Comments by "Ida Larsen" (@idalarsen2540) on "Scripps News" channel.

  1. While addiction is neither selfish or a choice (ask science), these so-called parents DRIVING A CAR WITH THEIR TINY, TINY CHILD most certainly is both a choice and selfish AF. -drug user (heroin being main drug) myself. I would never ever under any circumstance allow myself to become pregnant/too far along to have an abortion as long as I haven't been sober and stabile for years. Say I were to become sober, have a child (or more), then for whatever reason relapse on drugs, I would right away make sure someone else close to me and my kid(s) to take over primary care while I got myself in check ASAP. Heroin didn't cause them to be terrible parents, they themselves did. Anyone able to do what they did to their child on heroin, would make equally/similarly bad choices sober. Sure, drugs can change you, but it doesn't make you a different person. This is far more due to their character in general. We're not stupid people. We're just as stupid or intelligent as any other person not addicted. Some people will just be bad people, drugs or not.
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  2.  @Emi-mz1kc  That doesn't work. Unless they want to stop themselves, like GENUINELY, they won't. Even then, it's hard af. It's a disease, an actual illness reckognized medically. If there was a quick fix, there wouldn't be such a globally widespread and serious issue with addiction. NOBODY wants to be an addict. Nobody wants that life. Nobody ever chooses to become addicted. Who would and why would anyone aspire to that? Think to themselves that, "hey, being a heroin/meth/coke/whatever-addict sounds fun! Imma head out and try to become addicted". Just no. NOBODY EVER DOES THAT. Nobody wants to live life as an addict. Not only do we face the obivious daily struggles of having to aquire our drug(s) of preferance, dealing with shady people, violence, crime, gangs. Homelessness in many cases, struggling to even just survive (depending on the drug - some drugs kills you easier and faster than others, heroin/fentanyl/opiates in general and alcohol are the most dangerous and lethal when it comes to being an addict), getting food, water and shelter. Isolation. Sickness and withdrawal (which can be lethal). All of the obivious stuff. Not "just" that (which is far more than enough struggle by itself), but also having to face a world were we're viewed as bad people. Constant stigma and harrassment from both family and friends, the general world around us otherwise, as well as the medical community. We're not viewed as equal, nor equally deserving of fair treatment. We don't get the same amount of respect/even just basic human decensy as people struggling with an illness/being patients. Our mental health gets overlooked. We're often mistreated by doctors and such, not giving us proper help, like any other "kind" of patient would. We're not believed. Other medical issues are completely ignored/disregarded, often leaving us untreated for any other (potentially serious/even dangerous/lethal) health issues, which may have been the reason we became addicted in the first place (self medicating). The list goes on and on and on and on for far too long. We face all these potentially life threathening situations all the time, while society at large does nothing but view us as bad people or "less than". It's EXTREMELY hard. Then on top of that, everybody wanna act like they're addiction specialists around us, despite having absolutely zero knowledge or experience with addiction. Treating us like we're not worthy of life and like we're less than human is just disgusting all around, and it's a lose-lose situation. Shame won't make us better or healthier, and society won't get less addicts that way. Not saying we should be void of consequences or anything like that - just treat us EQUALLY, as we are equal. Yet for some reason, far too many people, disgustingly enough very much including medical personell and professionals, insist on keeping us down and low. Leading us to the grave, and loved ones to mourn. That's not okay. The very least we deserve is equal and fair treatment. Basic human rights and decency. Like everybody else. That shouldn't be too much to ask for. People are so cruel.
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  3. While I agree that arresting us, having cops and the criminal justice system "deal" with us instead of actually recieving professional help as PATIENTS (considering addiction is a disease) and treating us with basic human decency is the absolute worst thing to do (prevention-wise and everything), that shouldn't mean that we shouldn't face charges like anyone else would for things like child endangerment and such. While treating us as inherently criminal is the worst way to go, we deserve just as much as anyone else to face charges for criminality, whatever it may be.. especially when it comes to violence, abuse, child abuse/endangerment and such. That's just a given. We shouldn't face any more or any less accountability than non-drug addicts. That's exactly what equality is.
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  4. Both of you are tools ffs.
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