Dealing With Drugs

THE WORD "OPIOID" is new to me, but I have no problem with it. I always thought the word was "opiate", but I know better than to diss the latest word fad. All I know is that when I injured my hamstring about five years ago, hydrocodone came in handy, too handy, and I got away from it just in time. About three million other Americans didn't, according to the facts. Let the blame game begin. Who's to blame, doctors, patients, pharmaceutical firms, or all the above? We still haven't figured out to adequately deal with mind altering chemicals, which we so dearly adore. Societal responses to drugs range from sipping them at the kitchen table before going off to work, to using them with but only with a doctor's permission, to purchasing them at a drive by window, to scoring small amounts on the street, and sharing with a few select friends behind drawn shades. All that seems a little chaotic, a little inconsistent. Do we lock up all the doctors, corporate execs, and addicted patients? or do we let all the crack cocaine dealers and users out of prison? To be consistent and fair, it would be necessary to do one or the other. Fairness and consistency might not be our aims. We understand that people want to have a good time, want to escape, and will do so, one way or another. We also realize that drugs and drug research and development saves lives. It may well be that the concept of "punishment" might not have any place in dealing with all this, from a logical, scientific point of view. A whole new approach would appear to be called for.