Comments by "Daily Wire Third Stringer" (@DailyWireThirdStringer) on "Rhode Island to open the country's 1st safe injection site" video.

  1. Drugs are amazing tools for painkillers, such as those with chronic back issues or post-op patients. Recreationally, they can be a lot of fun to use at first, but once addiction sets in, you need to keep using them to survive (either because the withdrawal will be that bad [side note: alcohol is one of the few where withdrawal can actually K*LL you], or because you just need them to function normally [e.g. cocaine, methamphetamine], as anyone who needs coffee [caffeine is a drug] in the morning is well aware). Others are just fun, and are not usually harmful in the short-term, but long-term effects may be dangerous (tobacco is a great example, and so is alcohol). And others are mostly or entirely non-addictive (especially marijuana and psychedelics), because it's not the nature of the chemical to get you "hooked" or because tolerance is built up very quickly. It's the latter category that are the safest to use by far. The former may be used either in moderation or with caution, but some are just better to avoid altogether (nicotine). And of course, the addictive ones are the most risky, and often the most deadly (the chances of OD skyrocket when the drug is laced with other compounds and the buyer is unaware, such as fentanyl in heroin). Doctors should be incredibly cautious when prescribing opioids --- obviously --- and I would even go so far as to say that after a certain time period following dismissal from the hospital, the opioid can only be administered in a medical setting. But the goal for those who are addicted now should be to use the same strategy as with nicotine and alcohol abuse: wean them off their substances, so as to mitigate or prevent a withdrawal and to make the sobriety process go more smoothly. This means providing the substance in a clincal setting in progressively smaller doses, so that in a few weeks (or months) they are free from it altogether. Many others don't suffer from addiction (about 80% of all drug users, in fact), and we're not worried about them because they are meeting all their responsibilities. It's those whose lives have been negatively impacted (lost job, ruined relationships, etc.) that desperately need our help, whether they think they do or not. By implementing this on a wide scale, rather than just putting them behind bars or taking up space on our streets, we will finally be catching up with what Switzerland and other highly developed nations in Europe have been doing for years. And it's worked. (Much of this information has come from an expert on drug addiction, Dr. Carl L. Hart, a professor ar Columbia University, and his book Drug Use for Grown-Ups. I highly recommend you give it a read if this is a topic that piques your interest.)
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