Opioids now kill more than 50,000 Americans a year

[doughishere]

10+ years of Vietnam killed 58,220 US boys and women to put that in prospective. The bodies literally stack at a faster rate as the boomers get older.

 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/faces-of-an-epidemic

[rb]

So what? People die all the time. About 200,00 Americans die a year from tailpipe emissions, 50,000 from power plant emissions. Then the #1 killer in America: fat, being fat, or being fat. Granted, that's more a cocktail of drugs. But make no mistake: those are America's favourite drugs.

[Cigarbutt]

Fair enough and your provocative comments contain elements of truth.

How one reacts to these reports may be related to how close you have been to the consequences of such tragedies.

The report that doughishere shares helps in having a closer look for people afar or those looking in a different direction.

 

What is more specific to the opioid situation is that it tends to affect younger people, typically in their 30's. A point may be made that, even under better scenarios, some of those "disadvantaged" may not represent the cream of the crop but, purely from a societal NPV perspective, one has to wonder if, somehow, negative initial cashflows may result in a net positive result (human or otherwise).

 

Interesting because the problem itself is often approached with an "easy-and-quick-fix" type of mentality, which perhaps is at the root of the issue. From the cause perspective, the spectrum goes from addicts are addicts to it's society's fault. From the solution perspective, the spectrum goes from they are getting what they deserve to just sue the pharmaceutical companies. The challenge may be that it is a complex problem requiring a complex solution. As a society, are we getting better at this?

 

This first step often is to recognize that there is a problem.

Here's another one.

http://time.com/james-nachtwey-opioid-addiction-america/

[BG2008]

History doesn't repeat, but it certainly rhymes

 

Anyone' remembers China's Opium War?  It help bring down the largest economy in the world in the 1800s. 

[cubsfan]

History doesn't repeat, but it certainly rhymes

 

Anyone' remembers China's Opium War?  It help bring down the largest economy in the world in the 1800s.

 

Likely the most important commentary on this thread.

[undervalued]

History doesn't repeat, but it certainly rhymes

 

Anyone' remembers China's Opium War?  It help bring down the largest economy in the world in the 1800s.

 

Likely the most important commentary on this thread.

 

More information on this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars.

 

China was the largest economy in the world for many centuries until the Opium Wars.[3] In China, the period between 1839 and 1949 is referred to as the Century of Humiliation.

[Cigarbutt]

History doesn't repeat, but it certainly rhymes

Anyone' remembers China's Opium War?  It help bring down the largest economy in the world in the 1800s.

Likely the most important commentary on this thread.

More information on this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars.

China was the largest economy in the world for many centuries until the Opium Wars.[3] In China, the period between 1839 and 1949 is referred to as the Century of Humiliation.

Slightly going on a tangent here, but it would be interesting to analyze and understand the common factors that led to the opium addiction problem in China as well as its relative lag in introducing technology and innovation that were key factors in losing the Opium Wars.

These days, it's hard to precisely assess the drug addiction problem in China but it is significant and it has its own specific ways at repression and social shaming.

Interesting because then, China felt that the addiction problem was extrinsic and now the US accuses China of exporting its fentanyl.

In addiction, the first constructive stage usually involves an intrinsic transition to go from denial to a willingness to make a change.

[rukawa]

China was the largest economy in the world for many centuries until the Opium Wars.[3] In China, the period between 1839 and 1949 is referred to as the Century of Humiliation.

 

People made the same arguments about India...that it was one of the largest economy as share of gdp until the British but I find this tremendously misleading. During the 1900's the whole of Europe experienced the industrial revolution which was unprecedented in human history. Worldwide GDP increased by a factor of 10. So of course any country that didn't undergo this had its share of worldwide gdp enormously reduced. Share of GDP says more about what was happening in the rest of the world than it does what was happening in China.

 

[BG2008]

China was the largest economy in the world for many centuries until the Opium Wars.[3] In China, the period between 1839 and 1949 is referred to as the Century of Humiliation.

 

People made the same arguments about India...that it was one of the largest economy as share of gdp until the British but I find this tremendously misleading. During the 1900's the whole of Europe experienced the industrial revolution which was unprecedented in human history. Worldwide GDP increased by a factor of 10. So of course any country that didn't undergo this had its share of worldwide gdp enormously reduced. Share of GDP says more about what was happening in the rest of the world than it does what was happening in China.

 

So the Chinese invented printing, paper making, gunpowder, and the compass and then decided to coast for a few centuries until the Europeans took the gunpowder and put bullets in it and force its way into China.  Japan figured out in the 1800s that the Europeans were not going to leave them alone and started industrializing.  China went through the opium war and got carved up into little "China chunks".  It really was a shameful century.  And then it muddled along with the Nationalist in charge.  Once the communist took over, well, it started with Deng Xiao Ping who figured out that "black cat, white cat, the one that catches mouse is the right cat."  He also realized that in order to improve the lives of everyone in China, some people will have to get a little richer than others.  It is truly extraordinary what has happened in the last 30-40 years.  The GDP growth rate for 1.3 billion people over a 30-40 year time frame is just absolutely extraordinary.  China then proceeded to industrialize in a pace that no other country has seen.  While the Yahoo commentaries still complain about cheap Chinese goods and the political rhetorics in this country still talks about China as a currency manipulators etc.  The truth is that the country is rapidly moving beyond cheap exports and low value add manufacturing.  Their payment systems via mobile phones will make the US and Europe look like a third world country.  Their internet, gaming, and AI is moving parallel to the US.  I feel that these are the trends that people are not paying as much attention to with the political headlines being tariffs etc. 

 

Anyway, Opioids are really bad.  This is the largest reason why I am okay with legalization of marijuana.