Thread by @PHillman20

Perspective: Drug Laws
1/12 Prior to being thrust into this fight for reasonable access to pain meds, I assumed all non-medical users of drugs were PWUDs, basically slaves to the drugs, lives ruined. It wasn't something I thought about critically having never done it.

2/12 It never occurred to me that someone would obtain the drugs illegally on an intermittent basis and not be addicted. Why? As I began researching, I learned that there are many who like to use the drugs recreationally but do not fit the definition of SUD.

3/12 It really shocked me this never occurred to me. I'm smart. I am prescribed meds and I am not addicted. Why would I think everyone who obtains drugs illegally is addicted? Many people drink alcohol and are not alcoholics. Why is everyone who takes drugs considered a PWUD?

4/12 We've been socially programmed to think that some drugs like alcohol, nicotine, and most recently cannabis are acceptable drugs while heroin, cocaine, psychedelics are not acceptable. What data was used to make those decisions? Evidence based? Clearly not.

5/12 Heroin was widely used during the Vietnam war and in medicine for years. Studies showed only a small percentage became addicted yet heroin was deemed too risky.
academic.oup.com/aje/article-ab…
history.com/news/drug-use-…

6/12 Time to really think about what we've been told & ask ourselves if it really makes sense. There are hundreds of millions who used drugs medically & recreationally, some for decades, who are not PWUDs. This means drug adxn is not inevitable for most people. #TruthMatters

7/12 Of course, all drugs have side-effects but not everyone will experience the same side-effects. Some have bad reactions to alcohol. Some have bad reactions to cannabis. Everyone has a different reaction so it makes sense why people prefer different drugs for recreation.

8/12 Many more people are killed by alcohol than opioids. Why is one drug w/worse risks okay & another with less risk is not? Addiction is a horrible thing but it's more than the substance itself. The more I look at this the more our drug enforcement laws do not make sense.

9/12 We have cancer treatments with far worse risks than opioids yet we allow patients to decide whether they want to take the risk. Why is the gov allowed to take this decision from some & not others, especially when it involves quality of life and for many can result in death?

10/12 When the gov allows riskier drugs such as alcohol and nicotine to be legal and acceptable but won't allow drugs with less risk like opioids, one must ask: What's the determining factor? Money? Power? Moral high ground? Ignorance?

11/12 Are they aware genetic tests can help predict which drugs are dangerous for individuals? Seems this could be done at birth & save a lot of grief. It's not perfect but perhaps a better solution than allowing the gov to choose who gets to live and who has to die via torture.

12/12 When did it become acceptable to take away a person's right to choose, especially when it leaves them to medical collapse and death or worse, a life of absolute torture?
#dontpunishpain #disabledlivesmatter #qualityvsquantity #itsmydecision #whodecidesforyou