either, the reason you should care is because abuse by professionals and experts who enjoy government support for their malfeasance is just an evil we should not, as individuals or as society, put up with. Well can't do lynch mobs to string up professional exploiters but we can strip them of their undeserved respect and pressure our supposedly representative legislators to curtail the abuse that is being tolerated because the pharmaceutical lobby is supporting an evil situation just to earn a lot of money from us personally and from government social support system.
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I'm fine for putting up with it as a society. In fact, if people are going to be addicted I'd rather them be addicted under the care of a doctor than having them resort to going to heroin dealers or going to the legal therefore ok addiction of booze (funny how we have massive problems with its addictiveness but god forbid anyone try to argue for more regulations on that). If someone wants to get hooked on pain pills I don't care, provided they are keeping up with their regular social responsibilities (ie not robbing people and the like).

What I can't stand is the policy that is there to protect the lowest common denominator at the expense of someone who needs something. If someone with massive back problems can have their quality of life improved by popping some oxycontin all day, I'm all for it. Even if it means that someone else may just be popping them because they're an addict. I'm not for tighter regulations that would prevent the back pain sufferer from getting it just to protect the person who may become addicted.

I also don't have a ton of sympathy for those who get addicted and claim they didn't know what they're taking and how addictive it was. That's hard to fathom in the information age. When I get prescribed anything I go home and look it up (and also ask my doctor all sorts of questions about when he is writing the script). It doesn't mean I won't take it, but I do know all of the potential side effects. The addiction potential of opiates has been known for hundreds of years. It's not exactly hidden.
 
Gameface said:
While I agree with you I think many people were prescribed opiate pain pills for a legit injury, took them at the prescribed dose for an extended (but prescribed) period of time and became addicted without really knowing it or doing anything outside taking their prescribed medication. Opiates are a muther****er of an addiction. So now we have soccer moms and HS football players addicted to pain pills when those same people may have never touched any illegal drugs or alcohol in their life. I know a few people who fall into that category.

On the other hand, my mother suffers from several work-related injuries. She's been taking large doses of pain pills for more than 10 years. Is she addicted? Yes, most certainly. Is her life better being on a controlled, albeit very high, dosage of pain pills vs being in constant debilitating pain? Yeah, I think so.
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Couldn't have said it better, although I appear to have less sympathy towards you to the ones that get addicted accidentally. The one thing I will concede is that doctors don't tend to spell out the addictiveness of the drugs more (my dentist never mentions it when he gives me vicodin after getting a root canal or whatever). In my case it wouldn't be a big deal since I obsessively research any drug/medication that I take, but to those who blindly trust their doctor I do see where that would be a problem.
 
There is a difference between physical dependency and addiction. Dependency is a part of the addiction, but the psychological addiction is typically much stronger and harder to overcome. Gameface I would be willing to bet your mom is more dependent than addicted. That is typical of people on long-term pain control meds under the supervision of a doctor.

For anyone who cannot empathize, you should thank god or providence that you and no one you care about have ever been in such a position to suffer that level of pain.

I certainly wouldn't wish it on anyone.
 
unluckyseventeen said:
I didn't, and the actual story doesn't change my opinion.
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You were speculating on where he got the pills and it says right there in the story that as a teacher/coach he abused his position of power and asked his students to steal prescriptions from their parents. That is much much worse than getting them from a "pill peddler" doctor.
 
VINYLONE said:
Just telling it like it is.

I stand by original statement that this guy needs to see jail time...as well as rehab.
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Considering he is facing 2 felonies and 2 class A misses I would suspect some jail time is in his near future.
 
His crimes definitely deserve the jail time. However we can still show empathy for the ordeal he has gone through that got him addicted, and the ordeal he will be going through with rehab and serving his sentence, and the problems he has put his family through.

I hope he gets past this and is able to move on with his life.
 
catratcho said:
What would be your stance if he'd been arrested for DUI?
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That he should serve his time, if any, and pay his fines completely. Why do you ask? I don't see the connection.

GoJazz said:
Considering he is facing 2 felonies and 2 class A misses I would suspect some jail time is in his near future.
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Well considering that he completely violated the social contract between teacher and student, I think this is only appropriate. If he is, personally, ready to get better, I have no doubt that with the support of his family and friends, such as yourself, his road to recovery should be easier.
 
Millsapa said:
You were speculating on where he got the pills and it says right there in the story that as a teacher/coach he abused his position of power and asked his students to steal prescriptions from their parents. That is much much worse than getting them from a "pill peddler" doctor.
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So, people having excess prescription pills laying around their house has nothing to do with a doctor that is likely receiving benefits for prescribing them to patients that supposedly need it. Uh huh. I'm sure he never got any pills from a doctor which would have started the addiction, but rather started randomly asking around at school. That's likely.

I don't need one case or another to back up my point, which is apparently what you think this comes down to as you're residing on pointless technicalities. Doctors shove pills down people's throat because it's the easiest method of care and makes them just as much or more money compared to being truly involved and wanting the absolute best care for their patients.

Do you disagree with that, or are you only here to poke at people for no reason?
 
unluckyseventeen said:
So, people having excess prescription pills laying around their house has nothing to do with a doctor that is likely receiving benefits for prescribing them to patients that supposedly need it. Uh huh. I'm sure he never got any pills from a doctor which would have started the addiction, but rather started randomly asking around at school. That's likely.

I don't need one case or another to back up my point, which is apparently what you think this comes down to as you're residing on pointless technicalities. Doctors shove pills down people's throat because it's the easiest method of care and makes them just as much or more money compared to being truly involved and wanting the absolute best care for their patients.

Do you disagree with that, or are you only here to poke at people for no reason?
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This particular situation is generally the result of doctors refusing to just go on prescribing the pain meds precisely because they are seeing the reality of dependence emerging. . . . so they don't give all the pain meds the patient insists he needs. . . . that's when they start thinking up schemes for getting them in other ways. The first resort is going to the medicine cabinets of friends and relatives, then they beg from whoever, even students apparently. The thinking just isn't there. . . they need the fix. If that doesn't meet the need, the next thing they do is start stealing, robbing the pharmacy around the corner, or worse.

As much as I don't like the BigGov solutions to personal problems, I think it would be a good step forward if the "wonderfully ethical" pharmaceutical industry put up a hotline for doctors to post alerts for people who are likely to doctor-shop until somebody fills a prescription, and set up or donated to rehab centers where people in danger of going over this cliff could be referred for counselling and treatment. But denial is as real as crocs, and there is no sure way of getting people "helped" as long as they are free.
 
GoJazz, You seem like a nice person to worry about your neighbor and friend. My advice is to let your friend know how you feel and to let him know that you are there for him. That also goes for his wife. I don't know the whole story and the character of your friend but being a good friend should not change simply because your friend has a drug addiction. Unless your friendship would put you or your family in danger then I say be a good friend by listening, helping him and just being there for him.
 
unluckyseventeen said:
So, people having excess prescription pills laying around their house has nothing to do with a doctor that is likely receiving benefits for prescribing them to patients that supposedly need it. Uh huh. I'm sure he never got any pills from a doctor which would have started the addiction, but rather started randomly asking around at school. That's likely.

I don't need one case or another to back up my point, which is apparently what you think this comes down to as you're residing on pointless technicalities. Doctors shove pills down people's throat because it's the easiest method of care and makes them just as much or more money compared to being truly involved and wanting the absolute best care for their patients.

Do you disagree with that, or are you only here to poke at people for no reason?
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Who says it was "excess" pills lying around? That is just more speculation. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

You can bash on doctors all you'd like but it doesn't seem to fit this situation. I agree some doctors do abuse their prescription powers.

My response wasn't about poking, it was about focusing on the abuse of his teaching/coaching position, which is the reason this guy got arrested.
 
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