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Rx opiates tied to more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:06:29 +0000

According to the National Vital Statistics System, prescription narcotics such as OxyContin and morphine cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. In at least 15 states, prescription drug deaths occur more frequently than auto accident deaths. This represents new evidence that could help shift the dialog on the failed War on Drugs.

The term War on Drugs is attributed to President Nixon, and was first used on June 17, 1971. The current Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, does not use this terminology; however, he has essentially kept the same philosophy we’ve used for the last 40 years, which we can confidently say has failed miserably.

In the 80s and 90s, the slogan of the failed War on Drugs was “just say no,” which was pushed by Fmr. First Lady Nancy Reagan. This slogan only makes matters worse, as it implies a sort of moral deficiency. Drug addiction is a proven medical problem, an illness. Treating addiction as a moral deficiency or personality defect not only contributes to stigma, but also serves as negative reinforcement which ultimately ends up pushing addicts away from treatment centers, and into the darkest corners of the globe.

The incorrect accusation that addicts are “morally deficient” encourages an atmosphere where people expect rehabilitation to occur when addicts are sent to prison. Such an atmosphere is not conducive to a stable recovery. We attempt to resolve a social and individual problem by criminalizing the possession of drugs, but once they get to court, they are given sentences to be carried out in prison instead of rehabilitation centers. Just as bad are judges who give split sentences, where part of the sentence is carried out in jail and part in rehab. Although studies reveal that marijuana is much safer than alcohol, our system often punishes casual marijuana users, who are otherwise law-abiding.

American and world citizens need an honest education when it comes to drug addiction and dependency. The D.A.R.E. program, another product of the failed War on Drugs, employs scare tactics and partial education. D.A.R.E. needs to be abolished and replaced with a learning system that not only promotes abstinence, but educates individuals and families about the biology and psychology of addiction, and includes a harm reduction approach in addition to abstinence.

Scare tactics and imprisonment do not resolve the many issues associated with drug addiction, especially when drugs are often a symptom of an underlying problem. Understanding that addicts cannot be forced to stop is another important step in this process. Until we undergo a massive reconstruction of our drug policies, including adopting a new strategy for casual users of marijuana, we will continue to make the same mistakes that created this problem, while deepening the nation’s dependency on illicit and licit substances.

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Video: The Flower

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:24:01 +0000

“The Flower contrasts a utopian society that freely farms and consumes a pleasure giving flower with a society where the same flower is illegal and its consumption is prohibited. The animation is a meditation on the social and economic costs of marijuana prohibition.”

International Overdose Awareness Day

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:37 +0000

On August 31st, individuals and organizations all over the world will recognize International Overdose Awareness Day, meant to help promote knowledge of counterproductive drug laws and overdose solutions, and remember those who have been affected by a drug overdose.

Drug overdose is currently second only to motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of death. The number of deaths as a result of drug overdose have steadily increased over the last few decades, further evidence of a failed war on drugs. Deaths from opioid overdose are among those which occur most frequently.

One piece of legislation meant to help address the drug overdose crisis in our country is the Drug Overdose Reduction Act (H.R. 2855). H.R. 2855 would help provide training in overdose treatment to law enforcement officers and others, as well as grant resources towards overdose prevention research and methods (How is an overdose treated?). In addition to these measures, we also need “Good Samaritan” laws which grants immunity to individuals witnessing an overdose so that they may report it without fear of arrest.

Please join us:

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TPC! hits one million visits

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:40:17 +0000

We are pleased to announce that as of today we have had roughly 1.1 million visitors since opening the site in late 2006. We will continue to provide That’s Poppycock free of charge for all of our loyal and new visitors, as well as those who have not heard of us yet. It has truly been an honor to serve the community, and provide unbiased information on opiates and opioid addiction. To another million visitors! Thank you everyone.

Generic Subutex has not been discontinued

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:46:37 +0000

It has been brought to my attention that there have been rumors circulating that generic Subutex, manufacturered by Roxane Laboratories, had been discontinued. We have been able to confirm that these rumors are not true. Roxane Laboratories still produces generic buprenorphine in eight and two milligram dosages, and will continue to manufacture them.

Teva Pharmaceuticals will also start manufacturing (if they haven’t already) generic Subutex. The drug information can be viewed here: generic buprenorphine (Subutex) drug information.

Forum has been repaired and restored

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:58:33 +0000

We recently discovered that our forums were broken during the transition to new servers. The forums have since been repaired, and are now up and running. We apologize for any inconvenience. We currently have one forum, Overcoming Opiate Addiction, devoted to providing a source for recovering addicts to connect. If you have any suggestions on subject matter, feel free to comment within this thread.

Teva to release generic formulation of Subutex

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:18:40 +0000

Teva Pharmaceuticals will produce a new generic formulation of the popular ORT drug, Subutex®. In October 2009, the first generic formulation of Subutex® was released by Roxane Laboratories. The full drug application can be viewed at DailyMed, a government site.

http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=18031

Added generic Subutex

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:48:16 +0000

On October 8^th, 2009, Roxane Laboratories announced the approval of an AB-rated generic medication for the popular opioid replacement therapy drug, Subutex®. The active ingredient in Subutex® is buprenorphine HCl. The more popular Suboxone, a similar medication by Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, still has no generic equivalent.

2 mg Buprenorphine HCl
8 mg Buprenorphine HCl

Pill imprint search revamped and live again!

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:17:39 +0000

Happy New Year! After a lot of work, we are proud to announce the re-release of our pill imprint search. This version should be much faster, more efficient, and present better results. If you find any bugs or have a suggestion, please feel free to comment within this post, and let us know. A link to the new and improved pill identification search is below:

Search Pill Imprints

Add TPC to your browser as a search provider

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:30:45 +0000

Add That’s Poppycock as a search provider to easily search our articles and database:

http://mycroft.mozdev.org/search-engines.html?name=thatspoppycock.com