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Originally Posted by Ygrec23
Hold on now. Another big oxycontin/oxycodone set of headlines. As if any of us haven't seen all the prior ones. And metamphetamine headlines. And the cocaine headlines. And the crack headlines. Heroin headlines. Pot headlines. Whatever.
Has it ever occurred to anyone with any degree of authority or responsibility (such as NIDA) to wonder why so many people in our country feel the need to get addicted to these various killers? The original stink came after 1900 and led to the requirement that opioids (and others) be dispensed only on prescription. I think, if memory serves, that that came in 1915. The Harrison Act? Not sure. And then various subsequent prohibitive enactments over all subsequent years.
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Rich and poor. Have, have not. The gap has been widening since the industrial revolution, just as the problem of drug and alcohol abuse has been getting worse, not better.
Drug abuse is a form of escapism. It is more prevalent among the poor and impoverished. Yes, it exists among the rich and elite as well, but they can afford luxury resort rehab facilities to get clean every 6 months. Does a kid smoking crack in the projects have that kind of resource?
The media bombards us every day with images of who we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to look like. For 90% of us, it's destroying our collective self-confidence and making us feel worthless. It's no wonder people want to get away and stop caring, even if it's just for a little while.
Is it genetic? No. Purely sociological IMO. Find a nation with a more even distribution of wealth, and you will find a nation with less drug abuse and less drug related crime. I bet you a beer. Well, maybe a soda.