Dying from a drug overdose

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

yeah but it's a human being we're talking about here. There are plenty of people in recovery who have OD'd in the past and are getting on with their lives.

I'd like to know the cost of that drug (not expecting you to go research this, btw), but even 1k seems reasonable for an intervention that can bring someone back from near-certain death.

Compare that to the legal aid bill in defending drug-dealing criminals, where the state pays for both sides. Not saying that that's necessarily wrong either, just mentioning it for perspective.

Also bear in mind that it's actually very easy for anyone to administer the drug (Naloxone) with minimal training; well worth the cost to save a life.

corner of hells wrote: »

Easy to administer , I've used it loads of times , it's astonishing to see someone coming back.

And also the time when they're most likely to go f*ckin mental and act as if possessed.

Potential-Monke wrote: »

In my time as a Garda, I got to witness 2 people being brought back from heroin overdoses. Scary time. Ambulance crew come in all calm, knowing exactly what to do and what happens. The person is basically dead on the ground, everyone is cleared back from them and 1 paramedic injects the magic juice into them. They wake up like Chev Chelios in Crank after getting a dose of adrenaline. They don't know where they are or what's going on, and usually become quite violent for about 10 minutes. It's surreal to see someone basically dead wake up with vigour in their eyes.

I believe it costs about €1000 to bring someone back from an OD, including the cost of the drug and the ambulance crews time. Crazy thing is, one of the 2 that OD'd done it again the following day and didn't make it that time.

The drug (naloxone) isn't expensive, around €1 a dose for a generic, moe for branded and injector pens but still not an expensive drug, in many places police are issued with injector pens as hey are more likely to be first on the scene of an OD.

The addicts don't like it because it blocks the effects of the opioid and gives them instant withdrawal symptoms. It is a quick fix but a short term one as the effects only last a short time, if not monitored and more doses given the addict can OD again when the naloxone wears off.

The cost of addicts to society through the health service, police and criminal justice industry and side effects to individuals through crime and anti-social behaviour is enormous.

Criminalising intoxicating substances is a monumentally stupid policy and one that has completely failed to prevent widespread abuse worldwide. The only people it benefits are the enormously wealthy and powerful criminal networks who have ravaged entire countries on the production side as well as millions of lives of consumers.

Until western countries drop the delusion that banning things you don't like makes them go away there will never be a solution to our current illegal drug problem and the devastating effects it has on users and the community at large.

This is a fantastic video explaining why addicition is being handled wrong:



@ATNM, I completely understand that paramedics would prefer to save a life rather than transport a body. I do, that's their job, it's what they do. And I may not have the same level of compassion as most people. Be it from experience, both personal and professional, or maybe my brain is just wired differently, but I don't assign the same level of empathy to everyone. You can call me inhumane, but i genuinely believe that after a certain point, when people have proven they don't want help, we should stop helping them. I can't help how I feel, that's just me.

Then again, I'm quite different to most people, and I'm totally ok with that. I also don't have this perceived notion that everyone has empathy for kids. I don't. I dislike them greatly. I believe that children are no one else's responsibility except the parents/guardians. I get slack for it, but again, I don't care. I have stronger feelings for other matters. That's just me.

I completely agree, it's very easy to judge, and heroin is not as easy to get as some people say. Like yourself, pre-Gardaí, I dabbled in experimentation, but was never offered it either. But, with a small bit of looking, you can get it.

And I do take the point of not knowing the background of the vast majority of these junkies, but you have to admit that in some cases, they don't want the help, they prefer to be the junkie. There are so many support systems in place out there for addicts, that you can only do a certain amount before we, in my opinion, should cut the losses. Only humans try to save everyone, animals leave the weak behind and what are we only advanced animals. Take from that what you will, but I stopped caring what people thought about me a while back, and I'm happier for it.

Not everyone thinks all humans should be treated the same. I don't. I don't think burglars should be treated the same as law abiding citizens. I don't think rapists should have any rights, as they took them from someone else. I think all paedos should be shot dead. And while I am happy for junkies to get help, and pay for that help via my taxes, I also believe there should be a cut off. You can only help people a certain amount, and the rest it up to them. If they don't want it, then fine.

Similarly, I am behind the governments intention to remove people from the housing list if they make 2 denials. It's welfare, not a life we should be providing. I'm a single male, 35, no dependants (and don't ever want kids). I'm living at home with my 70+ year old parents, initially as a stop gap while I transitioned from a Garda with a mortgage (unaffordable) to a civilian with negative equity after selling the house. Surprisingly, I didn't expect to be left in the house if I couldn't afford it, unlike some people, and their defenders, who seem to think they should be (ie: farmer all over the media recently, handled wrong but dead right to kick him out). I'm entitled to no help, none whatsoever, but I'm still paying, via taxes, for everyone else on the entitlement culture to get what they want. I'll never get assistance unless I impregnate someone, which I have no intention of doing. And I can't afford to rent. So I'm stuck at home for the foreseeable, with no hope of getting a 4eva home or any assistance whatsoever. I've checked.

I wasn't like this, 9 years as a Garda, and the now very well documented 'me, me, me' culture has made me this way. I love helping, and it's why I became a Garda, but now society does so much taking and no giving, it has completely changed my views on this country. I now have what some would consider a cold heart, and that's grand, no problem. I have the things I hold close, and I have views on many things that most people would consider heartless, but being a single male with no kids and experience of the worst parts of society, it's left me like this.