Rand Paul Pushing Through Heroin Legislation

[jct74]

Rand Paul Pushing Through Heroin Legislation

By LISA AUTRY
APR 15, 2016

U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky says Congress is close to approving a bill that will help combat heroin addiction in his home state.

Speaking at a medical town hall in Bowling Green today, the Republican lawmaker said federal restrictions have too often stood in the way of giving heroin users effective treatment for their addictions.

Under current law, doctors can prescribe suboxone to 30 patients at a time in the first year, and 100 the following year. Suboxone can help lessen dependence on the drug.

Paul is co-sponsoring a bill to increase the cap to 500 patients. "There is said to be a million patients who need to be treated but don't have a doctor to go to because of this federal law limiting access," Paul says.

...

read more:
http://wkms.org/post/rand-paul-pushing-through-heroin-legislation#stream/0

 

[jaymur]

wasn't suboxone the drug that one of the recent mass shooters was on?

read more:
http://wkms.org/post/rand-paul-pushing-through-heroin-legislation#stream/0

Not so sure this is really a great thing to get behind.

 

[FindLiberty]

...or just legalize something less harmful.

 

[luctor-et-emergo]

Not so sure this is really a great thing to get behind.

It's the right thing to do though.

...or just legalize something less harmful.

That's not going to happen any time soon. In the meantime, reduce harm.

Also, even if heroin would be legal, it's not a substance that is very conducive to recreational use.

 

[tod evans]

Not so sure this is really a great thing to get behind.

...or just legalize something less harmful.

Legalizing (decriminalizing) all drugs is the only approach that will be a net benefit to society as a whole...

The growth of the "Just-Us" department, their courts, prisons and kops of various stripes can all be tied directly to Tricky-Dick's war on drugs.

Let the addicts flop like fish, load 'em up like cord-wood and be done with 'em........Same for all the billions of dollars worth of government functionaries who justify their existence "bringing them to justice"..........

 

[FindLiberty]

... all be tied directly to Tricky-Dick's war on drugs...

Yea, ...and only a half-century later.

So close now, only need a few more decades of peace prisons and billions of additional no-harm dollars...
WINNING WINNING WINNING. (If Trump is really smart as he says he is, maybe he'll re-think that whole deal!)

Not great. Can't make great again because of the lives and families ruined forever....
and the problem just gets worse, not better.

Something is WRONG! Too many people taking RX drugs now too.
World is going mad the entire time.

The pre-Nixon sixties look better in many ways. Yes, that's the solution:
Maybe the first step should be re-starting the cold war with Russia?
This time, M.A.D. nuclear destruction could be the goal!

 

[BarryDonegan]

I've always believed that if heroin were legalized it would be hard to profit on it due to lawsuits.

 

[jmdrake]

By Rand pushing this angle rather than the "legalize freedom" approach he's drawing attention to the fact that our corrupt government is simultaneously locking people up for being hooked on heroin while blocking access to medical treatment that could possibly get them off of addiction to heroin. Good job Rand.

 

[tod evans]

By Rand pushing this angle rather than the "legalize freedom" approach he's drawing attention to the fact that our corrupt government is simultaneously locking people up for being hooked on heroin while blocking access to medical treatment that could possibly get them off of addiction to heroin. Good job Rand.

You forgot to mention that fed-gov is making it next to impossible for legitimate pain sufferers to get narcotics legally and is forcing them into the black market...

 

[jmdrake]

You forgot to mention that fed-gov is making it next to impossible for legitimate pain sufferers to get narcotics legally and is forcing them into the black market...

Oh the federal government does a lot of things wrong. I'm glad that Rand has identified at least one thing wrong with the drug war that he might actually be able to do something about.

 

[dannno]

I've always believed that if heroin were legalized it would be hard to profit on it due to lawsuits.

Can I sue my water company if I OD on water?

 

[mrsat_98]

Legalizing (decriminalizing) all drugs is the only approach that will be a net benefit to society as a whole...

The growth of the "Just-Us" department, their courts, prisons and kops of various stripes can all be tied directly to Tricky-Dick's war on drugs.

Let the addicts flop like fish, load 'em up like cord-wood and be done with 'em........Same for all the billions of dollars worth of government functionaries who justify their existence "bringing them to justice"..........

Todd, we just can't kill off such a booming business, think of their children.

 

[BarryDonegan]

Can I sue my water company if I OD on water?

You couldn't only because water in and of itself isn't reasonably easy to kill yourself with if misused (you can, and there have been water intoxication related lawsuit judgments for for example a water drinking contest that a radio station did that ended in fatalities). They would have to provide extremely precise information on how to not overdose and what to do if you do overdose to avoid lawsuits. It would be a very unattractive product to initially buy with all the information on it about how to manage the addiction and keep from killing yourself. The instructions would not be easy to follow for most people. I think in a legal market people would stop using heroin because the companies would have to be so far out in front about the dangers to avoid liability. The overdoses would persist and there would be occasionally judgments that push even more and more responsibilities on the company. It'd probably occur to most companies to produce something else.

 

[dannno]

You couldn't only because water in and of itself isn't reasonably easy to kill yourself with if misused (you can, and there have been water intoxication related lawsuit judgments for for example a water drinking contest that a radio station did that ended in fatalities). They would have to provide extremely precise information on how to not overdose and what to do if you do overdose to avoid lawsuits. It would be a very unattractive product to initially buy with all the information on it about how to manage the addiction and keep from killing yourself. The instructions would not be easy to follow for most people. I think in a legal market people would stop using heroin because the companies would have to be so far out in front about the dangers to avoid liability. The overdoses would persist and there would be occasionally judgments that push even more and more responsibilities on the company. It'd probably occur to most companies to produce something else.

Most of the ODs on the black market I think are actually due to inconsistent and dirty product. Somebody is used to a product that is weak but laced with something safe for some time - then they get a product that is relatively strong with something dangerous laced in and suddenly they are using way too much.

I think ODs would be pretty minimal if it were legal, the product would be very consistent and high quality and the stated dosage would be low, like taking a single vicodin or something. I have gotten products that have come from silk road type sites and they are very high quality, and that is the black market, I have to imagine the free market would do an even better job. I don't know how you could hold a company liable if it is as I described, and I think you would still be seeing more overdoses on other products.

I do agree that heroin use would probably go down if it were legal, I think a lot of people would prefer using opium because it doesn't have a nasty come down.

 

[erowe1]

Not so sure this is really a great thing to get behind.

Why not?

 

[BarryDonegan]

Most of the ODs on the black market I think are actually due to inconsistent and dirty product. Somebody is used to a product that is weak but laced with something safe for some time - then they get a product that is relatively strong with something dangerous laced in and suddenly they are using way too much.

I think ODs would be pretty minimal if it were legal, the product would be very consistent and high quality and the stated dosage would be low, like taking a single vicodin or something. I have gotten products that have come from silk road type sites and they are very high quality, and that is the black market, I have to imagine the free market would do an even better job. I don't know how you could hold a company liable if it is as I described, and I think you would still be seeing more overdoses on other products.

I do agree that heroin use would probably go down if it were legal, I think a lot of people would prefer using opium because it doesn't have a nasty come down.

I hear you there. The main reason people end up on heroin in modern times is because they are on oxys or something and they lose their prescription or can't keep up the high costs of the pharmaceuticals and instead go for heroin on the cheap as their usage rises. Heroin itself would probably not be as cheaply available in the market because the main difference between the pills and heroin is that the pills have been designed in a safer way to take.

Legalized heroin would have to be exponentially safer or it wouldn't be profitable IMO. It might be that an obscure boutique company or two might provide it in a safer way with a million warning labels and most people would probably just not take it knowing full well even at their safest opiods are about as safe as drinking random chemicals under the sink because of the physical nature of how people become addicted to them.

 

[tod evans]

I hear you there. The main reason people end up on heroin in modern times is because they are on oxys or something and they lose their prescription or can't keep up the high costs of the pharmaceuticals and instead go for heroin on the cheap as their usage rises. Heroin itself would probably not be as cheaply available in the market because the main difference between the pills and heroin is that the pills have been designed in a safer way to take.

Legalized heroin would have to be exponentially safer or it wouldn't be profitable IMO. It might be that an obscure boutique company or two might provide it in a safer way with a million warning labels and most people would probably just not take it knowing full well even at their safest opiods are about as safe as drinking random chemicals under the sink because of the physical nature of how people become addicted to them.

Pills are anything but "safe" with all the Tylenol added to induce liver failure........

Be very careful if you or anyone you know is taking any, the opioid won't kill you nearly as quickly as the Tylenol...

 

[Root]

This crap, but not weed. Brilliant.

 

[KingNothing]

By Rand pushing this angle rather than the "legalize freedom" approach he's drawing attention to the fact that our corrupt government is simultaneously locking people up for being hooked on heroin while blocking access to medical treatment that could possibly get them off of addiction to heroin. Good job Rand.

Really a brilliant move. He's great at this stuff.

 

[centure7]

Meth is legal. There is a meth analog called Aderall sold as a prescription. Therefore, meth could never be legal as that would hurt big pharma profits.

Heroin is also legal. Its called oxycodone or OxyContin. Thats right, Rush Limbaugh was a heroin addict LOL. Its also sold as Hydrocodone or Vicodin.

Even cocaine was legal up until relatively recently under an analog named dipipanone. That was discontinued and I'm unaware of any replacements.

I'll go out on a limb and say there is a legitimate place in civilized society for meth, heron, and cocaine based on the fact that doctors prescribe their analogs as treatments and I personally know people who have highly beneficial effects as a result of their usage. So, there should be no shame in usage of any of these for the people capable of using them in moderation.