She did in 2019. In the wake of the titanic failure of Oregon's experiment with drug decriminalization, has she changed her views? And will anyone ask her?
It is called DEMOCRACY they will tell you, and if you don't see it that way you are a racist or threat to DEMOCRACY. They continue to be "allowed" to get away with this deny and project narrative. GOP just talk and talk and talk enabling it all to perpetuate. ZERO accountability anywhere to be seen. Its just allowed to continue
Agree. There's no point in argument or debate. It simply empowers the opposition. Only flatly saying "no", mocking their heroes, and being comfortable giving your life to protect your family and community will make any difference. Talk and ideas are almost worthless.
If asked, she won’t be honest. She has done complete turn around from all her beliefs because she knows she won’t be elected if she’s honest. Like a true Marxist, she will say whatever it takes. Once in office the real Kamala will be revealed. By then, it’s too late and this country will continue its road to destruction.
his twitter has been wild. calling trump supporters delusional for saying trump had a good debate & declaring kamala our next president until he learned that all anybody took away from it is that we need to protect our cats and dogs from migrants.
I hope others agree with you. It’s a neon sign to some but to others, I’m not so sure. Can the hate for Trump be so intense that people would literally risk everything? I hope not. At least with Trump, there’s hope for a better economy. He knows how to fix this mess. He knows how to deal with adversaries. He knows that we can’t afford to buy energy when we can produce our own.
Who will pay for the crime of having 400K Americans die from overdoses? I say we charge the Democrat party. Oh, and stop sending our money for senseless wars. Over and out all!
She was helped tremendously in her SF district attorney campaign by Willie Brown, because, well, you know.
She was carried over the finish line in her attorney general campaign by some not at all suspicious votes even though the SF Chronicle had declared her opponent the victor.
She was essentially gifted her senate position in a dem vs dem race where she was openly backed by the dem establishment.
She was arguably the worst 2020 presidential candidate & withdrew after a disastrous showing in the Iowa caucus despite massive infrastructure advantages over her opponents.
She was selected as VP for who knows what reason. The only person that ever seemed to like her was Alex Soros, and my understanding is that he singularly pushed for her even though she is terrible.
She still managed to underperform as VP becoming the least popular VP in modern history - which was actually hard to do. She completely abandoned her only 2 public duties - border czar and AI czar, except for some luxury vacations in Central America.
But now, she may be gifted the most powerful office in the world. Not because of her political guile, but honestly because she's the luckiest human in history, or made a bunch of pacts with the Satan, or both IDK
Yes puppet 2.0 will. The same peeps who controlled puppet 1.0 until they duped America's progressive voters with a well executed coup. Crazy how they got away with it SCOT FREE too. Probably the most non DEMOCRATIC thing in politics I've seen "allowed" in my lifetime
Harris is a DNC created Avatar. It isn’t real. There is nothing there. The MSM is running a smoke screen so you will never see the real person. This avatar can and will lie without any morales. Bernie Sanders said it the best I the Avatar is pretending to modify its position because it needs to be elected. Do not be confused. This Avatar is hiding the fact that it will censor its critics (Alex pay attention). It will unleash the DOJ against its political opponents and jail all of those who don’t bend the knee to the state.
Our government leaders are creating more poverty and deaths from drug use. Most don't realize that Most emergency departments across America have a few of these patients at any given time of day. It's sad the ambulance will bring them to the emergency department in all sorts of conditions some are violent some are OK. Some are there for a complete shift some only a few hours. When they sober up they want to leave you can't keep them and Most will always end up back again either in a few hours or a few days. These people take up beds and critical time away from patients who want to be here for care and it's an emergency at the time and you have several teams working on the patient to save a life. Drug addicts mental patients alcohol abuse should be a long-term mental asylum hospital state-run asylum in every state for these people who deserve the right care with counselors for part of their treatment. It sounds mean but these places we had at one point and our government leaders destroyed them in Massachusetts. It will get them off the streets and have the proper care that they need some may never leave because it's not safe for them and everyone else around these people. Alex Berenson is probably one of the very few people who knows what these drugs do in a hospital setting and I am certain that he would agree these drugs should not be in the streets free for everyone to use.
This is not a criticism of Alex per se, just a broader comment about how we talk about fentanyl, I would prefer that we describe it as a poison, rather than a drug. Two of my children are away at college and I worry about them making a bad choice (they were unimpressed by my "Just say NO" pin from the 1980's).
Fentanyl is a powerful drug which can be a great benefit to those suffering if properly used. That doesn't mean it should be legal other than by a doctor's prescription.
Kamala Harris and progressive ideology are a danger to our country and way of life. If her handlers let her do unscripted interviews and crowd engagement she will reveal her true beliefs so I do not count on that happening before election. Hidin’ Biden the basement dweller showed the way in 2020.
"increased crime and overdose deaths". It has been my belief that criminals should be held accountable for their misdeeds. As for deaths? Tragic yes. Self-inflicted? Yes. Nobody is pointing a gun at their head. The family unit ( nuclear family) that was almost destroyed by previous administrations is the root cause of most of our problems. No father figure in the home, no discipline, participation trophies all around. Some acquaintances who teach on the left coast say the students have no discipline. And the parents allow it.
Increased crime without consequences has been a game changer for addiction disruption. Getting arrested use to give an addict a brief window of clarity to make those crucial decisions. Should I go to rehab. ? Is living like this working for me?
Now, they have nothing. It’s an industry here in Seattle. So much money is thrown at services and programs that keep the addict in the system.
My son is currently homeless & addicted to Fentanyl. He graduated from Heroin & Meth. Prior to that, he was a heavy pot smoker. That’s when I read “ Tell your Children.”
I got involved in watching our pot industry grow & evolve. It’s similar to building an airplane while it’s in the air. ( or similar to the FDA - pseudo regulation & safety measures)
There aren’t any.
Pesticides are added or banned every year but some companies get fined for “ non- compliance.” Big deal. The THC isn’t consistently accurate. I asked a pot shop employee about this once. He said, “ dude, it’s a plant so it’s different every time.”
~~~~~~~~~~<WHAT THE FUCK??<~~~~~~~
My son left our best hospital in Seattle; Harborview, after 2 weeks of detox & rehab.
He informs me in the car that he “ made $50 today.” He whips out a crisp $50 bill to show me. My son HAD a job, at the time, unlike 99% of others in rehab., here. He got the money by participating in a research trial before he left. A new app was being developed and they needed input on it. $50 for 20 min. of questions.
It wasn’t illegal, but was it ethical? Most of the patients probably would never tell their family ( if they have one ), they received the $50. I was angry. ( understatement!) I wrote emails when I got home to most of Wa. healthcare & gov. agencies that regulate them.
My son relapsed the first night he was home.
That was Dec. 2023. He went into rehab. again, for a month. And we sent him out of state for another month. He lasted about 2 months clean, and is now back on the streets using Fentanyl. He once said to me, “ mom, I just can’t stop.”
Don’t say this problem is because parent’s don’t care or don’t punish their kids, etc. He was a normal kid that had both parents that loved him. He started smoking a lot of pot about age 19, and we didn’t really notice the increase of use. He wasn’t living at home until after his first psychotic break.
He is 34 now. We are a normal upper middle class family that’s no different than most people in the U.S. I love God, and I love my family, and we raised 3 children in a happy home, with extended family close & lots of friends. This is where a fentanyl addict came from. I know we are not alone in this fight.
AlmostLastRepub, I had a single mother who had 4 boys, all had the same biological dad who'd dip out for years at a time with no word to us kids, no phone calls or explanations. My mother was great. Tough but fair, great at sports and so were we (ish) and funny as hell and law abiding. I was the oldest of the 4, and born Nov 7 and two brothers were born Nov 6 and Nov 3rd (we think Valentine's Day was what did it, haha) The November bros are all 6' 2" and blue eyed, and kinda partied but not too bad, and didn't really smoke pot, I did twice but did a few other drugs more, kinda, and same with the other two bros. But my 3rd brother was born April 2, and 5' 10" and green eyes and was an avowed Socialist before I kinda knew what that was (I was maybe 20 when I realized it's a system that doesn't work, so he was 16 when he adopted it as "the only system that makes sense, Fred". He smoked weed every day since he was 16, and quickly moved on to everything else ever invented, and robbed among other things his communal grocery store in Minnesota to pay for drugs, and started robbing liquor stores (nicking liqs he'd say) and all kinds of crime. I sent him to rehab when I got more monied, and both times he booked after three days (I lost 20 grand on each). He went to jail often, and finally a 9 year sentence when his colleague chickened out in the middle of the armed robbery and drove off w/my brother's car, my brother too drunk to run. He killed himself on his last day of prison when the release bus was held back two days for some Covid bullshit - Covid was all bullshit, which me and my two other brothers knew from day 1, no vax no masks, but the dead one believed our government and for some odd reason the media, and he'd have loved Kamala because anyone who loves her is batshit crazy, and I'm sorry but that is a fact. True Leftists are crazy to believe that human nature will allow sharing and caring across the board, and again: my dead brother robbed his own communist commune cuz he liked having money and he wouldn't debate this with me, instead saying I was selfish for thinking people will generally work harder if the payoff might be better than sitting on a couch, smoking weed and playing COD. He was buried, on his birthday, in the Deer Lodge prison graveyard in Montana, and I couldn't go to his funeral cuz it was the height of California's lockdowns and I wasn't vaccinated. But our Leftist Governor went to Montana on vacation at about the same time, maybe cuz he wanted to work off his big meal he had with 20 fellow travelers at the French Laundry restaurant, closed for Covid to regular civilians, but not Democrats like Newsome or Harris, and boy are those two loathsome creatures. Nothing was going to stop my brother from doing drugs but if Harris wants to legalize them, then it must be a horrible idea and would've somehow made things much worse for my dead brother, and I think even he'd agree... because the word (from a bunkmate) is he killed himself that day with a noose off his bunk and a baggie over his head because when the bus was held back he realized he got too close to being out on the street doing drugs again.
Thank you for sharing that with me. Wow. What a story. I’m so sorry you couldn’t go to the funeral, but I’m glad you’re not vaxed. You’re right about the Covid stuff- it’s all bullshit.
My son hasn’t had a criminal record until recently. He was home after he got kicked out of a sober living house. ( failed pee test)
So he was home and the 2nd day we asked him to do a drug test. He knows living at home, there’s drug tests. He refused & things escalated for the first time & my husband told him to leave. It got bad. 🙈 He wouldn’t leave so we called police. He has been living in a tent since July, I think? I’ve been in touch but there’s a restraining order w/ he & my husband. He showed up 3 nights ago at 2 am. First time since he left in July. He was super high & I called the police. They arrested him but he was out next day. He messaged me that he was sorry. I told him I need actions, not just words. I told him not to tell me he’s going to rehab, just go.
It’s his journey, I know. It’s gut- wrenching to watch his struggle. There’s mental illness involved which makes things complicated. He has been to almost every hospital in the Seattle area that treats mental illness & drug addiction. At first, we thought it was all mental. It took awhile to figure out that pot had turned to meth, and heroine. ( and now fentanyl)
We got involved with NAMI & that helped us a lot. They showed, early on, that getting him in his own health insurance would open up more resources. How messed up is that? Private insurance isn’t accepted in some programs for addicts. But it was great advice, and our savings would’ve been drained by now. He had a great job & they still want him back. Even with his time off taken, and even knowing his mental health wasn’t “ normal.”
He has ALWAYS claimed that making all drugs legal would solve a lot of issues. He and your brother might have been good friends, except so far, my kid hasn’t robbed a store or bank.
He is too trusting and has had his cell phone stolen too many times to count.
Your brother that died knows you loved him. He just chose a different journey. My son is the same way and seems to have to figure things out on his own. I’m not naive about his chances of becoming sober at this point. He knows we love him & knows how much we’ve tried to help him find a better path. Many parents give up by now. He’s been told for 15 years now that he’s lucky to have the family support. That’s difficult to maintain. We will, for now, because as long as he’s breathing, I’ll help him get help.
Your reply to me was amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my comment, you have been through so much and my heart aches for you and I can't even think straight right now because your reply rocked me - my brother was not my son, you are being ripped up by something I'm not sure I could deal with as well as you are, in that you are still standing and if my brother was one of my two daughters I'm not sure I could go on - but I'd have to, for the other one. You are very strong and again I'm so sorry for what you - and your son - are going through and I'm so thankful that you replied to my comment.
Thanks for understanding. Most people can’t relate. Sorry I kind of dumped it all on you. It felt selfishly a bit therapeutic for me. I had, earlier in the day, responded to a post about homelessness & fentanyl use. Some feel if these kids were only disciplined more or had a two parent home, their futures would’ve been different. I lost it on the poor guy that responded with that. My kid had both those things and so much more. Drugs are an equal opportunity destroyer. It’s easy for others to place blame when they haven’t lived it. It’s not their fault either. You just don’t know what you don’t know.
I feel pretty lucky that he still has a chance. So many have overdosed on drugs in the last 5 years. I just saw my son yesterday & he asked me for a bag of frozen blueberries. He knows they are healthy. It’s so ironic that he can smoke or inject who knows what, but still care about his diet. I tell him that. I have no filter at this point. 😂
He has 2 sisters and I’m glad I have them. ( talking about your girls) My oldest has 2 kids, my granddaughters, and they have my whole heart. I spent the day with them today & they kicked my butt. They are 4 and almost 2.
They force me to look at the world through their beautiful, innocent hearts. That was priority # 1, in keeping drugs out of my house.
I’m so good at finding drugs in a bedroom, car, or clothes, I could probably start a business doing it. No joke.
Take care and I’m sure we will cross paths again. Enjoy your girls, it sounds like you do.
My 83 yr. old dad lives with us & he still gets a kick out of me & of course all the younger grandkids that visit. That’s a special bond that won’t even be broken by death. 💕
Wasn't she the CA AG who INCARCERATED thousands of black men for minor drug offenses because she stuck her finger into the wind and decided that would make her politically popular at the time? This individual has NO guiding principles except raising her finger (won't say which one as that would reveal the regard she has for American citizens...) Elect this unprincipled opportunist at your own risk.
Meanwhile, “harm reduction” policies like increasing access to the overdose reduction drug naloxone and spending on addiction treatment have made no visible dent in the fentanyl/opioid crisis. In fact, deaths are higher under the Biden administration than Donald Trump’s presidency.
I think this is an important message not in addressing the initial "cause" of drug dependency, but the impact of policies that were supposed to address the underlying addiction for individuals who suffer from addiction. If these policies don't help, we should really examine and pursue other policies and practices that can reduce deaths due to drug overdoses.
I do agree that what Oregon did (widespread drug legalization) was a failure, however I do think that decriminalization of marijuana is warranted. Marijuana is comparable to alcohol as far as level of risk--both are subject to abuse but I don't think we have done anything to reduce the demand by keeping marijuana illegal and have wasted huge resources incarcerating offenders. Just like prohibition was a failure in curbing alcohol consumption, keeping marijuana illegal does not reduce demand and creates more problems than it solves.
I've read parts of that book and I agree it's not as benign as many say it is. I've also had a child who spent time in prison for marijuana charges and I can tell you it did nothing to help his addiction. It just wasted years of his life in tens of thousands of dollars for the state to keep him in there.
It is like sending a person to prison because they over eat and got diabetes. Prison does nothing therapeutic. Addiction has a strong enough power over many if not most addicts that the penalty of incarceration is not going to change their addiction. It is very hard to understand if you’re not an addict, but having hired many addicts at a business I owned and having seen it with my son, I now realize that punitive penalties are not the answer to treat addiction.
It's been about three years since I read it, but what stuck with me were the numerous well-researched assertions regarding how carefully marijuana is cultivated for the amount of THC that is proving to be extremely detrimental to mental health, and the studies showing how it is affecting the brains of those who use it, particularly young men, and creating a full-on addiction as opposed to seeing it as "recreational." I also remember about a year after Oregon legalized marijuana (wasn't it one of the first, or THE first?), I heard an Oregon ER doctor interviewed who was alarmed at the increasing number of young pregnant women who came to the hospital with complications having abandoned all care for the child because smoking so much weed made them "forget" to see the doctor or procrastinate to the point of crisis. And then seeing babies born compromised because of the mother's addiction to it. Not saying alcohol can't be deadly, but there's no cultivating the wine-aging process to make it more potent or enhancing something in the beer that makes it downright addictive.
The 400,000 number of overdoses should include an asterisk and it should be noted the ages of these people which is most likely 18-45. The loss of this many at this age will have an impact in so many ways it’s almost hard to comprehend when you consider the loss of children and how it impacts the US as a whole. This Tranq being added as something even stronger than fentanyl making people literal zombies and doesn’t respond to narcan is a scary sight too. We won’t get any answers from her on this any time soon.
Yes. The drug crisis directly connects to the homeless crisis. These young people are getting addicted and then can't hold down a job and are living on the streets. They are victims of crime, women are repeatedly raped, and harm reduction proponents are just saying, "be safe! here are clean needles/straws/need a lighter?" They advertise to get high in groups so if someone overdoses they can call for help or administer narcan. Most people don't know that if an addict is revived with Narcan once, they are TEN TIMES more likely to be dead of a drug overdose within a year.
If she doesn’t take questions she’ll never be asked. The strategy has worked quite well so far.
It is called DEMOCRACY they will tell you, and if you don't see it that way you are a racist or threat to DEMOCRACY. They continue to be "allowed" to get away with this deny and project narrative. GOP just talk and talk and talk enabling it all to perpetuate. ZERO accountability anywhere to be seen. Its just allowed to continue
Agree. There's no point in argument or debate. It simply empowers the opposition. Only flatly saying "no", mocking their heroes, and being comfortable giving your life to protect your family and community will make any difference. Talk and ideas are almost worthless.
The debate is simply for show. To uphold the narrative that were a democracy, the people vote, yadayadayada: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-debate-you-shouldnt-have-watched
The good news is that people are waking up to the game that’s being played. My response is, we don’t have to play the game - we can play by our own rules and simply not vote: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/why-we-need-to-stop-voting-in-presidential
If asked, she won’t be honest. She has done complete turn around from all her beliefs because she knows she won’t be elected if she’s honest. Like a true Marxist, she will say whatever it takes. Once in office the real Kamala will be revealed. By then, it’s too late and this country will continue its road to destruction.
ITM. Season of reveal.
It is getting tough to defend being a democrat and/or supporting Kamala.
TDS is a deep psychotic abyss few escape
"getting"??
This was a jab at our author😀
his twitter has been wild. calling trump supporters delusional for saying trump had a good debate & declaring kamala our next president until he learned that all anybody took away from it is that we need to protect our cats and dogs from migrants.
Then I extend my apologies to you and completely agree!
I hope others agree with you. It’s a neon sign to some but to others, I’m not so sure. Can the hate for Trump be so intense that people would literally risk everything? I hope not. At least with Trump, there’s hope for a better economy. He knows how to fix this mess. He knows how to deal with adversaries. He knows that we can’t afford to buy energy when we can produce our own.
The Titanic is getting wet
Who will pay for the crime of having 400K Americans die from overdoses? I say we charge the Democrat party. Oh, and stop sending our money for senseless wars. Over and out all!
shes a politician who has been successful by saying whatever would please the media at any given time. I doubt she has any core beliefs.
Her career arc isn't very inspiring.
She was helped tremendously in her SF district attorney campaign by Willie Brown, because, well, you know.
She was carried over the finish line in her attorney general campaign by some not at all suspicious votes even though the SF Chronicle had declared her opponent the victor.
She was essentially gifted her senate position in a dem vs dem race where she was openly backed by the dem establishment.
She was arguably the worst 2020 presidential candidate & withdrew after a disastrous showing in the Iowa caucus despite massive infrastructure advantages over her opponents.
She was selected as VP for who knows what reason. The only person that ever seemed to like her was Alex Soros, and my understanding is that he singularly pushed for her even though she is terrible.
She still managed to underperform as VP becoming the least popular VP in modern history - which was actually hard to do. She completely abandoned her only 2 public duties - border czar and AI czar, except for some luxury vacations in Central America.
But now, she may be gifted the most powerful office in the world. Not because of her political guile, but honestly because she's the luckiest human in history, or made a bunch of pacts with the Satan, or both IDK
Does ANYone know what Ms. Flip Flop is going to do if she is placed into the WH?
tyrannical marxism picking winners and losers with tax dollars and locking up anyone who disagrees with her
Bingo
She will do whatever the person pulling her strings says to do.
Yes puppet 2.0 will. The same peeps who controlled puppet 1.0 until they duped America's progressive voters with a well executed coup. Crazy how they got away with it SCOT FREE too. Probably the most non DEMOCRATIC thing in politics I've seen "allowed" in my lifetime
Don't know and do not want to find out. I expect she'll pivot left again and revive the regressive policies.
As in 'tighten the screws?'
the deep state runs itself - they don't want anyone like trump with personal convictions.
And their own money.
Harris is a DNC created Avatar. It isn’t real. There is nothing there. The MSM is running a smoke screen so you will never see the real person. This avatar can and will lie without any morales. Bernie Sanders said it the best I the Avatar is pretending to modify its position because it needs to be elected. Do not be confused. This Avatar is hiding the fact that it will censor its critics (Alex pay attention). It will unleash the DOJ against its political opponents and jail all of those who don’t bend the knee to the state.
She’s a cameleon, besides being a mediocrity.
Our government leaders are creating more poverty and deaths from drug use. Most don't realize that Most emergency departments across America have a few of these patients at any given time of day. It's sad the ambulance will bring them to the emergency department in all sorts of conditions some are violent some are OK. Some are there for a complete shift some only a few hours. When they sober up they want to leave you can't keep them and Most will always end up back again either in a few hours or a few days. These people take up beds and critical time away from patients who want to be here for care and it's an emergency at the time and you have several teams working on the patient to save a life. Drug addicts mental patients alcohol abuse should be a long-term mental asylum hospital state-run asylum in every state for these people who deserve the right care with counselors for part of their treatment. It sounds mean but these places we had at one point and our government leaders destroyed them in Massachusetts. It will get them off the streets and have the proper care that they need some may never leave because it's not safe for them and everyone else around these people. Alex Berenson is probably one of the very few people who knows what these drugs do in a hospital setting and I am certain that he would agree these drugs should not be in the streets free for everyone to use.
It's civilization rot. Our overlords glamorize the lowest rung of the welfare ladder:
PRISON
This is not a criticism of Alex per se, just a broader comment about how we talk about fentanyl, I would prefer that we describe it as a poison, rather than a drug. Two of my children are away at college and I worry about them making a bad choice (they were unimpressed by my "Just say NO" pin from the 1980's).
Fentanyl is a powerful drug which can be a great benefit to those suffering if properly used. That doesn't mean it should be legal other than by a doctor's prescription.
It’s their journey. They are listening, but in the end, it’s their life. It’s so hard as a parent. I know. I get it.
Kamala Harris and progressive ideology are a danger to our country and way of life. If her handlers let her do unscripted interviews and crowd engagement she will reveal her true beliefs so I do not count on that happening before election. Hidin’ Biden the basement dweller showed the way in 2020.
"increased crime and overdose deaths". It has been my belief that criminals should be held accountable for their misdeeds. As for deaths? Tragic yes. Self-inflicted? Yes. Nobody is pointing a gun at their head. The family unit ( nuclear family) that was almost destroyed by previous administrations is the root cause of most of our problems. No father figure in the home, no discipline, participation trophies all around. Some acquaintances who teach on the left coast say the students have no discipline. And the parents allow it.
Increased crime without consequences has been a game changer for addiction disruption. Getting arrested use to give an addict a brief window of clarity to make those crucial decisions. Should I go to rehab. ? Is living like this working for me?
Now, they have nothing. It’s an industry here in Seattle. So much money is thrown at services and programs that keep the addict in the system.
My son is currently homeless & addicted to Fentanyl. He graduated from Heroin & Meth. Prior to that, he was a heavy pot smoker. That’s when I read “ Tell your Children.”
I got involved in watching our pot industry grow & evolve. It’s similar to building an airplane while it’s in the air. ( or similar to the FDA - pseudo regulation & safety measures)
There aren’t any.
Pesticides are added or banned every year but some companies get fined for “ non- compliance.” Big deal. The THC isn’t consistently accurate. I asked a pot shop employee about this once. He said, “ dude, it’s a plant so it’s different every time.”
~~~~~~~~~~<WHAT THE FUCK??<~~~~~~~
My son left our best hospital in Seattle; Harborview, after 2 weeks of detox & rehab.
He informs me in the car that he “ made $50 today.” He whips out a crisp $50 bill to show me. My son HAD a job, at the time, unlike 99% of others in rehab., here. He got the money by participating in a research trial before he left. A new app was being developed and they needed input on it. $50 for 20 min. of questions.
It wasn’t illegal, but was it ethical? Most of the patients probably would never tell their family ( if they have one ), they received the $50. I was angry. ( understatement!) I wrote emails when I got home to most of Wa. healthcare & gov. agencies that regulate them.
My son relapsed the first night he was home.
That was Dec. 2023. He went into rehab. again, for a month. And we sent him out of state for another month. He lasted about 2 months clean, and is now back on the streets using Fentanyl. He once said to me, “ mom, I just can’t stop.”
Don’t say this problem is because parent’s don’t care or don’t punish their kids, etc. He was a normal kid that had both parents that loved him. He started smoking a lot of pot about age 19, and we didn’t really notice the increase of use. He wasn’t living at home until after his first psychotic break.
He is 34 now. We are a normal upper middle class family that’s no different than most people in the U.S. I love God, and I love my family, and we raised 3 children in a happy home, with extended family close & lots of friends. This is where a fentanyl addict came from. I know we are not alone in this fight.
AlmostLastRepub, I had a single mother who had 4 boys, all had the same biological dad who'd dip out for years at a time with no word to us kids, no phone calls or explanations. My mother was great. Tough but fair, great at sports and so were we (ish) and funny as hell and law abiding. I was the oldest of the 4, and born Nov 7 and two brothers were born Nov 6 and Nov 3rd (we think Valentine's Day was what did it, haha) The November bros are all 6' 2" and blue eyed, and kinda partied but not too bad, and didn't really smoke pot, I did twice but did a few other drugs more, kinda, and same with the other two bros. But my 3rd brother was born April 2, and 5' 10" and green eyes and was an avowed Socialist before I kinda knew what that was (I was maybe 20 when I realized it's a system that doesn't work, so he was 16 when he adopted it as "the only system that makes sense, Fred". He smoked weed every day since he was 16, and quickly moved on to everything else ever invented, and robbed among other things his communal grocery store in Minnesota to pay for drugs, and started robbing liquor stores (nicking liqs he'd say) and all kinds of crime. I sent him to rehab when I got more monied, and both times he booked after three days (I lost 20 grand on each). He went to jail often, and finally a 9 year sentence when his colleague chickened out in the middle of the armed robbery and drove off w/my brother's car, my brother too drunk to run. He killed himself on his last day of prison when the release bus was held back two days for some Covid bullshit - Covid was all bullshit, which me and my two other brothers knew from day 1, no vax no masks, but the dead one believed our government and for some odd reason the media, and he'd have loved Kamala because anyone who loves her is batshit crazy, and I'm sorry but that is a fact. True Leftists are crazy to believe that human nature will allow sharing and caring across the board, and again: my dead brother robbed his own communist commune cuz he liked having money and he wouldn't debate this with me, instead saying I was selfish for thinking people will generally work harder if the payoff might be better than sitting on a couch, smoking weed and playing COD. He was buried, on his birthday, in the Deer Lodge prison graveyard in Montana, and I couldn't go to his funeral cuz it was the height of California's lockdowns and I wasn't vaccinated. But our Leftist Governor went to Montana on vacation at about the same time, maybe cuz he wanted to work off his big meal he had with 20 fellow travelers at the French Laundry restaurant, closed for Covid to regular civilians, but not Democrats like Newsome or Harris, and boy are those two loathsome creatures. Nothing was going to stop my brother from doing drugs but if Harris wants to legalize them, then it must be a horrible idea and would've somehow made things much worse for my dead brother, and I think even he'd agree... because the word (from a bunkmate) is he killed himself that day with a noose off his bunk and a baggie over his head because when the bus was held back he realized he got too close to being out on the street doing drugs again.
Thank you for sharing that with me. Wow. What a story. I’m so sorry you couldn’t go to the funeral, but I’m glad you’re not vaxed. You’re right about the Covid stuff- it’s all bullshit.
My son hasn’t had a criminal record until recently. He was home after he got kicked out of a sober living house. ( failed pee test)
So he was home and the 2nd day we asked him to do a drug test. He knows living at home, there’s drug tests. He refused & things escalated for the first time & my husband told him to leave. It got bad. 🙈 He wouldn’t leave so we called police. He has been living in a tent since July, I think? I’ve been in touch but there’s a restraining order w/ he & my husband. He showed up 3 nights ago at 2 am. First time since he left in July. He was super high & I called the police. They arrested him but he was out next day. He messaged me that he was sorry. I told him I need actions, not just words. I told him not to tell me he’s going to rehab, just go.
It’s his journey, I know. It’s gut- wrenching to watch his struggle. There’s mental illness involved which makes things complicated. He has been to almost every hospital in the Seattle area that treats mental illness & drug addiction. At first, we thought it was all mental. It took awhile to figure out that pot had turned to meth, and heroine. ( and now fentanyl)
We got involved with NAMI & that helped us a lot. They showed, early on, that getting him in his own health insurance would open up more resources. How messed up is that? Private insurance isn’t accepted in some programs for addicts. But it was great advice, and our savings would’ve been drained by now. He had a great job & they still want him back. Even with his time off taken, and even knowing his mental health wasn’t “ normal.”
He has ALWAYS claimed that making all drugs legal would solve a lot of issues. He and your brother might have been good friends, except so far, my kid hasn’t robbed a store or bank.
He is too trusting and has had his cell phone stolen too many times to count.
Your brother that died knows you loved him. He just chose a different journey. My son is the same way and seems to have to figure things out on his own. I’m not naive about his chances of becoming sober at this point. He knows we love him & knows how much we’ve tried to help him find a better path. Many parents give up by now. He’s been told for 15 years now that he’s lucky to have the family support. That’s difficult to maintain. We will, for now, because as long as he’s breathing, I’ll help him get help.
Your reply to me was amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my comment, you have been through so much and my heart aches for you and I can't even think straight right now because your reply rocked me - my brother was not my son, you are being ripped up by something I'm not sure I could deal with as well as you are, in that you are still standing and if my brother was one of my two daughters I'm not sure I could go on - but I'd have to, for the other one. You are very strong and again I'm so sorry for what you - and your son - are going through and I'm so thankful that you replied to my comment.
Thanks for understanding. Most people can’t relate. Sorry I kind of dumped it all on you. It felt selfishly a bit therapeutic for me. I had, earlier in the day, responded to a post about homelessness & fentanyl use. Some feel if these kids were only disciplined more or had a two parent home, their futures would’ve been different. I lost it on the poor guy that responded with that. My kid had both those things and so much more. Drugs are an equal opportunity destroyer. It’s easy for others to place blame when they haven’t lived it. It’s not their fault either. You just don’t know what you don’t know.
I feel pretty lucky that he still has a chance. So many have overdosed on drugs in the last 5 years. I just saw my son yesterday & he asked me for a bag of frozen blueberries. He knows they are healthy. It’s so ironic that he can smoke or inject who knows what, but still care about his diet. I tell him that. I have no filter at this point. 😂
He has 2 sisters and I’m glad I have them. ( talking about your girls) My oldest has 2 kids, my granddaughters, and they have my whole heart. I spent the day with them today & they kicked my butt. They are 4 and almost 2.
They force me to look at the world through their beautiful, innocent hearts. That was priority # 1, in keeping drugs out of my house.
I’m so good at finding drugs in a bedroom, car, or clothes, I could probably start a business doing it. No joke.
Take care and I’m sure we will cross paths again. Enjoy your girls, it sounds like you do.
My 83 yr. old dad lives with us & he still gets a kick out of me & of course all the younger grandkids that visit. That’s a special bond that won’t even be broken by death. 💕
Wasn't she the CA AG who INCARCERATED thousands of black men for minor drug offenses because she stuck her finger into the wind and decided that would make her politically popular at the time? This individual has NO guiding principles except raising her finger (won't say which one as that would reveal the regard she has for American citizens...) Elect this unprincipled opportunist at your own risk.
Look into what she DIDN'T do with the massive San Fran catholic church pedophile issue. Massive cover UP!
Can you expand on these claims?
Meanwhile, “harm reduction” policies like increasing access to the overdose reduction drug naloxone and spending on addiction treatment have made no visible dent in the fentanyl/opioid crisis. In fact, deaths are higher under the Biden administration than Donald Trump’s presidency.
I think this is an important message not in addressing the initial "cause" of drug dependency, but the impact of policies that were supposed to address the underlying addiction for individuals who suffer from addiction. If these policies don't help, we should really examine and pursue other policies and practices that can reduce deaths due to drug overdoses.
I do agree that what Oregon did (widespread drug legalization) was a failure, however I do think that decriminalization of marijuana is warranted. Marijuana is comparable to alcohol as far as level of risk--both are subject to abuse but I don't think we have done anything to reduce the demand by keeping marijuana illegal and have wasted huge resources incarcerating offenders. Just like prohibition was a failure in curbing alcohol consumption, keeping marijuana illegal does not reduce demand and creates more problems than it solves.
Read Alex's book Tell Your Children. Your opinion may change, although sometimes outlawing things can be counterproductive.
Agreed--Alex's book will give you a perspective you haven't considered. Marijuana is hardly comparable to alcohol.
I've read parts of that book and I agree it's not as benign as many say it is. I've also had a child who spent time in prison for marijuana charges and I can tell you it did nothing to help his addiction. It just wasted years of his life in tens of thousands of dollars for the state to keep him in there.
very sad that even a prison sentence couldn't help break his harmful addiction
It is like sending a person to prison because they over eat and got diabetes. Prison does nothing therapeutic. Addiction has a strong enough power over many if not most addicts that the penalty of incarceration is not going to change their addiction. It is very hard to understand if you’re not an addict, but having hired many addicts at a business I owned and having seen it with my son, I now realize that punitive penalties are not the answer to treat addiction.
How so? Full disclosure: I haven't read Tell Your Children.
It's been about three years since I read it, but what stuck with me were the numerous well-researched assertions regarding how carefully marijuana is cultivated for the amount of THC that is proving to be extremely detrimental to mental health, and the studies showing how it is affecting the brains of those who use it, particularly young men, and creating a full-on addiction as opposed to seeing it as "recreational." I also remember about a year after Oregon legalized marijuana (wasn't it one of the first, or THE first?), I heard an Oregon ER doctor interviewed who was alarmed at the increasing number of young pregnant women who came to the hospital with complications having abandoned all care for the child because smoking so much weed made them "forget" to see the doctor or procrastinate to the point of crisis. And then seeing babies born compromised because of the mother's addiction to it. Not saying alcohol can't be deadly, but there's no cultivating the wine-aging process to make it more potent or enhancing something in the beer that makes it downright addictive.
The 400,000 number of overdoses should include an asterisk and it should be noted the ages of these people which is most likely 18-45. The loss of this many at this age will have an impact in so many ways it’s almost hard to comprehend when you consider the loss of children and how it impacts the US as a whole. This Tranq being added as something even stronger than fentanyl making people literal zombies and doesn’t respond to narcan is a scary sight too. We won’t get any answers from her on this any time soon.
Yes. The drug crisis directly connects to the homeless crisis. These young people are getting addicted and then can't hold down a job and are living on the streets. They are victims of crime, women are repeatedly raped, and harm reduction proponents are just saying, "be safe! here are clean needles/straws/need a lighter?" They advertise to get high in groups so if someone overdoses they can call for help or administer narcan. Most people don't know that if an addict is revived with Narcan once, they are TEN TIMES more likely to be dead of a drug overdose within a year.
Natural selection?