The last time I saw him, day shift told me he came in, got hit with narcan twice, this was after EMTs had given him narcan as well. when he was steady enough, he left AMA(against medical advice). He came back 3 hrs later for another OD. Doctor came in and told him he’s killing himself. this organ is damaged, this one has this, blah, blah, blah. He responded that he’d be fine if we would stop killing his high.
Situations like this are what make me occasionally go “society should be able to 5150 people for addiction, to keep them locked up long enough to detox and get clean.” But I know that:
A) forced rehab wouldn’t actually work, and they’d just go right back to using as soon as they got out
B) It would likely result in higher OD rates after detox, because addicts would lose their tolerance and then go right back to whatever dosage they were using last time
C) it would likely be rife with abuse, with cops using to hold people without formally charging them.
D) it would deter people from seeking help, out of fear of being locked up instead.
My nibling got off opioids that way. They treated him with methadone for a couple of years until he completely dropped it.
Here’s the kicker; Changed his personality (in a positive way) so much that him and my niece were no longer compatible. Divorced within a couple of months of him getting clean.
Yep, imagine how many people wouldn’t have their life ruined by addiction if they could work their job and buy their drugs. The system we have now just turns functional addicts into homeless addicts.
Situations like this are what make me occasionally go “society should be able to 5150 people for addiction, to keep them locked up long enough to detox and get clean.” But I know that:
A) forced rehab wouldn’t actually work, and they’d just go right back to using as soon as they got out
B) It would likely result in higher OD rates after detox, because addicts would lose their tolerance and then go right back to whatever dosage they were using last time
C) it would likely be rife with abuse, with cops using to hold people without formally charging them.
D) it would deter people from seeking help, out of fear of being locked up instead.
Actually, instead of 5150-ing people the solution that works in other countries is to provide medical access to drugs. So basically allow someone to live a life with their illness after treatments have failed to cure them: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-now-allows-prescription-heroin-in-severe-opioid-addiction-1.3753312
My nibling got off opioids that way. They treated him with methadone for a couple of years until he completely dropped it.
Here’s the kicker; Changed his personality (in a positive way) so much that him and my niece were no longer compatible. Divorced within a couple of months of him getting clean.
Yep, imagine how many people wouldn’t have their life ruined by addiction if they could work their job and buy their drugs. The system we have now just turns functional addicts into homeless addicts.