Repeating Mistakes

I've always told my daughter I will not be mad when she makes a mistake. However, if the mistake is repeated, we have a problem, because it demonstrates a failure to learn. Regardless of intent, our government repeats the same mistakes when combatting drug and alcohol use. During prohibition attacking the supply side was proven ineffective, just as it was during the "war on drugs."  Yet here we go again failing to utilize our resources to stem demand. Our government let the Oxy problem fester for a decade, they knew how many rx were being written, and by whom. The eventual response was to cut off everyone's prescription, legitimate or otherwise, with no distinction between people with long-term chronic pain receiving care at Providence vs people waiting in line at strip mall clinics. 

The rapid increase in heroin use should not have been surprising. Efforts to limit supply inevitably shift demand. I clearly recall hearing reports of medical staff taking used fentanyl patches out of the garbage and sucking the remnants out. In the reports they'd cite fentanyl's strength as 50x that of heroin. Common sense was all that was necessary to foresee fentanyl replacing heroin; smuggling one kilo is easier than 50. Further, opium poppies only grow so many places, but you can make and mix chemical precursors to fentanyl anywhere. 

After a decade of increasing fentanyl use our government now signals that stemming the supply is a top priority. Then what? There's no forethought into where demand will shift. All you have to do is look around to recognize it will shift. All around town are signs advertising "kratom." Gas stations are openly selling distilled concentrated versions called 7OH. The pharmaceutical companies are pushing Suboxone with a goal towards keeping people on an opiate for life, and government is funding it.

Opiate withdrawals are horrible. It takes a lot of strength to make it through them, especially when your brain knows you can pickup right down the street and immediately feel better.

Sadly and sinisterly, it has been known for nearly 60 years that massive doses of buffered Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate rather than ascorbic acid) can eliminate nearly all physical withdrawal symptoms. Alexander Schauss, PhD, has documented the effect of buffered Vitamin C on opiate withdrawals since 1969 and published the "Schauss Protocol." Over the decades, numerous other studies confirming the effectiveness of the Schauss Protocol were conducted and published by the NIH. However, the information was not widely disseminated due to the financial impact it would have on treatment facilities, the same facilities that turn opiate addicts towards a lifetime on methadone and Suboxone. Profits over people is a recurring theme in our response to drug use.

Below is a link to the Schauss Protocol.

Thank you.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7572147/

Universal Healthcare is Affordable!

We've been told for far too long that providing universal healthcare is unaffordable. We're told the $3.8 trillion estimated cost would massively increase our national debt, and the interest would cripple us. $3.8 trillion is an incomprehensibly large number that is used to distract and divide us. The fact is, the $3.8 trillion does not represent new spending, but a reallocation.

The unaffordable argument implies that we have no current healthcare expenditures. In reality, we're already spending over $4.9 trillion on healthcare, while at the same time 40% of insured still incurred medical debt for their, or a family member's medical care.

I repeat, people with insurance are incurring medical debt while we currently spend $1.1 trillion more per year than universal healthcare would cost. I don't think that benefits me or you. Seems the status quo is only beneficial to those retaining the excess $1.1 trillion as profit. 

To put it in perspective, the $1.1 trillion in excessive healthcare spending is nearly equal to the $1.5 trillion total cost for Social Security last year.

Our current system relies on employers providing healthcare plans for which they cover the bulk of the premium expense, with the workers responsible for the remainder. For 2024 the average total premium expense for a family plan was $25,572 ($19,276 employer + $6,296 worker). It is ridiculous that we accept paying over $25,000 just for access to a plan, yet before benefitting we still have to reach deductibles averaging over $2,000 per individual and $4,000 per family.

I think we all agree this is unacceptable. 

 

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