New York City's Opioid Drug History: A Relentless Cycle

Pain relief drugs in the form of opioids have a long history in New York City, where they were introduced as unregulated medicine: doctors began prescribing morphine pills to housewives in the 1880s.
Journalist Christopher Booker uncovers New York's history with opioids - from plant-based morphine, opium and heroin to lab-produced drugs like fentanyl - in a half-hour film about drug addiction, medical treatment, and drug criminalization over the course of decades.
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[@johnwick-ii6il]

Diagnosed with an extremely painful incurable bone disease. It had began to ruin the life I spent decades building. Right at the height of the war on prescription abuse, the doctors could not, or would not, give me anywhere near enough pain management to maintain any kind of a life. I was willing to accept the hand I had been dealt, but my suffering was deemed unacceptable to all who witnessed it. I was finally forced to begin a routine of illicit opiate use just to be able to work a few more years. When my GF discovered my use she exclaimed....If you keep using it will take away everything you own and destroy your life. I answered her with the question.....As opposed to what ? The bone disease had already done that, at least this way I could ease the suffering. Years later I was still forced to by-pass the medical community by joining a free methadone program. They let me set my own dose to fit my needs with no games from the doctors.. The point is that for many of us, an addiction to opiates is the lessor of all evils by far, it can save lives. But the doctors act like it isn't even an option.

[@Starfish2145]

For people like you, there’s nothing wrong with opioid dependence.

[@selenaclarke]

I'm so sorry to hear what you felt with. I hear it again & again.

[@ryanreedgibson]

I've been there and I survived. I no longer take opiates, but I have other modifications that are inconstantly in stock. Instead of my life being a rollercoaster, I now manufacture my own medication in my lab. If I didn't have a good mass spectrometer it wouldn't be safe.

[@KenjiMapes]

Sorry for your ailments & suffering. Best of luck. Sadly there were many corollary effects & unintended consequences of the pharma opioid issue. On a quick sidebar, the old “hard drugs” like coke & heroin aren’t even the hard ones anymore as synthetics & other drugs are far more potent. The media & others reductively makes claims like “Person X died from a heroin overdose as they had paychotropics, benzos, oxycotin, marijuana & fentanyl in the system”. Then it wasn’t a heroin overdose. See how they oversimplify things. It’s often a deadly toxic cocktail that kills but not always. Most drugs are taknted with fentanyl now & benzos can be as bad or worse. Anyway, big pharma & doctors pushed oxycontin but it got out of hand. Then fentanyl got big. Pills were abused & now people who need them have a hard time trying to get them. Due to this it causes street prices of pills to skyrocket pushing some to go to other drugs like fentanyl or something else. Now you see crazy stuff like tranq which is turning people into zombies with serious skin issues from using tranq. My friend has pancreatic cancer at 53 but told me the doctor is hesitant to give him any prescriptions. People who need it aren’t getting it. This is why knee jerk responses are dumb. What happens is a slew of negative unintended consequences & patching the dyke with fingers only for another leak to spring up elsewhere. They falsely “fix” an issue like pills which only shifts the problem to another area like fentanyl. And again, there are so many worse drugs out there now than the old classic hard drugs. In some countries legalization works but they are often small European countries who don’t have the same issues we do but the war on drugs is a colossal failure. We need to try something else.

[@DIVIDEDWEFALL88]

I am A Patient at a Methadone Clinic Also @Starfish2145 WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHICH PEOPLE ARE WRONG OR NOT WRONG FOR BEING OPIOID DEPENDENT.

[@ParkerQualityControl]

Eventually people keep crying then when they are on the way out in excruciating pain they’ll bring you ibuprofen. Everything has a purpose. Pain relief should not be criminalized

[@scrubbwhite291]

I just had major prostrate surgery. These bastards at the hospital, St. Josephs in Syracuse, sent me home with 15 ibuprofen. This is what these crazy anti-drug laws have produced. So what did I do? I went to the street to get fentanyl for relief. This is the result of the DEA policies.

[@asullivan4047]

When illegally purchased for pleasure its breaking the law. And should be treated as a crime

[@ParkerQualityControl]

@@asullivan4047 all I see in your comment is the words, illegal , pleasure, and crime. A crime to feel good…

[@astralreisender]

@@asullivan4047 and thats why i dont think demokratie is a good thing when ppl like you gota vote ;)

[@TheSmartLawyer]

​@ParkerQualityControl go to Portland and stay until you've had your fill. Portland is awaiting you...

[@FadingVitals]

I’m a Fentanyl user! I have polyneuropathy and there’s nothing you can do except of treating the pain! I’m thankful of having my opioid! Saved my life!

[@LarsTragel-zh7ei]

You are a junkie.

[@JohnFlaky-jm7dd]

But why do they give you poison when better forms are in existence. I won't say available because the doctor sells what makes more profit

[@emilyannamanda]

I wish I could avoid that in the streets, but I am a methadone patient ❤ Happy to hear good fentanyl story because of course that’s what was given to me after both car accidents and was life-saving My own consumption led me to methadone

[@MiracleFound]

Opium was used well before the Civil War. Laudenum was used for headaches. My great-grandfather was a pharmacist in New York in the late 1800's.

[@milascave2]

My great aunt used to give laudanum to her kids in milk at night. She had eight kids.

[@Nancy-y8q1n]

Never mind the fact that in the 1800's, Heroin and morphine were sold in the Sears catalog

[@albedesigns]

WOW!

[@dwainphillips]

And cocaine in the original Coca-Cola

[@BrianHart-s2d]

👍🏻

[@elaineisabelle427]

Those were the good old days

[@papigrande4378]

Human beings lack of being prepared for the recurrence of a historical problem, never ceases to amaze me. I'm a history guy because I know it will always repeat itself. But I'll have a conversation with someone about a social issue and I'll make a historical reference that relates to the issue and someone will say "That happened 100 years ago, what does that have to do with this" Its like people actually believe that human beings are so much different today that nothing that happened in the past coulde possibly relate to today.

[@roystongibbs7189]

And don't speak about "antebellum chattel slavery", that happened over 100 years ago. I'm watching the drugs destroy "the Usual Suspects" and enjoying my steak dinner!!! Charma has a way of showing it's fangs! Salute

[@RAPEDBYBLACKS]

Imagine getting her on at a pharmacy. What a great time to be alive.

[@funnyyellowdog8833]

florists still sell poppy, but only for decorative purposes ;)

[@SpinningSpur]

So there I was at the hospital with several broken ribs after a severe fall at the construction site. The Doc wouldn’t give me anything for the pain. He didn’t like my look or something and treated me like a junky trying to score. Absolutely infuriating. I never go see the docs anymore unless I am on deaths door. They have hurt me as much as they’ve helped me over the years. I don’t trust doctors they are all about the money not you.

[@Kacv-dc1tx]

It is so much easier to say I'm an addict & then it's Oh, we have got methadone for you no problem. Sad but so very true now.

[@martincallaghan6563]

As a result of all this if I go to my doctor I cannot sleep I have bad anxiety or pain I cannot get any treatment whatsoever There is a place for opioids in the medical world but most doctors do not want to deal with it which is sad for people who need these treatments

[@joseplaza9442]

I am with you

[@DetectiveTrupo203]

Nobody needs these treatments.

[@joseplaza9442]

@@DetectiveTrupo203 people like you have no idea

[@DetectiveTrupo203]

@@joseplaza9442 whatever you say junkie. Try not to pawn your mom's jewelry ok

[@Carolina_Luke]

@@joseplaza9442 He's ragebaiting. He is saying that to make you feel angry. Anyone can see that some people need these treatments - obviously that is why the medication was invented and is still authorized by the FDA. If not, they would take it off the market.

[@jakejones136]

8 yrs of being clean. It is possible and I love to share and help

[@toydigger]

Why do people use dangerous drugs?

[@JTMXNEYVID]

Please help me

[@willdenham]

I don't know why it's surprising that the working class use heroin/opiates. It helps immensely to work under harsh conditions and actually, in low/moderate doses, increases productivity.

[@bestiefswlady5251]

Agreed. And many of us DO stay at our low dosages for years and years. furthermore, many insurances do not fully cover non-pharmaceutical treatments such as chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, and or reduced schedules time off work in order to lie flat on our backs or side more to compensate for physical jobs. Even so called “sedentary “ jobs can be hard to do (combination of sitting and standing) if there are multiple spinal issues. The difference between 10 to 15 mg per day of hydrocodone/oxycodone versus “Tylenol only” can make a significant difference in ability to expend energy physically

[@joshuaschmude7187]

We need to grow up as a society and come to the realization that people use drugs whether legal or illegal, they are a fact of life. If people are dealing with pain, anxiety, depression or a physical illness drugs are usually an essential part of treatment. Herion addicts do not respond to suboxone or methadone treatment, they should be able to get a prescription from a doctor coupled with naloxone and education about the drugs use and misuse. I would rather have this than having everything laced with fentenyl. They are spraying the Marijuana with the crap now, its insane! Prohibition has not created a safer environment, it has made things much more dangerous. Sensible regulation is the only thing that can change this situation as simply banning things does not work.

[@phoenixdavida8987]

I 100% agree. I was on heroin for almost 20 years and you are spot on.

[@BaldandInsecure187]

Nobody is spraying Fentanyl on weed

[@joshuaschmude7187]

@BaldandInsecure187 it was on NBC news, look it up bro it is rare but happening.

[@Evankayden-z7y]

Amazing video.. It’s crazy how many people go through so much traumas from this abusive drugs. Opioid addiction actually destroyed my life, i suffered severe depression and mental disorder, not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment changed my life for better. I can proudly say i'm totally clean for 6 years and still counting. Always look to nature for solution to tough problems, Shrooms are phenomenal.

[@juanbergaaa]

I love hearing great life changing stories like this. I want to become a mycologist because honestly mushrooms are the best form of medicine (most especially the psychedelic ones) There are so many people today used magic mushrooms to ween off of SSRI medication- its amazing! Years back i wrote an entire essay about psychedelics. they saved you from death buddy, lets be honest here.

[@Morrisbraga-jm9lc]

Hey mates! Can you help with the source? I suffer severe anxiety, panic and depression and I usually take prescription medicine, but they don't always help. Where can I find those psilocybin mushrooms? I'm really interested in treating my mental health without Rxs. I live in Australia don't know much about these. I'm so glad they helped you. I can't wait to get them too. Really need a reliable source 🙏

[@DonnDenisse]

Yes sure of mycologist Pedroshrooms. I have the same experience with anxiety, addiction. Mushrooms did a total reset for me.

[@canerbakar-jv2si]

Thanks for sharing your story. That's rough I sympathize. Save your health save your mind. Life is better without heroin, cocaine, alcohol and cigarettes. And you have more money in your pocket. God bless everyone who has rejected the devils intentions to be addicted to alcohol and cigarettes etc which can cause so much damage to health. I will pray for you all.

[@Adelmo-b8f]

Where do I reach this dude? If possible can I find him on Google

[@006ahenry]

Im 45 yrs old. My uncle has been a heroin addict for 40 years now. I haven't seen him in 30yrs. I have always wondered why? What caused him to start a lifestyle that he knew was detrimental. His older(10yrs) brother was in prison for addict related crimes(theft & petty drug dealing), at the time he began using. I was 5, but I remember 1 day he was the fun uncle and the next weekend he slept all day and wanted nothing to do with me and my cousin. When I was 15 my grandmother told him to stay away from us, she didn't want us to follow his path. I have never seen him again.

[@me67226]

I feel sorry for him

[@me67226]

Methadone is a trap in Calif. They won't let you off of it.

[@me67226]

The way the laws are set up if you are on methadone you can not go anywhere youre stuck no traveling or visiting friends in another city that's hours away. It's horrible the way the laws are set up. I want off of it. It's been 20+ yrs I need a way off before I die. At least loosen the laws regarding takehomes....

[@inflameswetrust2194]

Speaking as an addict who used to isolate from family, alot of times we end up thinking our family would be better off with us around anyways. I didn't want my nieces and nephews and cousins to see me nod off or find a loose fetty pill or emulate me. Depression makes me feel like, regardless of drug use, I'm a negative force on the people around me. I feel like my depression is contagious and I need to quarantine myself. The lack of self worth, being physically sick, grim outlook.... it all serves to isolate the drug user. Even now that I've been clean for almost a year I still feel alot of those feelings. I suppose that's a big reason why alot of users go back after being sober for awhile.

[@gemmamudd7167]

​@inflameswetrust2194 same I feel your pain

[@brian8152]

Awesome video! I am an opioid addict on methadone for almost 10 years and yes it has worked amazingly thankfully. No cravings or sickness. I am very interested in historical drug use and stuff so this was very interesting. thank you!

[@DetectiveTrupo203]

If you've been on methadone for 10 years, you're not doing it right. You're just as addicted to that as you were the other things. You should have been off of it literally years ago. Stop being weak and take control of your life and stop making excuses for yourself. Get clean, be an adult

[@e501csams3]

do you have to go to the clinic everyday?

[@sheismymom]

Hope all is well with you

[@notsocrates9529]

@@DetectiveTrupo203 Would you tell a diabetic person that they are an addict because they rely on exogenous sources of insulin? Why is dopamine different? Is the brain not an organ too?

[@user-vi1os8of8p]

You’re fucked bro 10 years on methadone!?

[@theblondeone8426]

im a nurse - everyone says they hate opioids until they need them. this crisis is bc of restricting them i think its making it a lot worse. All these ppl promoting the opioid epidemic would hate to go to the hospital and have no pain meds - trust me - Ive seen it happen!

[@dieselboy610]

Exactly! You nailed it on the head. Thank you

[@dieselboy610]

Exactly!

[@Lumberjack.guy5973]

Facts

[@ninja4192]

Then they take an opioid and they're like"THIS was what I was ACTUALLY complaining about?!!!"

[@Heopful]

​@@ninja4192and then they stop and say holy shit I should've never taken em at all

[@edwardjackson9919]

I wish you covered 1990-ish forward a little better but I understand there were time limits. While the national attention was on cocaine in the 1980"s, opium cultivation skyrocketing nationwide with almost pure snortable / smokeable heroin flooding NYC, crack dealers often giving out free samples turning crack corners into heroin corners. The overdose rate started going up again before oxy hit.

[@richiehoyt8487]

In the UK - certainly in London anyway, I believe in Glasgow also, to a lesser extent - injectable _Methadone_ became a _big_ problem in the '90's. While injectable ampoules of Methadone had been around for years, either as pain relief for cancer patients who were intolerant (for whatever reason) of Morphine or Diamorphine (Medical Heroin, never actually banned in the UK), or for that cohort of long~term opiate addicts psychologically fixated on the needle habit, they were only relatively rarely seen on the street, and weren't cheap. This all changed in a big way around 1993 though, when pharmaceutical companies identified and exploited a gap in the market for injectable Methadone, putatively as a way of weaning people off of Heroin - which, to be fair, it probably _did_ do, but the reality was that it just represented the swapping of one opiate addiction for another, in a manner that facilitated 'bigger' habits in real terms, to a drug that might take _months_ to come off of 'cold turkey', as opposed to in a week or two with Heroin! While one of the features of Methadone is that it ordinarily does not produce a high in opiate tolerant patients, injectable Methadone most certainly does give a pleasurable 'rush' - especially if the contents of the ampoule are mixed with crushed up tablets, eg 'uppers' like Dexedrine, or 'downers' like 'Rohypnol' aka the notorious 'Roofanol', as was routinely done by poly~drug using addicts. While the ampoules of Methadone that had heretofore been a somewhat rare feature of the 'scene' were large, relatively bulky items, (or small, but limited in potency), which limited the amount of drug that could be administered in one go), the new 'amps' typically came in concentrated form, which _theoretically_ required dilution with saline, but the reality was that addicts could now inject _several hundreds of milligrammes_ of Methadone in one dose! By comparison, 50 - 80mg of Methadone given orally would be a fairly usual dose of Methadone given orally to a 'typical' Heroin addict to forestall withdrawal symptoms. Of course the effect of all this concentrated Methadone, even without the admixture of 'God~knows~what' crushed tablets, or melted gels from capsules which would resolidify in the addicts body, and so on, was extremely caustic on the veins. Of course, concurrent with the explosion of, effectively, 'free~base' Methadone on the 'scene' came a wave of 'script~writing' private doctors, more than happy to prescribe this new form of 'gets - you - high' Methadone (and the Dexedrine or Rohypnol with which it went hand - in - hand) -- for a fee, 'natch'; much like the OxyContin prescribing 'pill~mills' that would be seen a little later in the States. By the mid~'90's, so awash had the streets become with these things that you actually had a very considerable number of intravenous opiate addicts who might never even have _used_ - and certainly not injected - Heroin! To the surprise of nobody, an enormous black market developed. You had a network of chemist shops (pharmacies) for whom 90+% of their business would have been cashing these dodgy 'scripts, which could be identified by the scrums of people outside, waiting for those whose 'script day' it was to come out so they could buy up some - or often _all_ - of their drugs for several hundreds of % mark~up. (The 'croakers' - doctors - weren't always especially rigorous in checking out the bona fides of those who presented themselves to them as genuine addicts). As for those addicts who _had_ previously been hooked on Heroin, there was little question of going back, whether they liked it or not, so bad had their addictions to the 'Amps' become! Not as things stood, anyway... This situation could not go on indefinitely, and by the end of the decade the Home Office were 'copping on' to the situation, the consensus having been arrived at that 'something had to be done' - and so it was. By the Millennium, UK Home Office writ killed off the Amp Scene even more quickly than it had arrived! As welcome as this was, at least on paper, in a situation which would be echoed a five or ten years later in America with the clampdown on the pill~mills, many thousands of addicts would be left in the lurch. At least the British addicts were lucky - theoretically - in as much as that the drug to which they were addicted already had a well established, legitimate network in place for its supply, albeit in an oral formulation. Unfortunately finding a place 'on' a clinic in an _already_ hugely over~subscribed system was no easy thing, not to mention that you now had a cohort of people with, not 30, or 50, or even 100mg - a - day habits, but with 2, 3 and 400mg - a - day habits; the sort of numbers that the legitimate clinics were neither set up to deal with, nor willing to entertain!

[@TheFrugalMombot]

and it was never about oxy prescriptions either. they’ve done studies on this and only 1-3%, really closer to 1% of legitimate chronic pain patients ever misuse their medications yet were unfairly targeted and have been unaliving hemselves after being forced to reduce or stop the medications giving them any kind of quality of life.

[@RoboCop-zn8bt]

Snortable brown dope ruined millions of homes, all by design. They can claim to tell you the weather report on Jupiter but we cant fix pain. The world is a lie driven by the souless. Almost everyone I've lost from dope was a truly good person, the people who get rich off this are the real demons. Unfortunately it will never change, die to money. The devil lives for power over the good, money is the easiest way to achieve that power. The only thing we can do is spread love and the truth.

[@johnwishart-lh3xp]

@@TheFrugalMombot OxyContin was never safe(r) by a long shot. You could crush and snort it, crush and shoot it up IV, or simply crush and smoke it on tin foil. This was all a bunch of bullshit from the NYC Sackler Cartel and their affiliations with South Florida strip-mall pill mills and old jewish doctors and foreign ones too who didn't care and were happy to drug deal in a grey area. Not sure if you ever personally tried it or was addicted to it. I was, and it was a fucking plague for the benefit of a few connected elites. Disgusting shitshow, but that's South Florida for you, "A Sunny Place For Shady People", or "A place for the Have-Nots, and the Have-Yachts."

[@jeffreyhunt1727]

Totally missed the issue of Vietnam vets coming home as heroin addicts

[@shifty1927]

Surprisingly most that regularly used over there did not come home with an addiction. Many picked it back up months or years afterwards cause they were familiar and used it to deal with whatever they brought back in their head.

[@mistamycall]

Exactly!

[@jameswhite1319]

@@shifty1927 wrong

[@shifty1927]

@@jameswhite1319 numbers don't lie kid. Try again.

[@shifty1927]

@@jameswhite1319 34% used heroin over there 20% admitted signs of addiction over there. Only 1% continued to use upon their return.

[@rbeeler81]

Outstanding documentary. Having an interest in this topic for some time, we need to acknowledge a few indisputable facts: 1. Drugs have won an astounding victory in the war on drugs. It was never winnable, and has cost this country billions, if not trillions, in wasted capital. Drugs have even won the war inside of prisons. No sane person can still look at the criminalization of drugs as a viable alternative. 2. Everybody, whether pro- or anti-drug, is paying for it. Whether police, emergency and health services, or decaying neighborhoods and loss of property value, drug related problems will always cost the taxpayer. In many cases, that cost can be minimized by simply 'giving' the drugs to addicts in a safe environment, and keeping them off the streets and removing incentives to steal, commit crime, or degrade neighborhoods. This was the policy in the UK up until the 1970s and it worked far better than the current criminalization model, and is currently gaining favor in some northern European countries. If some users want help, make it available. If you save even 10% of addicts, combined with the cost saving measures of responsible legalization, we should have a far better outcome than the disaster we are currently experiencing.

[@randallbrooks6435]

If this country started a "safe supply" program I think it would go a long way in stopping a lot of crime and many deaths. But I doubt that will ever happen 'cause it makes too much sense even though it's proven to work.

[@elaineisabelle427]

I think they should legalize all drugs. I don't smoke green and even if it was legal, I wouldn't do it. Ppl who don't use them are not going to go out and start just bcuz it's legal.

[@toddc2394]

This was the most informative documentary i have seen on this subject. I am a product of generational opiate addiction and the oxycontin epidemic, been on methadone since 2004 and clean from ilicit drugs for 12 years. This video pretty much sums it up.

[@georgelombardi6409]

stay with it , you will take less and less ,over the coming years 2/ 10.

[@torethyen3893]

Prohibition will always be more dangerous than the health risks associated with any form of dependancies on mind altering substances.

[@j.rebekah8605]

That's historically inaccurate and dark. When heroine became illegal the amount of users fell. A great book DOPE INC. would be good for you to read to understand addiction and crime in America.

[@funnyyellowdog8833]

@j.rebekah8605 If these former H users switched to alcohol or barbiturates, that was a downgrade for their health and society as a whole. The rest of them funded a black market with all the nasty side effects that come with it. The number of total users is not a good metric to measure the success of prohibition. It was and still is a bad idea on many levels.

[@Jaa__17]

11:00 people don’t understand drug use doesn’t have a look. When you can see if someone is using its already out of control.

[@Tania-im7lc]

100 percent. many people have no idea how many functioning users are just living life in every job industry, social class etc.

[@ung427]

You've got to teach people how to take opiates... You have to wait until the withdrawal symptoms arise and then take just enough to make them go away... People take a massive amount, then they take more before it even wears off, to get that initial feeling, then more... It's possible to take opiates as medicine for long periods of time, but you're not supposed to take them in certain ways, that everyone seems to be doing.

[@becky2235]

Addiction though isnt it not many people have that self control. Then when that hell nightmare of withdrawal kicks in they have none,its so sad

[@stella-vu8vh]

@@becky2235Drug dependence, is not the same thing as addiction, jackass. Any long term junkie with or without self control fundamentally understands this fact.

[@JulianQuinn]

@@shifty1927 Really? I was on fent pretty bad but its been almost 2 years clean on 28mg of buprenorphine (suboxone) daily, is it gonna be awful if/when I try to taper down?

[@dethkon]

I agree. It’s even possible to take it recreationally for years without getting addicted. I chip dope about one a month or so, it’s really not a big deal.

[@ung427]

@@dethkon Exactly... if you've ever ran a marathon, it's equivalent to finishing the marathon and finally stopping, after hours of torture... you get the same rush of good feeling... It's the same molecules that your body makes for such things... they call them endogenous opioids.

[@vincentcohoe5746]

NYNY is only one small period time in the history of human opiate addiction. opiate withdrawl syndrome itself has been documented as long as 5,000 years ago! The Panic in Needle Park is an awesome eye opening movie, especially with what was going on in 1971 is happening all over yet again but so much much worse! i myself am a high dose Oxycontin survivor, it was a blessing then a living hellish nightmare.

[@thenarrativeandwhyyouloveit]

@@vincentcohoe5746 one of my favorite films. Al’s first, I believe.

[@vincentcohoe5746]

@thenarrativeandwhyyouloveit i love 1970s drug reality horror movies, The People Nextdoor is a 1970 gem, about mostly when hallucinagins go bad. Also a 1976 Robbie Benson film about his characters addiction to "reds" and 1977ish film Linda Blair aquires an alcohol addiction, both titles are fleeting at the moment. Drugstore Cowboy is always a great film, one of the best in the time it was released.

[@n.b.p.davenport7066]

When a doctors weren't allowed to prescribed opioids any longer, and be under a doctor's care , that push people out into the streets to get pain relief and that's when you have the fentanyl issues. You can never stop it just try to control it.

[@kevinkirkland4577]

No way did they not know oxycontin was addictive. All opiates and opioids are addictive even kratom

[@DetectiveTrupo203]

They 100% knew. That's why they agreed to pay billions of dollars or whatever. They created a market and sold it like it was a magical wonder drug, but they absolutely knew what it was

[@Zaes223]

Of course they knew they were banking on it

[@rambles2727]

They attempted to claim that because it realeased so slowly that it didnt have an addiction potential. This allowed them to pack dangerous amounts into single pills. People would simply crush them and this worked around the extended release. Even without crushing them they were still addictive. They knew

[@bjs301]

@@rambles2727 Actually, the extended release was hogwash to begin with. The original formulation released over 30% of the dose immediately. By the time most people began crushing them, they were already heavily addicted.

[@L0WLIF3iC0N]

Lets not make a ⛰ out of a molehill here. Kratom vs. Opium is not a fair comparison. So Kratom vs. Synthetic or even semi-synthetic opioids is asinine. Hell heroin is a great deal safer than street fentanyl or -zenes that are in street-level drug supply. Methadone and suboxone access easing could really save lives idt they are going to do that tho let's be real 100% of the time In this conversation. 😂

[@John-ee5dh]

The war on drugs was a war on the people and they lost that war drugs will always be with us

[@elaineisabelle427]

I have chonic excruciating pain and can't get a pain pill to save my life. It's inhumane to let ppl suffer the way they do.

[@becky2235]

Life sentence?!?!? For being ill?!?! Disgusting! Thata a crime against humanity!

[@Greg-yu4ij]

Worse, it’s unamerican. The land of the free should never lock humans in a cage unless they won’t or can’t stop harming others

[@DCXCoorexDakarCoore]

But yet ... Take drugs... It'll make you better... Right ?🤔

[@PsychiCorey]

Im on methadone. 180mg. It helps me alot. I feel nice for couple hours n just normal through the day. It has bad stigma worse than it should.

[@scandicdream]

180mg is a mega dose, dude. Damn…

[@joseplaza9442]

@@scandicdream me on 160 and it works

[@GAZMofBI74]

"Mega-wired still" springs to mind there eh mate?🤔Methadone has killed 12 of my close mates over the last 30 years!🇬🇧🤕🤩👁😎✌️@@scandicdream

[@korostchukrusty7505]

I'm on 30 mg and I'm fine with that 180mg is a lot

[@hman962]

methadon't

[@jenna_jayy]

4 years sober bc of subs. I was a teen who fantasized drug use and rock and roll from how I was raised. I told god if I am still alive at 27 I would give life another chance and get sober. Haven’t looked back.

[@BobbyTompkins-hp1nc]

Have U ever tried to Stop taking Suboxone?It’s A Total Bitch!!!Unfortunately opiate replacement therapy Is much harder to kick.Its man made and don’t let go

[@Gina-dn6xm]

What are you supposed to take for chronic pain? The kind that makes you cry and not able to walk or sit up for a long period of time. I had a laminectomy and spinal fusion that didn't work. I personally don't like the way opioids make me feel but at least my nervous system calms down. Also the opioid doesn’t really take away the pain. I just spend all night and half of my day in bed because I can't handle the pain.

[@tinaferr]

Try kratom. It worked for me to get off heroin. Lots of people take it for chronic pain. It's addictive bc works on opiate receptors (among others, which is why it may be different from just straight opiates) but if you need it for quality of life you need it. I really hope your pain gets better.

[@stella-vu8vh]

Im on 330mg methadone, and still need to raise my dose because im an ultra rapid metabolizer whos been doing fentanyl for a few years straight, now that heroin isnt as good as it was even if it wasnt stepped on, and i hope everybody stops talking shit about people on methadone because its no different than needing any kind of medication to function or have good mental health or to regulate a health condition, and at the end of the day, until america follows portugal and denmarks example, there isnt a better solution. I am thankful to be capable of showing up for my wife and valued friends, but if i hadnt gotten access to methadone, every second of every day would be spent getting money and staying slightly behind the constant nag of dopesickness. As long as drugs are illegal, crime will thrive, and america is dystopian as fuck. i cant see how people lack empathy and compassion for dependent people, it makes no sense.

[@inflameswetrust2194]

Agreed. I used to get shit from people at na meetings cuz I take 3 strips of suboxone a day. They say I'm not really clean. I'm working, able to feed myself and my doggo, have a car and function as a person. My doctor sings a very different tune. She doesn't want me to lower my dosage for a long time. Maybe never, the choice is mine as to when I'm comfortable. Having that option takes so much anxiety off my shoulders.

[@Kacv-dc1tx]

What state are you in that you can get that much per day?? Wish I could but we are topped at 100.

[@Joey-jo5rn]

Imagine being deathly sick, vomiting,chills and sweats,and in 2 seconds and a $3.00 gel capsule of fentanyl later you are instantly feeling 100 percent better...

[@martincallaghan6563]

As far as locking people up for being a drug addicts most despicable thing I’ve ever seen build hospitals not prisons

[@asullivan4047]

Unfortunately vast majority of drug addicts refuse free tax payer rehab programs-!!!😭.

[@randystanton1224]

​@@asullivan4047I tried like hell to get in rehab, years before prison. There was nothing

[@bjs301]

It's a hell of a lot more complicated than that.

[@jonathan-i2z]

@@asullivan4047 I don't know where you are getting your information, but you are wrong.

[@oatmeal710]

or what about building a world where you don't need drugs like this to improve your life to a managable degree?

[@maderasagrada1464]

why give methadone? why not just clean, pure heroin?

[@JessicaMycelium]

methadone lasts much longer, as they said, so you're not going to be having to find a supply of the drug constantly. plus it reduces the psychological craving for opiates, which makes it much easier for the person to have or build a normal life, have better relationships, keep in housing, keep up with their hygiene etc. not that I would argue with all drugs being decriminalised.

[@luccafonseca9635]

@@JessicaMyceliumlook at Netherlands or Sweden how they prescribe heroin to addicts

[@luccafonseca9635]

@@JessicaMyceliumthat could never work though here cause it’s all about $$$

[@Blu-w4d]

Because that makes too much sense

[@RlsIII-uz1kl]

Some people aren't ready to quit but don't wanna die or catch disease.

[@msk.7878]

I had no idea how far back this went 😮 very informative thank you

[@asullivan4047]

Civil War ( Laudanum ).

[@OsagieGuobadia]

Thank THIRTEEN for this. : )

[@opengnosis8555]

Sooo... When is it going yo be legal again?

[@JChow-e1c]

This is a excellent docu. Thnx for this post. ☮️

[@chriskeefe9681]

It’s a two way street really. Whilst you don’t want people suffering opioid addiction people with severe pain should not be denied pain relief either, it’s a matter of weighing out the pros and cons accurately

[@Tania-im7lc]

exactly there is a difference between dependency and active addiction. sometimes they overlap but many times they do not. And just because they may have overlapped in the past doesn't mean they will in the future. sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks and people deserve to have a quality of life without physical pain.

[@duncanself5111]

Its when it becane unlawful that things got really bad isn't it ...

[@IratePirate28]

Yep. War on drugs is fake news.

[@brenttesterman3171]

Only if you don't believe in morals and ethics.

[@duncanself5111]

@@brenttesterman3171 that's in short supply on the black market

[@funnyyellowdog8833]

@brenttesterman3171 "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth, and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food." Genesis 1-29

[@darrenlesueur4785]

no mention of the British east india company.

[@conzmoleman]

@@darrenlesueur4785 real parapolitics heads know.

[@anomic4206]

Not only is there no mention, but there's valid and well-known history that I've attempted to disseminate here. Do you think it was posted?? 😂 Nope!

[@006ahenry]

Of course no mention, that Britain fought a war against China because China didn't want their citizens to be addicted to opium.

[@clivebaxter6354]

Disbanded in 1874!

[@janetcohen9190]

Who was / is, Warren Delano? and, others?

[@brannonmcclure6970]

Good program today. I enjoy seeing historical accounts on narcotics. It gives people incite in facts about stuff… . Being informed is powerful.👨‍🎓♾️🎤

[@chriszz9006]

People will always have real chronic pain conditions and traumatic events like severe car accidents that cause broken backs and necks If you do not believe that true pain exists then you're dead inside Where do you go if you need to go? Who? Where? How? Before we destroyed our country with fake messed-up wars like drug wars, we had drug stores and people were far better off End the wars End the lies End the fake insane world of games where people are dying from OD getting poisoned These people are killing us People who make these fake documentaries are a part of the machine killing 150,000 Americans a year, and a global death toll beyond our imagination

[@Tania-im7lc]

there needs to be a middle ground. with education of the benefits and risks, dosing, tolerance, half life etc can help people use responsibly, when they actually know what it is they are taking. methadone needs to be more accessible in a less carceral way.

[@loadedfun4764]

Vets brought that hankering for heroin back from Vietnam to Philadelphia. Next thing you know McPherson Square was the spot to cop that junk. I was lucky not to have gotten wrapped up however I knew where it was and what it did to people.

[@christopher_booker]

strangely enough, there was a bit of research surrounding the rates of heroin addiction amongst soldiers in Vietnam...A researcher named Lee Robins' looked at addiction rates amongst soldiers during the war and when they returned home....."Robins studies found high rates of heroin use (34%) and symptoms of heroin dependence (20%) among US soldiers while serving in Vietnam. In the first year after returning to the United States only 1% became re-addicted to heroin, although 10% tried the drug after their return"

[@loadedfun4764]

@@christopher_booker I don’t want to say I grew up on the front lines of the heroin epidemic that blossomed in Philadelphia however growing up we knew what it was, what It did to people, who in our neighborhood was a dope fein and where we were forbidden 🚫 to go…. McPherson Square was the ground zero for heroin in Philadelphia… unfortunately it has been that way for 54 years and is now ground zero for fentanyl. I haven’t been in Philly in 13 years however I know McPherson Square is still a hotbed for drug trafficking. I could go there right now and score some junk to ruin my life for decades to come…. In the 80’s and 90’s. McPherson Square was known as Philly’s “needle park” While it might have been a few vets still hooked on opioids they were surely kind enough to share their dope with unsuspecting friends…. Same goes for fentanyl…. “Let me turn my friend on and he can be the one to buy it next “.

[@Tania-im7lc]

@@christopher_booker I believe it. I know a few Vietnam vets who were dependent upon heroin during the war and off and on a little bit when they first got back but ultimately quit and are still alive and kicking today.

[@Realitycheck-mqt]

Why the push to stop opiods when alcohol is encouraged?

[@5thdimension954]

This has all been by design. Still is

[@becky2235]

It seems that way opium, morphine,heroin,methadone,oxy, fentanyl, now there pushing subutex!

[@mistamycall]

Money!

[@j.rebekah8605]

I'm reading a great book DOPE INC. I recommend it.

[@ViAndareKV]

Super important documentary... Should be shared on schools, everywhere.

[@lucabrasi3964]

Interesting how she mentioned Edinburgh scotland. We still have one of the worst drug deaths in Europe, I'm literally sniffing heroin and smoking a joint right now as I'm watching this right now

[@collettemcquaide1662]

Stay safe mate. X

[@lucabrasi3964]

Thanks mate 👍

[@kyle6781]

must be nice to still be able to get real heroin, im in philly and havnt seen real heroin since 2016.. only fetty, and fetty sucks, no head rush at all like injecting heroin and when i did heroin i only had to do 1 or 2 shots per day to be ok, with fetty i have to inject myself every 4-5hrs or il be sick. thank god im 2yrs clean now, fetty addiction is truely a full time job 24/7. whole time using i never got a full nights sleepcause youll wake up in middle of night sick and have to do a shot to go back to sleep... if ugo to sleep at 9pm you need to save some for around 2am and have some more around 7am when u get up.. addicts around here wish real heroin was back. its sad

[@lucabrasi3964]

@kyle6781 yeah that sucks mate. I've looked into the fetty/ opiod crisis over in the u.s and it's insane. I just hope and pray fetty doesn't make it's way here to Europe, luckily that's not happened yet because of the different supply routes , when the taliban destroyed the poppy fields last year I feared the worst but luckily no fent has crept into the supply chain, the quality of heroin just dropped but I would prefer weaker heroin to fent/nitizines any day of the week

[@j.rebekah8605]

Well, the English conquered you then.

[@shifty1927]

1898 was a great year.😂

[@jeromedamian5740]

It's all about money and addiction, and humans are designed for addictions.

[@j.rebekah8605]

No, we are made to be sober.

[@funnyyellowdog8833]

@j.rebekah8605 That's nonsense. Recreational substance use can be observed in most intelligent animals, and in all human cultures.

[@funnyyellowdog8833]

it's the society we live in that drives us into addiction. Ritualistic use of even the hardest drugs like tobacco and cocaine never lead to the societal problems we have today.

[@sammydkickinitonaddiction182]

My great grandmother . I remember my g moms stories .

[@JJC257]

I'm on methadone. Still addiction however it saved my life. No more smoking h. No more oxys. No more solpodol. Made my life a lot easier however I'm on a VERY high dose. Hoping to reduce it soon I'm on 140ml. Want to be down to 50 by january. Fingers crossed. Love to all addicts you can beat this!! Love from Scotland 😁

[@henrygonzalez360]

Good luck buddy. I'm on 80mg now slowly coming down 10mg a month after being on 160mg for over a decade. I recommend you take it slow and steady and listen to your body's reaction. It's extremely hard but still possible. 🙏🏽💪🏽🙏🏽💪🏽

[@JJC257]

@@henrygonzalez360 in getting there slowly already tapered down to 90ml I'm trying to exercise alot more and not gonna lie cannabis helps alot haha. Let's hope I hit my goal for new year. Thanks for the support bro 😃

[@henrygonzalez360]

@@JJC257 Yes definitely, cannabis definitely helps out a lot. Too bad that ever since I quit being a pothead 15yrs ago I've become extremely sensitive to THC and get serious panic attacks. But CBD has been a savior to me at least, helps me relax and allows me to get some sleep. Stay Blessed, Stay Strong 🙏🏽

[@Geordan419]

same man. i truly wish you the best. while i do plan to wean off of the met (with the help of my doctor!) it’s been a major lifeline. ppl try to talk junk about it but if you have an endgame that entails completely abstaining, it does its job for the time being and keeps you “functional” so you aren’t out in the streets chasing a dope high and letting ppl down.

[@henrygonzalez360]

@@Geordan419 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@paulinepitts657]

I know that in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the women were able to go to Sears and Roebucks and get a “fix kit”. In the kit was the drug, the injection needle 💉. Now that’s just crazy

[@sammydkickinitonaddiction182]

I've been on m.a.t. since December 2019 and it's given me a life . Not perfect but so much better .

[@christopher_booker]

Really glad to hear this...keep on keepin' on...

[@johnwright291]

The poppies shown at 2 minutes into the video are not opium poppies or papaver somniferum. I'm an expert on opium poppies having studied them starting at 13. I'm now 68. Now there are other species that contain some morphine. But the poppies i just mentioned aren't one of them. Real opium poppies grow all over western Washington where i live. I would like to tell about my experience. I was a extremely bad chronic alcoholic. Went to treatment numerous times. Finally i decided to try heroin which almost completely quells alcohol withdrawal. I found that it really wasn't that expensive as i had heard. I ended up on methadone for 7 years but its been 26 years since ive had a drink.

[@brob9995]

Great documentary

[@lolbored801]

Holy hell this was fascinating! I especially liked the interviews with the addicts who used in the 30s.

[@JasonShaw-hh9xi]

Functioning addicts, off the world, unite! Later, maybe. I gotta go see, my guy.🤘🤮

[@dieselboy610]

lol nice

[@emilyannamanda]

22:15 that’s crazy because right now they will charge you about the same for fentanyl and cocaine $80-$100 a gram on the East Coast but this would be much cheaper on the West Coast

[@Kodiack-kg5zw]

$80--$100 a GRAM?!?!?! YIKES. I live 45 mins from SF and it's about $100 a ball here on average. You just have to find the right Honduran....lol

[@jayfermin7449]

There's always a corporation at the top pulling the strings. I had a 40 yr old friend that I would smoke pot with, he was on methadone. Sometimes I'd drive him to the clinic. I always wondered why he doesn't have a job and found the answer. These methadone programs make you go everyday sometimes spending a couple hours and they close early. They make it nearly impossible for a person to find or keep a job or take the next step. They want to keep them on that shit.

[@kratombutterfly9959]

Look into kr8tom tea for him. Tested, crushed leaf.

[@IanBurch]

If you don’t do illegal drugs You should be able to get take homes They just changed some laws after Covid You can now get a months worth smoking herbs is allowed

[@dizzy_izzy_ohh]

And if you ask if the clinic could be a bit more flexible so you can fit it around other responsibilities, it’s common to be told that you clearly don’t want help bad enough and and aren’t showing gratitude to the tax payers funding your treatment. Never mind the fact that I held down a job and payed taxes even throughout the very worst of my addiction. I knew someone that was fired when their boss found out they were on Methadone/Suboxone. Not because their job involved driving, using heavy machinery or anything else you shouldn’t really do on sedating meds. But just because they felt they couldn’t trust a recovering junkie (despite the fact they’d worked at that company for 4 years and were very competent and reliable)

[@kratombutterfly9959]

@jayfermin7449 if you know anyone else in that situation, tell them about the tea in my name. Just plain, tested crushed leaf, not extracts. Plant based recovery. I got off all my pain meds but have many fellow advocates that broke free from the clinics and pharma by drinking a tea. Doesn't cause respiratory depression either. Lots of mis information because it works so well.

[@SaulTeebolz]

@@dizzy_izzy_ohhisn’t that illegal? Something like hippa law violation?

[@Say10198]

Can they even call it Heroin anymore?

[@Tania-im7lc]

no they can't. there hasn't been heroin in a decade

[@BigTrees4ever]

@@Tania-im7lc did you know that heroin has been found cut with fentanyl analogues as early as the late 70’s

[@chiptankgirl]

Thank you for making this video.

[@bjs301]

This is kind of ridiculous. NYC may be our largest city, but the rest of the world exists, too. The prescription opioid epidemic began in the mid 1990s, and didn't even reach NY during the first 10 years. It began in Southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, and West Virginia, and spread first to Florida. And the opium epidemic a century earlier started on the west coast, spread to Chicago, and eventually hit NYC.

[@emilyannamanda]

Hard to watch something like this when you don’t wanna drive to methadone clinic but I need it to live and two years addicted now to methadone

[@dannygjk]

- When I saw "Soothing Syrup" on the bottle? Yes I laughed. 😂 - Heroin as a cough suppressant?!

[@notsocrates9529]

Opioids have antitussive properties, why is that so funny?

[@dannygjk]

@@notsocrates9529 I'm aware, I use codeine as a cough suppressant occassionally but there is a big difference between codeine and heroin.

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

morphine is still used as a cough medicine (cocillana)

[@Joshmo1234]

It's just called "lean" now

[@dannygjk]

@@Joshmo1234 You're talking about codeine right? I assume "lean" also has alcohol?

[@Tony-hu7uk]

This was fascinating,I read several books that Courtwright wrote.He did an amazing book called Violent Land,looking at the correlation between violence and a lack of women.

[@stella-vu8vh]

people stop speaking about drug dependence as if it is drug addiction, they are two seperate things, often going hand in hand, but people can be dependent without being addicted, addicted without dependence, or somewhere in between. Yall are dumb if you dont understand the difference between these two concepts, honestly.

[@kratombutterfly9959]

They are taking pain patients meds and putting them on subs. I just drink tea and smoke cannabis for all my illnesses.

[@Lovely_Linda_777]

@@kratombutterfly9959 that’s great for you, but that doesn’t work for everyone!

[@Lovely_Linda_777]

This is exactly what I try to educate people on, and people don’t even realize that just about every prescription medication on the planet is not supposed to be quit cold turkey and is meant to be tapered off of just like anything else! so anyone on prescription meds would be a drug addict according to people who think that they are the same thing! Definitely having a dependence on some thing is definitely not the same thing as addiction! 👍🏻🙌🏻

[@littlebettyscrafts556]

@@Lovely_Linda_777 My doctor says at my appointment : “ Oh, you take Klonopin, you know that’s very dangerous because if something happens and you can’t get it , that can cause you to have seizures “ Me: “ well golly gee, because My antidepressants say the same thing all over them, 🤔 Insulin and diabetic medications must NOT be just stopped. That’s deadly as well, (the list goes on “ My doctor : “well, ya do have a point, but…” Me : “Shhhhhhhh” 😂 I couldn’t tolerate Lyrica, and some people need quite large doses, I sat in my car on a daily basis and felt like it was a safe space capsule 😳 I would turn on music and do work in the car😳 It too says stopping causes seizures, but the absolute bizarre effects on me is why I had to do a crappy month or two taper……… Does that sound safe and not physically addictive to anyone ? Ahhhhhh, what else ? Muscle relaxer says same thing….. THEN, there are the pharma commercials, they “quick list” the side effects and your like 😕 “wow, I won’t have rampant diarrhea quite as often, but I could go blind, get Shingles, damage liver permanently, lose my butt checks from chronic infections, drowsiness, uncontrolled movements,extreme skin infections, shortness of breath, blah blah” And how come everyone on these medications are skydiving, and surfing, having outdoor dinners with lots of friends , (Because now they’ve gotten their life back despite the extreme leg shaking and nausea )horseback riding, because “now” they feel so much better…. Reality……. No. No they don’t . Chances are if you are taking a medication for chronic disease issues, or you are truly at a point where you must monitor something out of necessity with a medication, then no. You don’t feel “aglow” You work, barely shower, have to eat specific foods, and collapse at the end of the day. People in your family begin to lose faith in you, friends stop calling because you need to stay home and just damn try to feel better….😔 Ahhhhhhhhh, I appreciate it if you stayed with me through that entire small rant. But YES, bottom line, if it was prescribed to you for long term use…. No matter what it is………. There will be a “come off of it” price to pay. Ain’t that just crazy ? ☮️❤️&🦄’s

[@hernan5940]

Any gold left at Fort Knox?

[@WilliamFoley-t4c]

Flushing native,1956,enjoy NYC history,thanks.

[@David-666gforbid]

Opiods, are pleasurable, help you sleep, stop pain, and gives you euphoria!!!!!

[@bastiancooper-queen1849]

....for a while ! Have smoken "brown sugar" 30 years ago and had many pains to stop it....

[@erichschimmer7729]

​@@bastiancooper-queen1849 U mean vaping it from foil. U cant feel much after so long, probably 5 g to get nodding. Max Respect for not picking up the spike and if your friends do,tell them to order Whatsman 0.2 micron micron filters so they dont die of endocartitis (+ a miss wont turn nasty cause bacteria and many viruses are bigger than 0.2 microns) In UK they have them at the Exchange but much too little people know about the little life- savers. If you live long enough you will one Day outgrow your addiction. GOD BLESS YOU MIGHTILY BROTHER ✝️

[@teamenemy.]

I LUV THEM... 💉

[@chriszz9006]

Not for a while, always You're all being played by a system that's creating crime and a civil war kicking the crap out of the civilian population and system of life Where do you go if you have a severe condition or severe trauma accident and broken body with deep severe pain 247? A doctor.. They decide your level of comfort? In a communist country that's tying to kill us? 150,000 poisoned from drug ODs That's never been How can you believe lies? People need to get out of their houses and play in towns and cities and grow up to be men and woman Not watch this fake poison "documentary" These people are killing us off Making us poor and causing a true war zone across America

[@ezragonzalez8936]

@@teamenemy. ok druggie!

[@barneyronnie]

Opiates are safe if used responsibly. One must be mindful of the physical habituation that always occurs after extended exposure. I used heroin throughout my career, but switched to methadone about 12 years ago.

[@indigobunting2431]

I was given opium at 12. It was the first time I had ever felt whole, well, calm, safe.

[@nikobauer6758]

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!! One of my favorite books on addiction - because it was historical and before AA - is this beautiful book by Leroy Streets, "I Was a Drug Addict". I have read it at least 10 times. I found this book for the first time in a guest room that I stayed in on Cape Cod. This was in 1993 and I never forgot this book and thanks to the internet I found it again in 2009. If you get the chance to read it please do - it is an historical snapshot of a moment in time before all the good and bad stuff we know about addiction today polluted peoples' minds on what addiction is and how to overcome it. Its penultimate message - don't even try it - because statically you will not be as lucky as Leroy Streets was. He was the only one who was alive 13 years after his first hit. All of his friends, and there were many, were all dead. From an innocent sniff of heroin on his neighbors stoop one beautiful spring evening in 1910 all these beautiful young men would be dead in 13 years. Please lets learn from this lesson spoken to us through history from the one lucky man who survived.

[@Nancy-y8q1n]

Pure food and drug act of 1906 did stop the sale of patent medicines, but that drove opioid use underground

[@miguelvaliente1475]

Live clean, be happy.

[@bongwelll]

You sound simple

[@GunnH74]

It's really not that simple if you have health issues..

[@Jones-pj2jk]

Thanks, I'm cured of everything

[@brenttesterman3171]

@@GunnH74 Simple and easy are two different things.

[@brenttesterman3171]

@@bongwelll It is simple, just not easy.

[@UnderThaSun]

Great documentary!!!

[@Yesnoyesno720]

I hate that they always bring the race card.

[@Comeawwndude]

Right. It doesn't matter.

[@Yesnoyesno720]

@@Comeawwndude it's just an excuse, especially told by well meaning professors

[@peterchase5198]

​@@Yesnoyesno720Politicians not professors.

[@peterchase5198]

​@@Yesnoyesno720And not well meaning

[@OffendingTheOffendable]

It's fun

[@supremeguru2753]

I remember in my block they were selling the Tuna , HBO, Airborne, Tango and Cash , Knockout, 9 1/2 , Poison, Hot City . These are dope stamps on the Heroin Bags it started in New York City the stamping or naming your dope or heroin brand . Different borough have different stamps . Bronx and Manhattan always have the best heroin.

[@Pituqat]

So we're going to ignore the role of Vietnam in the 60s and Afghanistan in the aughts?

[@christophermurpy3803]

They missed out the British east India company, we were producing industrial quantity’s to trade in China for tea! We fought two wars, not to stop it but to be allowed to sell it in China. Some of the pictures of opium warehouses in India are insane, Mexican drug cartels wish they had the power of the British empire. WHAT YOU WON’T except our opium? We’ll see about that after our navy has ruined you costal city’s! The very definition of battleship diplomacy. No wonder they’re pissed at us!

[@somniumisdreaming]

Greek mythology had a goddess of opium.

[@SpiritGirlSF]

What a way to weaken a city, much less a nation. And for such a long time.

[@johnransom1146]

I’m allergic to opioids. It’s frightening what happens. They gave me Demerol after surgery. Then they were giving me inter venous Benadryl for the reaction. At least I was already in a hospital

[@regenerate2768]

Demerol is a particular synthesis of opioid that is prone to causing hallucinations, they have moved away from using that medicine and the like

[@thenarrativeandwhyyouloveit]

Anyone saying people don’t need opioid-based pain medication have either not been in enough severe or chronic pain to justify opioid-based pain medication. Or, they simply do not react well to it. Or they are, or a loved one of those, is in the 30% addiction category. In which they are upset, obviously that that person became addicted or possibly passed away. My condolences. However, it is not the medication’s fault directly no matter what happened.

[@bromisovalum8417]

Poppy gardens were used extensively in folk medicine since times immemorial. Even the founding fathers has poppy gardens, and they were actually preserved until the DEA destroyed them in the 1980s. Funny that when a society is healthy, addiction problems aren't such an issue. The first drug laws were written in the early 20th century and initially they did not target users and small salesmen. Up until 1868 in the British Empire you could buy opium in grocery stores next to tea and crumpets. Afterwards it had to be sold by pharmacies, and you had to sign a poison register.

[@christophermurpy3803]

Oi China, give us your tea for opium! No thanks! Well stitch this jimmy... two opium wars later and Britain owns Hong Kong and Singapore.. no wonder they don’t like us!! 💂🏻‍♀️🇬🇧 ah the good old days when battleship diplomacy was king...

[@Tu.Mama.Perro.]

In the early 1900s you could order it from the Sears catalog

[@n.b.p.davenport7066]

You have to know how to control yourself if you have pain you use it for pain I self-medicated for 50 years never had a problem. What sound did I wouldn't have been able to work or make the money I made throughout the years ! I always worked.

[@JoeRogansForehead]

How is the pure heroin from Bayer less strong than than the stuff be got off the street

[@Oakleaf700]

A family member had diamorphine prescribed {pure heroin} in ampoule form {dry powder to be mixed with sterile water} England. Weight for weight fentanyl is 'stronger'.

[@keithwhitlock726]

Name the businessmen who priofitted from opiod smuggling.

[@charlesmarshall174]

10 yrs off that dog

[@Tania-im7lc]

same, just in time to not have to deal with the flesh eating zylazine fentynal hulked out synthetic as fuck mutant garbage they pass off as dope these days. stay blessed

[@tinaferr]

Nice! Almost five for me! I love hearing people with long clean times. Stay up and blessed🎉

[@stephencraig2906]

Really interesting and so well explained .Great Documentary Thanks

[@sassysaucyposse3783]

Because you are a drug user/addict, does not necessarily make you bad.

[@TheFrugalMombot]

Just after the intro it’s glaringly obviously why this is. It never was chronic patients, who ultimately have paid the highest price and were unfairly targeted, but the illegal drug trade where all drugs are unregulated and anyone who is using for whatever reason is having to take a gamble on what they’re consuming and likely it’s got more than what they’ve bargained for. Tighter regulations was never going to help and it certainly hasn’t helped pain patients who are unaliving themselves at all time high rates, doctors are afraid to practice good medicine, and even acute pain patients are suffering. Heck, I got offered ibuprofen for a tooth extraction just this week. Ibuprofen. That’s pretty fucking painful. I got offered ibuprofen when I broke my ribs. This has to stop.

[@johnmonachelli5256]

26 dollars in my hand

[@ParkerQualityControl]

Up to Lexington 125….

[@joseplaza9442]

Feeling dirty and alive

[@jumpupdown2556]

He's never early, he's always late First thing you learn You always gotta wait

[@DonAltopio]

and ya fienin? Fiend !! 😂

[@ParkerQualityControl]

@@DonAltopio wrong song and group. That’s a Jodeci song. 🤗🤗

[@lucabrasi3964]

Permu pharma, the pharmasutical salesman/women and the gp's who made an absolute fortune by overperscribing ocxycontin should all be in jail, they were nothing but drug dealers who even had corrupt cops working for them. America is the richest country in the world and they should be taking care of its citizens not trying to squeeze them out of every cent they have

[@Realitycheck-mqt]

What’s worse opioids or alcohol? Look at the data

[@Cavemankind_]

Atlanta’s heroin purity has always been 2nd to NYC’s purity averages, which is surprising considering its nearest port is Charleston, SC, and next closest is Savannah, GA.

[@pika23]

I was dependant on oxycodone generic percocet with tylenol. I have bulging discs and beyond end stage osteoarthritis in both knees. I quit qnd use kratom now, and marijuana gummies

[@kratombutterfly9959]

I have interstitial cystitis, abdominal adhesions, fibro and kidney stones. I was on everything and whatever i could find for 17 years. Now it's been almost 8 with my plants. I even had surgery after I found the tea. Stopped my iv and the tea worked better, I could get up. Come advocate with us! We do livestreaming and podcasts stopping the misinformation and fighting to keep it safe and legal. So amazing a leaf and water can work so well and I'm still coherent 😁

[@reneedennis2011]

Thank you for this fascinating documentary!

[@AndrewOkus]

I graduated from UNF where Dr. Courtwright taught. I bought his book in School bookstore. Most amazing book on drugs you will ever read. True stories of junkies, hookers, pimps, thieves and you name it. That book should of won some award. I called Dr . Courtwright one day. He's pretty stiff. Makes me wonder if he ain't got a habit?.

[@ParkerQualityControl]

🌽⚾️

[@stella-vu8vh]

What book are you referring to? Where can i find this?