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Chris Christie signs legislation aimed at ending opioid additction

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Mael

Member
Interesting that they're not going "War on drugs" on this addiction....
Let's hope it helps solve this problem.
 

sjboi

Member
Speaking anecdotally/from experience, the South Jersey area definitely has a huge problem with opioid abuse, so this legislation seems like a great thing.
 
The pharmacy wouldn't let us get a partial prescription either, so now we have a 3 week supply sitting on our shelf that I don't know what to do with.

Flush it down the toilet.
100% serious - that's what I've been told to do with any excess medication.
The last thing you want is for someone to find out you have that hanging out in your house, and to break in to get it.
(I had to hide my Oxycontin prescription when with my ex due to her brother and cousin and friends and such. Got rid of it as quick as I could when I didn't need it anymore)
 

Kyrios

Member
How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

It's bad, I had a co-worker and a friend die of overdoses in the past year. And I know one of my friend's mother and brother are currently addicted.

First time in a while I like what my governor passed.
 
Growing up in NJ, I've lost nearly 10 acquaintances in my life from opioid overdoses. And I've seen many others suffer major setbacks from life from addiction. Good to see this.
 
Portugal has the solution we need to be looking at. This policy may help decades down the road but in the short term will just drive demand for heroin.
 
Portugal has the solution we need to be looking at. This policy may help decades down the road but in the short term will just drive demand for heroin.

The 5 day rule will stop a lot of the initiation into addiction.

I've had surgery multiple times and never felt necessary to continue the pain medication after a week to 10 days (and I don't think my bowels could handle the obstruction, ugh), but for a lot of people that's more than enough to drive dependence.
 
What are good alternatives to opiod painkillers? I've been on codeine (and a NSAID) for years (though only for a few days a month, not every day) but maybe switching to something else would be good.
 
Glad to see this go through, and good for Christie for supporting it.

I had minor outpatient surgery in November. The typical time to be on major painkillers afterward was 4-5 days. The surgeon issues a prescription for 30 days on percocet. I protested and asked for one week or less, but was told "that's what he always does". The pharmacy wouldn't let us get a partial prescription either, so now we have a 3 week supply sitting on our shelf that I don't know what to do with.

It's the second time in a year I had something like that happen. It's given out like candy.



Yes, that is what is behind the epidemic.



Even less than a week required a fair bit of willpower. That must have been brutal.
Dispose of it. Its safe to flush and I believe that's the FDA's recommended way of disposing of percocet. It's not worth keeping around.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Flush it down the toilet.
100% serious - that's what I've been told to do with any excess medication.
The last thing you want is for someone to find out you have that hanging out in your house, and to break in to get it.
(I had to hide my Oxycontin prescription when with my ex due to her brother and cousin and friends and such. Got rid of it as quick as I could when I didn't need it anymore)

You should dispose of medical waste properly.
 

riotous

Banned
These laws are good; but I hope they are prepared to cope with the extra heroin use that follows. Also likely will increase robberies of drug stores.

This won't just stop people from getting hooked, it limits the supply of pills on the market. A lot of pills are out there because people sell their prescriptions.

Washington State has really strict laws; it dramatically increased the heroin problem here as well as drug store robberies. I haven't read if it has slowed the rate of new addictions; mostly hear the opposite.
 
How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

It is a HUGE fucking problem. I forgot what state it was, but there is a state where opioid addiction has become one of, if not the leading cause of death. And I know from my friends in law enforcement who have seen a sharp increase in heroin ODs as a result of people not being able to get prescription opioids.

The good thing about this legislature is that it is also aimed at helping those who are addicted, not just limiting how many can be prescribed. While this limitation can be seen as too strict, the potential benefit I see from this is it allows doctors to better monitor the frequency with which the legitimately prescribed opioids are being used by their patients. Hopefully this better increases communication between the patient & the doctor so that future potential cases of addiction may be avoided.
 

geomon

Member
Know what will end opioid addiction seemingly overnight? Marijuana legalization but they won't fucking do that will they?
 
Five days is going to be really tough for some people. I used to take Klonopin for depression and it was hard enough having a doctor approve my refills...having one approve them every five days is crazy.

I'm not on it anymore, I switched to a higher dose of Prozac and it's done really well for me.
 

jb1234

Member
What are good alternatives to opiod painkillers? I've been on codeine (and a NSAID) for years (though only for a few days a month, not every day) but maybe switching to something else would be good.

Depends on the source and intensity on your pain. For nerve pain, gabapentin can be useful. Doctors often will prescribe an antidepressant (SNRI, most common) before going straight to opioids because they have pain dampening qualities. And of course, marijuana is worth a shot. Unfortunately, all of those tend to have worse side effects than the opioids.

We're all waiting for a chronic pain solution that isn't as potentially addictive for more severe types of pain.
 

MoeDabs

Member
Depends on the source and intensity on your pain. For nerve pain, gabapentin can be useful. Doctors often will prescribe an antidepressant (SNRI, most common) before going straight to opioids because they have pain dampening qualities. And of course, marijuana is worth a shot. Unfortunately, all of those tend to have worse side effects than the opioids.

We're all waiting for a chronic pain solution that isn't as potentially addictive for more severe types of pain.

Marijuana has worse side effects?
 
You should dispose of medical waste properly.

Well, yeah, I meant when I was still taking them.
After I didn't need them anymore, they got flushed (which, if I recall correctly, is the proper way to dispose of pills?)


Also likely will increase robberies of drug stores.

Don't most pharmacies/drug stores not regularly have stuff like that on-hand, and have to order it when there's a prescription of it? So the person robbing the store would be gambling on someone having a prescription ready for pick-up?
(I could be wrong, that was just my understanding)
 

jb1234

Member
Marijuana has worse side effects?

It depends on the strain, of course. Medical marijuana often limits the THC, which lowers side effects to a certain extent. I couldn't tolerate the stuff for my chronic pain because of how terribly anxious it made me.

Opioids have a fairly low side effect profile, especially compared to other drugs commonly used to treat pain. Constipation almost always occurs but can be countered with other things.
 
Depends on the source and intensity on your pain. For nerve pain, gabapentin can be useful. Doctors often will prescribe an antidepressant (SNRI, most common) before going straight to opioids because they have pain dampening qualities. And of course, marijuana is worth a shot. Unfortunately, all of those tend to have worse side effects than the opioids.

We're all waiting for a chronic pain solution that isn't as potentially addictive for more severe types of pain.

Nah it isn't nerve pain, I have endometriosis. Marijuana is good but not suitable for work!
 

jb1234

Member
Nah it isn't nerve pain, I have endometriosis. Marijuana is good but not suitable for work!

It's worth discussing it with your doctor if you want to try something else but since you're not taking the opioid on a daily basis, your chances of tolerance and/or addiction are much lower.
 

Tall4Life

Member
Just for some perspective on this for skeptics, I graduated last year from high school in Northeast Ohio, an epicenter for this opiod problem. Instead of getting speakers about pot or alcohol we got pretty frequent speakers about opiod addiction, especially about heroin. And this is a white upper class area. Its a growing problem.
 

FyreWulff

Member
It's a start. They also need to make naxolone (Narcan) easy to get and legal for people to use on an overdoser while not being arrestable .

Sadly, sadistic conservatives are actually putting forth efforts to ban or restrict Narcan to save people from ODing. They'd rather people die from drugs than rescue and treat.

Just for some perspective on this for skeptics, I graduated last year from high school in Northeast Ohio, an epicenter for this opiod problem. Instead of getting speakers about pot or alcohol we got pretty frequent speakers about opiod addiction, especially about heroin. And this is a white upper class area. Its a growing problem.

A combination of the white denial aspect, "doesn't happen in our community", the "we'll just ignore it and maybe they'll stop" which heroin addiction is the WORST thing to do with, because each time the opiod high is lower and requires more to even feel close to the same way, eventually leading to an overdose because you have to hit yourself with a truck of the shit to even get a slight buzz.
 
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