A Border Wall will do Nothing for America's Opioid Epidemic - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#14988121
One reason why President Trump is demanding a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico is due to his belief that a wall will stop the flow of illicit opioids into the country. Opioids are definitely a problem in the U.S., and a lot of illicit substances do come across the border, but building an expensive wall won’t resolve the problem.

Border wall or no border wall – opioids will find a way to reach their destination. The majority of drugs coming from Mexico are smuggled by cars that pass through legal points of entry. Drug traffickers know exactly how law enforcement operates and some even have direct connections with law enforcement agents. Border patrol agents need updated, tactful resources to stay ahead of drug smugglers. Improvements should be made within border security, not through the construction of a $5.7 billion border wall.

Despite circumstances, drugs will always find a way to their destination – whether it is over the wall, under the wall, or right past the hands of border patrol agents. Manufacturers and traffickers will develop ways to move their business into the U.S. With drug trafficking being a $360 billion trade, they won’t give up simply because of a wall.

The deadly reality of addiction is that a person who is addicted can and will get their drugs in one way or another. The opioid epidemic is a problem across the country and the majority of illicit opioid users start by abusing prescription opioids. Approximately 191 million prescription opioids were dispensed in 2017 in the nation. Due to the high risk of dependence, many people who become addicted seek out illicit opioids when prescription opioids cease to produce the desired effects. A border wall will not stop those who are suffering from addiction from getting their fix.

If we are to decrease the demand for opioids as well as the rates of opioid addiction, the president should be focused on providing drug prevention education to our youth. They should be informed that more than 130 people die each day of an opioid related overdose. They need to be educated on the fact that opioid dependence can occur as quickly as one week after abusing opioids despite the fact that an average opioid prescription contains enough pills for 18 days.

San Diego border patrol agents agree that funding is best spent by increasing man power within the task force while increasing and improving their investigative capabilities. They explain that wiretaps and paid informants are a more effective method of catching drug traffickers. These officers add that border patrol can also be improved through better training regarding drug-sniffing canine ability and officer inspection training rather than a costly border wall.
#14988130
You are dealing with lying president and a bunch of bad propaganda about the bad hombres and not about practical solutions to drug addiction problems and drug dealer smugglers.

But that is what the Trump base is about. Misinformation and bad theories based on total fabrications.
#14988132
https://drugabuse.com/legalizing-mariju ... overdoses/

    According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. In an effort to relieve that constant pain, the number of opiate prescriptions has nearly doubled over the last decade. Today, opiates like hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine flood the streets, driving up addiction rates and fatal opiate overdoses.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has officially labeled the problem an “opiate epidemic.” As experts scramble to come up with a plan that combats the nation’s dependence on opiates, a new study published last week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine indicates medical marijuana might be the key.

    Over the past two decades, deaths from drug overdoses have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States. In 2011, 55 percent of drug overdose deaths were related to prescription medications; 75 percent of those deaths involved opiate painkillers. However, researchers found that opiate-related deaths decreased by approximately 33 percent in 13 states in the following six years after medical marijuana was legalized.

    “The striking implication is that medical marijuana laws, when implemented, may represent a promising approach for stemming runaway rates of nonintentional opioid-analgesic-related deaths,” wrote opiate abuse researchers Dr. Mark S. Brown and Marie J. Hayes in a commentary published alongside the study.

Better than a border wall.
#14995940
Tainari88 wrote:You are dealing with lying president and a bunch of bad propaganda about the bad hombres and not about practical solutions to drug addiction problems and drug dealer smugglers.

But that is what the Trump base is about. Misinformation and bad theories based on total fabrications.

Exactly. This is part of a long list of how scapegoating is more financially lucrative for the USA's oligarchs and rentiers than actually dealing with the sources of the opioid problem.

If America is drug addled, then the military can attack Latin America and steal resources like minerals while it's there.

If America is SUV-addled, then the military can attack Arab oil-producers (terror-sponsors all) and steal resources (and lock the financial system into Western servitude) while it's there.

If Israel is thirsty, then its military can attack Syria and steal the Golan Heights water source while it's there.

Propaganda has a way of steering a population away from real solutions, and intead, encourages this population to seek "answers" that are really more money-making schemes from its non-performing oligarchs.

Pants-of-dog wrote:researchers found that opiate-related deaths decreased by approximately 33 percent in 13 states in the following six years after medical marijuana was legalized.

This is encouraging, but it still doesn't answer the question "What is so wrong with the current reality that so many of us need to escape it through the manipulation of our consciousness?"
#15004197
So wrong . it wont solve it but it will reduce it. Nothing will ever completely remove the opioid crisis.
But the Border issue is a multi-pronged attack on the problem.
First you must look at the overall issue.

You have to increase the number of Agents they're overwhelmed gifts dealing with illegal aliens coming into the country.
Next increase security at Crossings also increase inspections.
Next increase the efforts to discover tunnels.
Next comes the ball which will not only reduce the amount of illegals coming over but when other avenues are curtailed the wall will become the next issue if cartels can easily walk across the border as you can in many places they will use that as an Avenue to smuggle in Fentanyl whatever is easiest and most efficient.
Small Smugglers often use humans to bring about 22 40 lb packages of marijuana heroin cocaine on foot.
If cartels have more issues at crossings and tunneling then guess what they will do next.
Tons of drugs come across the boarder by foot a year.
Really this is not a political issue .
#15004215
I frequently see statistics like this:

According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.


It is, of course, complete bollocks. It is a statement like '99% of Americans will be hungry today'.

One third of Americans do not suffer chronic pain.

If you back hurts when you get home from work that is not chronic pain. If your feet hurt when you walk that is not chronic pain.

The problem is NOT chronic pain. The problem is not pain at all. The problem is using inappropriate treatment modalities for pain. The problem is not caused by pain. It is caused by doctors.

I am going to have minor surgery in a couple of weeks. It will hurt. I will probably be given opiates to deal with the pain initially. If my doctor gives me more than about 10 pills he is probably over prescribing.

I am an old man. Sometimes I get aches and pains and very occasionally they are somewhat severe. If my doctor gives me opiates/opioids for that pain he is the problem. Not the pain.

My neighbor has real (over 12 week duration) difficult pain with a previous back surgery. If my neighbor's doctor prescribes opioids for that pain the problem is the doctor.

This is not to say that opioids should never be used. On the contrary. They should be used frequently. Except in the case of terminally ill patients they should not be used long term. Very short term.

People call the problem "societal". Nope. The problem is doctors using the medicine incorrectly.

I favor legalizing marijuana. That has nothing to do with the opioid crisis. Professional education and monitoring does.

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