By John Lynch
Why am I so cynical?
Because I’ve recently read that despite the nightmarish consequences of opiate addiction in our state and elsewhere, the FDA has lowered their protocol for the prescribed use of OxyContin to preteen children. These are the experts? Don’t they read the papers?
I also read that the same federal bureaucrats are giving Vermont enough funding to hire and equip five new trooper positions to help fight oxy and heroin addiction in our state. While I respect the hard work of the state police, we are going about this in the wrong way. The war on drugs has always been a failure. Always.
If you have a very serious leak in your roof, going out and buying 10 new five-gallon buckets is not the best solution. The best solution is the most expensive and difficult – you totally remove and replace the bad roof with a new and improved one for the best long-term outcome. We need to change our focus.
Our multibillion-dollar drug cartel – aka the pharmaceutical companies – are padding congress’ and lobbyists’ pockets big time and laughing all the way to the bank. These same companies ply their trade all over our state and have convinced the well-meaning doctors and medical professionals that highly addictive pain killers are the best way to treat pain, despite the fire aftereffects. The bills for rehab services are then paid by us one way or another – not the drug companies.
Along with the prescriptions should come a voucher for any rehab services needed, paid for by the prescribers! Why not? They have created this monster. The drug companies can afford it, not us.
By the way, despite our best efforts and all of the new buckets, the roof leak has indeed started to warp our beautiful hardwood floors. Oh well, no problem, we can now building two or three new jail/rehab facilities to house all the addicts the five new troopers have caught. Who is going to “crowdfund” this expense? Not the pharmaceutical companies!
I do not have all the answers but the “elephant in the room” is poverty and hopelessness cured only by the very difficult work of better paying jobs, education, hope, better pain protocols and better medical oversight so that the cycle is not started and abused. This, folks, is very hard work!
Now, hand me that roof jack and move the dumpster over here. Let’s all pitch in and fix this damn roof! Maybe there is some hope. Thanks for listening.
John Lynch lives in Moretown.
