Sunday, September 16, 2018

Handing out pills like candy ?

"Abuse liability is likely to be high for cannabinoid receptor and μ-opioid receptor agonists, but all new analgesics do not need to have the same risk assessment as those two do. This must be decided on the basis of the pharmacology of the drug. If a new drug increases the risk of harm, but its incidence is very low, say 1 in 10,000, yet its efficacy brings substantial benefit to many, say 1 in 3, then difficult choices must be made on the basis of the nature of the harm and the extent of the benefit. In addition to agencies, patients and physicians must have input on what level of risk they are willing to tolerate, provided they know what the risk is, and bearing in mind that this will evolve over time."
 Do you really think a patient in severe real pain or an addict seeking pain meds can really have any idea about the risks? and do they even care?
what about the poor PCP who is faulted for not treating pain and then if responding to the demand accused of handing out pills like candy.

let us ponder on the statistics 
There are more opioid addicts and cocaine addicts in the USA than in Columbia or Afghanistan. 

"n 2017, opium cultivation in Afghanistan reached a record high, with multifaceted impacts on the country. Yet Afghan heroin is not fueling the deadly U.S. opiate epidemic to any significant degree. And there is very little the United States or other countries can do about the opiate production in Afghanistan. Given the precarious security situation there and the intensification of violent conflict, most policy tools are either ineffective or highly counterproductive. Solutions to the global problem of drug addiction lie within consumer countries themselves."

Mar 5, 2018 - But opioids are not America's only significant drug problem. Among illicit drugs, cocaine is the No. 2 killer and claims the lives of more African-Americans than heroin
 does

"In 2007 and 2008, cocaine was used by some 16 to 17 million people worldwide, similar to the number of global opiate users. North America accounted for more than 40 per cent of global cocaine consumption (the total was estimated at around 470 tons), while the 27 European Union and four European Free Trade Association countries accounted for more than a quarter of total consumption. These two regions account for more than 80 per cent of the total value of the global cocaine market, which was estimated at $88 billion in 2008."

Survey results suggest between 2.5 and 2.9 million Afghans use drugs – 11% of the population – and 1.9 and 2.3 million use opiates – about 7% of the population.  Approximately 0.9-1.1 million use cannabis, about half the rate of opioid users.[1]  The survey provides data on use, not addiction or abuse.  Without access to advanced data examining social, environmental, and psychological factors, an estimate of Afghanistan’s addiction rate remains impossible.
but  if you read the state department website it implies different 

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